By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

Trudy and Lyle Barker served as the grand marshals for the Labor Day parade in Chapman. It was the 110 annual Labor Day celebration in that Dickinson County community.

Trudy said they have been involved in community activities. “He’s active with the Lions Club and the Senior Center. I’m active with the Quilt Shop and the church, and all the things that go along with those two activities.”

Trudy grew up on a farm near Chapman and she and Lyle moved back that farmstead two miles south of the city in 1997. It was an honor to be named grand marshals, said Trudy. “It’s always an honor to be recognized as a community leader, so yeah, we’re honored.”

The theme for the parade was “To the Moon and Back.” Ironically Lyle has actually mapped the moon in his former job as a cartographer with the Defense Mapping Agency. “Once upon a time many years ago we got an assignment to map the moon. ” He noted there wasn’t a lot to map. “There’s not much on the moon. There’s no cities, there’s no roads or anything like that so it was kind of a boring assignment once we got into it.” But as it turns out it came in handy for a Chapman Lady parade story.

The Chapman Labor Day parade traveled through the center of the city Monday afternoon.

There is progress in the effort to obtain a federal grant to help build a new elementary school on Fort Riley.

The Chief Operations Officer for USD 475, David Wild, said the Office of Economic Adjustment is scheduled to be here for a briefing and tour of Ft. Riley on Sept. 10. Wild noted that is step two out of three steps in the approval process. “If everything goes well on the 10th the district will be invited to submit a formal proposal and application, and we’re expecting approval of that should it occur by the end of this calendar year.”

The new school would replace Jefferson Elementary that was closed at the end of the last school year. If the new school is approved it would be built on the same site as the former school. Wild also referred to nearby Morris Hill Elementary which is near the end of its’ useful life. “Should we be fortunate in receiving approval of the replacement of Jefferson then eventually we will probably also close Morris Hill Elementary, and the school we would be building would be adequate to cover both schools.”

The current projected cost estimate for a new elementary school is just under $30 million. Wild said it contains a price escalation factor in it. “If approved we’ll do the full design development in calendar year 2020, construction will take place in calendar year 2021 and we will probably open it up in January 2022.”

USD 475 officials are holding $6 million in the district’s capital outlay account to pay a  20-percent matching cost on the project. The remainder of the funds would come from the federal grant, if approved. There would be no increase in the property tax levy.

The traditional Chapman Labor Day parade starts at 2 p.m. on Monday. Participants should assemble at the Beemer Ball Complex and floats will be judged at 1:15 p.m.

City Administrator John Dudte says many of those who bring their cars into Chapman for the Labor Day celebration’s car show will have those vehicles in the parade. “Of course all the traditional activities of a parade. Bring the little ones, there’ll be lots of candy.”

The parade travels down Fifth Street through the center of Chapman.  Some have said over the years it never rains on Labor Day in that Dickinson County community. The weather forecast for Monday calls for sunny skies and a high temperature of 89-degrees with no rain is in the forecast.

The celebration activities in Chapman on Monday include the Steve Miller Memorial 5K Run / Walk at the Chapman Middle School track. The registration fee is $25. You can register on-site at the track. The run / walk begins at 8 a.m. and there will be a free kids run at 9 a.m.

There will be pancakes and sausages at the American Legion at 6:30 a.m., the C/77 Car show in the high school parking lot from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., Touch a Truck at the District Gym lot from 8 a.m. to noon and Art / Craft and Food Vendors will be downtown from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Antique Tractor Show will be held south of the high school at 9 a.m., the Quilt Show at the Methodist Church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Kids Activities in Sheeran Park from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Toy Show in the high school multi-purpose room from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the American Legion will operate a Beer Garden in Sheeran Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

There will also be the Smokey Hill Liquor Beer Garden from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. with food and live music. All proceeds will BE donated to the Wounded Warriors and Infinite Hero.

There will be a Hamburger Feed at the American Legion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Barn Quilt Self-Guided walking and driving tours.

Junction City Commissioner Phyllis Fitzgerald has led an effort to spruce up the downtown area with hanging flower pots. Now some new flower pots are being added at the street level.

Eight flower pots have been located on North Washington Street on the corners between 10th Street and 7th Street . They have been placed in locations where trees existed in the past but had to be removed. Fitzgerald said the funding for the project came from downtown businesses, private citizens and friends from partnering neighboring communities.

The Phil Weishaar Memorial BBQ Cook-off will be on the schedule on this opening day of the Chapman Labor Day celebration. The cook-off is named after the former longtime teacher, coach and later mayor of Chapman.

City Administrator John Dudte said Weishaar was a pillar in the community. “Spent his life serving the community in many different ways. ” Dudte noted when he arrived in Chapman, Weishaar was one of the first people to visit him. “A great legacy in Chapman. We’re just proud to just do something that honors him. Phil loved BBQ, he loved judging BBQ contests so we wanted to do something that tried to commemorate all the service that he provided through teaching and through coaching.”

Dudte added that through the tornado period Weishaar did all he could “to keep Chapman standing up. ” He worked hard to help the city recover from the EF-3 tornado that hit Chapman on June 11, 2008.  Weishaar passed away in April of this year after a battle with colon cancer.

