The Kansas Leadership Center has awarded Live Well Geary County and the Junction City Food Policy Council a Leadership Transformation Grant for 2018.
The grant will provide leadership skills training through a variety of KLC programs offered in Wichita and Kansas City. The programs are designed to help organizations, communities, businesses, school districts and individuals make progress on the issues they care about most, as well as provide a common language for addressing touch challenges.
“Our Leadership Transformation Grants provide skills training so Kansans from all walks of life can more successfully engage in the civic environment,” said Patty Clark, KLC’s Acting CEO.
Forty grantees were selected from the 93 applications submitted this year. These grants are funded by the Kansas Health Foundation and provide more than 1,500 spots in leadership programs for Kansas.
Filipino veterans of World War II have been awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, 75 years after they joined with the United States to Defeat Japan.
At a ceremony Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol, a group of veterans family members of those who died belatedly received the medals, the nation’s highest civilian award.
More than 250,000 Filipino soldiers served alongside U.S. soldiers in World War II, including more than 57,000 who died. After the war ended, President Harry Truman signed laws that stripped away promises of benefits and citizenship for Filipino veterans. Only recently have the veterans won back some concessions and acknowledgment, including the gold medal.
Nita Miller of Junction City attended the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony, representing her late father, Juan R. Fabia, who survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines during the war, and later served as a Filipino scout for the U.S. Army.
Later Wednesday evening veterans and family members will receive replicas of the Congressional Gold Medal at a formal celebration at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Miller provided photos for JC Post.
U..S. Senator Nancy Pelosi speaking at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.
Congressional Gold medal
Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Paul Ryan at the Congressional Gold Medal ceremony.
The Junction City Police Department has announced that beginning October 30th and continuing through November 3rd, the JCPD will join other Kansas law enforcement agencies to stop what has been compared to an epidemic in Kansas. In 2016, 44 children ages infant to 19 lost their lives due to car crashes in Kansas. Almost half of those children were not wearing seat belts.
In the health field they talk about making sure children have received their immunizations to prevent deadly diseases. Wearing a seat belt properly is also a key prevention of serious injury or death in a vehicle.
According to the 2017 Kansas observational seat belt survey, children are much more likely to be buckled up if the driver is wearing their seat belt. If the driver is buckled, about 98% of the children are restrained. If the driver is not buckled, only about 29% of the observed children were buckled.
Starting on October 30th through November 3rd, law enforcement across Kansas will be extra vigilant when patrolling around schools. Officers will issue citations to anyone who does not obey Kansas law.
Rebecca Bossemeyer, Geary County Clerk, has announced that in-person advance voting has begun in the Geary County Clerk’s Office, 200 E. 8th Street, Junction City during the following hours:
–October 24-October 27 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
–October 30 – November 3 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
–November 4 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
–November 6 8:30 a.m. to noon
Be sure to bring your photo ID with you.
Advance voting by mail continues until October 31. Remember in order to have a ballot mailed, an application must be completed and returned to the Clerk’s office by the October 31 deadline.
Voters can check their registration, get polling place information and view sample ballots by visiting Geary County’s web site, www.geary.kansasgov.com and clicking on “Voter View Kansas” or calling the County Clerk’s office at 238-3912.
( Photo on roof L-R ) Dewey Terrill and Randy Stewart )
Callers to 1420 KJCK, The Talk of JC, pledged more than $1,400 on Friday during a Sundown Salute fundraiser.
News Director Dewey Terrill broadcast from atop the roof at Coach’s Grill and Bar at 720 Caroline Avenue to help raise awareness about the annual Fourth of July celebration in Junction City, while Program Director Jerry Brecheisen took calls from donors in the The Talk of JC studios during the hours 10:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
One of the callers who made a pledge was was one of the founders of Sundown Salute, John Summers, who now resides in the Kansas City area. Summers, Bill Deppish and Ed Birney developed the idea in 1976 that turned into the annual Fourth of July celebration. They were assisted by the Economic Development Director in Junction City at that time, Jack Lacey.
The Sundown Salute Committee for 2018 is co-chaired by Terry Heldstab and Mark Ediger. Mick Wunder is Event Coordinator, Barbara Wunder Secretary and Michelle Stimatze Treasurer.
( Photo L-R ) – Lloyd Graham, Steve Opat, David Platt
Former Geary County Attorney Steve Opat was recently presented the Kansas County and District Attorney’s Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
He received that honor during the Association’s annual fall conference in Lawrence.
