Persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. Courtesy Photos.

This information is not criminal history. All individuals included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. JC Post assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness, of this information. Any person who believes information provided is not accurate may submit a complaint to admin@salinapost.com

The Superintendent of Schools for Geary USD 475, Dr. Corbin Witt, has announced his plan to retire July 1, 2019 after the 2018-19 school year.

Witt told JC Post they were talking about contract extensions and he wanted the Board of Education to understand why he didn’t want a contract extension. “So I just told them I’m going to plan to work out this current contract which goes through July 1, 2019 and then I was going to retire. That was what I told the Board so that they would know why I was not wanting my contract extended.”

Witt was hired to serve as superintendent of schools in April of 2014 and officially began work in that position on July 1, 2014.  He sent a text message to school district employees on Tuesday informing them of his decision to resign for the purposes of retirement on July 1, 2019. He indicated that for about six months he had been considering retirement.

Witt, 52, noted he is close to the 85-point requirement and would be able to retire . “Try something different, do something a little bit different for the next several years was something that my wife and I had been talking about. So we decided over the weekend that I’d go ahead and let the Board know and move forward.” The 85-point requirement is a combination of years of experience and age. When July 1, 2019 arrives he will have reached that mark since he will be 54-years old and have 31 years of experience working in education.

During the next year and a half Witt noted priorities for him in USD 475 will include keeping the new high school project on track and working on the Board of Education goals.

 

 

The D.E.L. Motors dealership at 1737 North Washington in Junction City will be closed temporarily for a switch over to a new automotive partner.

The owner, D.E. Lacer, said they will temporarily shut down, for probably two or three days. “I’m going a different route. I’m ending my partnership with Russ and Ilene Briggs. It’s been a great run. I learned just tons from Russ and Ilene, great people. I’ve just found a different road to take. It’s going to free up a little time for me.”

Lacer said he has accepted an offer with Flint Hills Ford of Manhattan, his son Joshua Lacer will be brought in to oversee the store, and D.E. Lacer will continue to be an operating partner. “Business will go on as usual.”

The temporary closure will allow for the computers associated with the Briggs Auto Group to be  removed along with the telephones, and new inventory will have to be purchased. “We’ll continue to have a small service department, we’ll continue to have a recon department, so really the public won’t notice much of a change. The showroom will be renovated.” Lacer also noted that Junction City product Brett Barker will also be involved in the operation.

The Dorothy Bramlage Public Library attempted  expansion efforts are moving forward.

Susan Moyer, Library Director, said it will be a quiet effort for a few more months. They have created steering, public relations and building committees. “We’re taking our steering group now and hopefully pretty soon we’ll be able to announce some campaign leadership to go along with that committee.”

That group will begin preparing a plan to push into the community to start asking for private donations for the project. “The project will stay in a quiet phase throughout the spring, and then it will launch into a bigger public phase. ” That would probably occur in May or the first portion of June.

 

 

The jury trial for Joseph Craig, Junction City, has begun in Geary County District Court. He is charged in connection with the January 2016 shooting death of David Phillips, 23, Manhattan at an 827 West 12th Street Apartment C location.

Craig is charged with multiple counts ranging from 1st Degree Murder or in the alternative Felony Murder to Aggravated Robbery, Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Conspiracy to Commit 1st Degree Murder.

The first witness called by the prosecution was Phillips’ father, Anthony Phillips, Manhattan. In court he identified a black jacket as one that he had purchased for his son and confirmed his son carried a firearm most of the time. When he was shown a .40 caliber gun he indicated from a visual identification that it might be one that had belonged to his son.

A second state’s witness, Jabari Graves, Junction City, who lived at the 827 West 12th Street Apartment C location was not home at the time of the shooting. He testified he was informed by another person that there was a body in the apartment. Graves confirmed he then went to his apartment and upon arrival inside he saw blood on the wall, “a dude laying on the floor” and there was a blanket covering him. Graves confirmed he heard a knock on the door, that he fled the apartment,  and then called 911 for police.

The trial is scheduled to run for two weeks in Geary County District Court. Geary County Attorney Krista Blaisdell is prosecuting the case.

 

Persons included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. Courtesy Photos.

This information is not criminal history. All individuals included in this post are innocent of crimes until proven guilty in a court of law. JC Post assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness, of this information. Any person who believes information provided is not accurate may submit a complaint to admin@salinapost.com

Fort Riley officials have outlined future construction plans on post.

The $14 million renovation of the Fort Riley museums along with renovations of the In-and-Out Processing Center and the bridge replacement west of the Post Cemetery are part of the ongoing Sustainment, Restoration and Modernization projects taking place this year. SRM will continue to be the focus of construction efforts in coming years, with an estimate of about $25 million next year. SRM construction will modernize unit operations and maintenance facilities to support Army Force Restructuring, repair road networks and perform building infrastructure upgrades.

Several Military Construction projects may be funded in the coming years. These include construction of an Infantry Platoon Battle Course range complex, as well as planning initial design work for a future helicopter maintenance hangar and replacement for the Marshall Army Airfield air traffic control tower.

An Energy Savings Performance Contract will invest approximately $38 million in Fort Riley buildings and infrastructure this year by upgrading lighting, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems with state-of-the-art energy efficient components.

The Fort Riley direct fiscal year 2017 economic impact has been calculated at approximately $1.7 billion..

The bulk of the total was in payroll.

Fort Riley has released information showing payroll for the past fiscal year totaled $1.239,869,467. Contracts, Supply and Service $138,969, 141, Construction $71,619,284, VA Expenditures $201, 332,000, Education $31,110,574 and Health Care $78,896,257. The total economic impact was $1,761,796,723.

The fiscal year 2017 economic impact total was up from $1,728, 126,450 in fiscal year 2016.

Approximately 310 people supported Sundown Salute fundraising efforts Saturday night at the Courtyard by Marriott Convention Center in Junction City. As of Sunday afternoon the net revenue from the  fundraiser totaled more than $7,700.

Terry Heldstab, who chairs the planning committee for the annual Fourth of July celebration, stated the crowd got into the Dueling Pianos performance and began bringing requests with donations immediately. ” We had one song that Lt. General ( Retired ) Perry Wiggins and Colonel Chris Black of the Combat Aviation Brigade, they led the audience in the Big Red One song, and raised $650 from one song.” They were joined in singing by other CAB Soldiers plus other veterans and Soldiers.

The owner of Next Home Unlimited, Steven Burch, called the event phenomenal. “This is exactly what this community needs, bringing the camaraderie together with all the different supporters. They used to do this a long time ago to bring everybody together, and this is just great now.”

Previous Sundown Salute sponsor D. E. Lacer said it was a great event, noting Junction City had really rallied. “The amount of people, the entertainment, the food.” Lacer praised the Sundown Salute Committee for their good work.   The event also included a 50/50 drawing.

Future Sundown Salute fundraisers will include a Roast & Toast of Junction City Police Captain Trish Giordano on March 3rd, Rat Races April 28th, and Mud-Bog Races on May 19th.

Sundown Salute, the annual Fourth of July celebration in Junction City, will run June 30th through July 4th.

 

State Representative Lonnie Clark of Junction City said the State will have to get to a solution to the public school funding problem, something that has been occurring since 1966.

Clark noted the House Speaker said it’s basically a common math problem. “We’re either looking at funding the schools with what the ( Supreme ) Court wants, and there’s only two ways to pay for it. That’s either raise taxes or rob from other agencies.”

Clark added the Speaker indicated the House will have to go to work, and can’t continue to kick this issue into the future, and have it keep coming up in future years.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ordered the Legislature to find more funding for public schools, K-12.