To register for the BBQ call Austin Murphy at 785-223-7266.

The rest of the Saturday activities include a Co-Ed Slow Pitch Softball Tournament beginning at 10 a.m. at the Beemer Ball Complex, a street dance downtown from 7 – 11 p.m. and the American Legion Beer Garden will be open in Sheeran Park from noon until 10 p.m.

Other activities will range from a fireworks show at 8:30 p.m. Sunday to the annual Lions Club Labor Day parade at 2 p.m. Monday.

The dirt work for the new Junction City High School project is about 95 percent finished. That’s the report this week from the Chief Operations Officer for USD 475 David Wild.

Wild stated there are three utility crews on-site working on storm sewers and the water loop that will go around the facility and offer the necessary fire protection. “Got steel scheduled to start arriving around mid-September and of course concrete footings will start shortly thereafter. They’ll start in the main auditorium area as well as the mechanical rooms, and then start working east to west.” Some paving work will also begin so staging of materials and equipment can begin to allow the beginning of vertical construction.

Wild said now you see a lot of flat land. “You see the building pad. It’s become very distinct out there but the vertical construction is what I think is what everybody’s waiting to see, when they can actually see something happening. Much of what’s happened to this point is either at or below grade.

Wild expects to see walls begin to go up in the October time frame. “I think that’ll be the exciting part.”

The goal is to have the high school finished and in use by August of 2021.

The North Central-Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging will have a Listening Session on Aging and Health Issues for Rural Kansans during the annual Sunflower Fair in Salina. It is scheduled on Sept. 17 at the Tony’s Pizza Events Center from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the 17th.

The Sunflower Fair is a day of information and fun for Kansans, but especially for older Kansans, people living with disabilities and caregivers.

Registration is $20 before Sept. 10 and $25 after that date. The cost does cover a banquet lunch. To register in advance call the Area Agency on Aging at 800-432-2703. You can also go to www.ncfhaaa.com or sunflowerfairks.com. They may also be mailed to the Area Agency on Aging at 401 Houston St., Manhattan, KS 66502.

The Listening Session on Aging and Health Issues in Rural Kansas is the event’s 3 p.m. closing session.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for Kansans to express what’s right about living and growing older in our state and also a forum to express concerns and hopes about services and health care,” said Julie Govert Walter, Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging.

Lacey Boven, Region VII Administrator with the Administration for Community Living in Washington D.C. will facilitate the session. She serves as ACL’s official liaison with the National Rural Advisory Council.

Many people from Geary County over the years have attended the Sunflower Fair.

A flash flood warning was issued for a time overnight for the areas along Wildcat Creek in Manhattan. The creek was forecast to reach 19-feet near near Scenic Drive but as of Friday morning that warning has been cancelled. However a flash flood watch remains in effect until 1 p.m. today the region including Riley and Geary counties and multiple other counties.

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Downed trees and power outages have been reported via the Northeast Kansas Regional Notification system in Wamego and Pottawatomie County.

A flash flood warning was issued until 5:15 a.m. for central Geary, southern Riley, northwestern Wabaunsee and southwestern Pottawatomie counties until 5:15 a.m by the National Weather Service. Doppler radar and automated weather gauges indicated thunderstorms has produced heavy rain across the warned area and more could occur.

At about 2 a.m. a check with the Riley County police dispatch confirmed flash flooding in Manhattan at multiple locations.

Junction City police dispatch confirmed about 2 a.m. that barricades had been put at Clarks Creek Road and K-57 Highway, and warning cones had been set out at the Ash and Washington intersection in Junction City. Other flooding problems were not reported in Junction City and Geary County at that time.

The USD 475 Board of Education will consider the Guaranteed Maximum price of $98.5 million for the new JCHS project when they meet Tuesday evening. That number includes the main school structure plus athletic facilities, with project scope changes reviewed by the Board during a recent work session.

USD 475 officiasls issued a news release on the subject which also contains the details on additional resources and funding needed for the project.

If approved, the combined value of GMP awards for the project will be $113.9M. The District has committed another $3.7M to complete infrastructure development plus $6.3M in non-construction related costs. The infrastructure monies will be retained by the District if the Junction City infrastructure Build Grant receives approval. A decision on that grant is expected later this fall.

“The board has $124M of available monies to work with on this project,” stated David Wild, Chief Operations Officer. $109.5M came from the sale of bonds approved by voters. The board has authority to exceed that amount to complete the project and is using other funds to do so.

“Due to the AA bond rating, the District received an additional $4.5M as a premium when the bonds were sold. Plus it has realized another $3.5M in interest earnings on proceeds.” Wild added.

The balance of the $124M comes from an additional $9M in Heavy Impact Aid set aside by the board for the project plus a minimum of $2M in interest earnings over the next 21 months of construction.

By special election voters approved the $105M bond initiative in November 2017 based on a District commitment to the community that it would not raise its mill levy in order to finance the project. The District has remained true to that commitment and, by setting aside other funds, it can now ensure construction of the new high school which remains scheduled for completion in time for the start of school in August of 2021.

David E. Wild

Chief Operations Officer