Opat served two different stints as Geary County Attorney before deciding not to seek reelection last year. The award is presented to an Association member for his or her longevity as a prosecutor. Today Opat continues to serve as the Geary County Counselor for the Geary County Commission.
Also in attendance at the conference in Lawrence were two former assistant county attorneys during Opat’s tenure, David Platt and Lloyd Graham. Platt later became a District Court Judge before retiring, while Graham continues to serve as an Assistant Geary County Attorney.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children have announced that 84 minors were recovered and 120 traffickers arrested as part of Operation Cross Country XI. It was a nationwide effort focusing on underage human trafficking that ran from October 12-15.
Over the course of those four days the FBI Kansas City Division, along with its local, state and federal law enforcement partners conducted the operation in 10 cities throughout areas in Kansas and Missouri. Junction City was one of those cities. The others included Kansas City, Independence, Lee Summit, Riverside and North Kansas, Missouri plus Overland Park, Olathe, Topeka and Wichita. The results of the combined operation led to the recovery of three minors ranging in age from 16 to 17 and the arrest of 10 traffickers.
Multiple law enforcement agencies partnered with the FBI Kansas City during Operation Cross Country XI. Some of those included the Junction City Police Department, Geary County Sheriff’s Department and Riley County Police Department.
Junction City Police Chief Dan Breci confirmed his department assisted the FBI in a human trafficking operation last Friday night in Junction City. “They set up at a local hotel, last count I saw was 30 plus people from around the state including Junction City, Grandview Plaza, Geary County SO, and FBI agents out of Kansas City and their task force. From my understanding they did this operation in several cities, and while here they arrested six individuals last Friday.” Breci confirmed there were various charges against those arrested, ‘but they all had to do with the sex trade. ”
Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf said his department supported the entire operation with a couple of deputies from the Sheriff’s Department assisting in the investigation. “It was kind of like a prostitution sting situation where individuals were caught that were soliciting the sexual favors from minors.”
The 11th iteration of the FBI-led Operation Cross Country included 55 FBI field officers and involved 78 state and local forces across the nation, including hundreds of law enforcement partners. There were coordinated operations with international partners including Canada, the United Kingdom, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines.
As part of the operation, FBI agents and task force officers staged operations in hotels, casinos and truck stops as well as on street corners and internet websites. The youngest victim recovered during this year’s operation was three months old, and the average age of victims recovered was 15 years old.
According to the JCPD Tour Log report the six people arrested in Junction City included Timothy Paul Meyer, 52; Patrick Tisolona-Nakoa, 25; Alexander Michael Jacobs, 24; Randy Sharone Carter, 24; John Earnest Frazee, 40; andJeffery Wayne Young, 33, all from Junction City. A check of the booking photos from the Geary County Sheriff’s Department revealed all six were being held on suspicion of Solicitation Promoting Prostitution. Young was also held on suspicion of Possession of Depressants, Depressants, Stimulants or Hallucinogenic Drugs – Felony. Formal court charges had not yet been filed.
Line of cars waiting to get into Kentucky Fried Chicken Tuesday evening.
The new Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet on West 6th Street in Junction City opened to huge crowds on Tuesday.
The grand opening was held and as late as six o’clock in the evening the line of cars waiting to get into the parking lot and go through the drive-through was nearly three blocks long. At 9 p.m. the wait for food was approximately 45 minutes long due to the number of people wanting to be served.
Junction City had been without a KFC outlet for several months.
The U.S. House is moving to try to make the federal tax code simpler.
1st District Congressman Roger Marshall noted there is one effort that would allow most to do their taxes on the back side of a postcard. You can google Roger Marshall to look at his website where there is an example of the postcard.
Marshall stated, “Then the next step is we want to give tax relief to middle and low income tax folks. So we’re going to take people in a ten-percent income tax bracket and decrease them to zero. People in the 15-percent bracket we’ll decrease them to twelve. And we’re going to double your deduction. So a family deduction is going to go from twelve to twenty-four thousand. So I think that’s going to spell relief for middle America.”
Marshall said this has received discussion but it is not quite ready to go to committee in the House. He believes the tax relief could be in place by 2018. Marshall noted the goal is to get it done this year.
The Kansas Leadership Center has awarded Live Well Geary County and the Junction City Food Policy Council a Leadership Transformation Grant for 2018.
