The catfish were biting at Milford Lake on Monday.

Outdoor enthusiast Rick Dykstra submitted these photos and information on fish caught on Monday at the reservoir.

Photos of Blue Catfish caught on Feb. 13, 2017.

The person holding the single Blue Catfish (Weighed 67.3 Pounds) is Kevin Dandliker of Wymore, NE. The other two are Rich Vernon of Centralia, KS and Adam Fleagle of Seneca, KS. The center person is Ryan Gnagy of Primetime Catfish Guide Service.

Valentine’s Day, dubbed the Hallmark holiday, is expected to generate consumer spending over $19 billion in the United States this year.

According to the National Retail Federation, consumers were on track last year to eclipse $19.7 billion in Valentine’s Day related spending.

Some of the most common items to splurge on are diamonds, chocolate, flowers and champagne. Local retailers know that there will be a lot of last minute shoppers and they are prepared.

Mary Loehr, Owner of Mary’s Floral, 1034 W. 6th Street, said that in her 50 years of experience February 14th has always been a hectic day. Valentine’s Day is considered the second busiest holiday in the floral industry next to Mother’s Day.

“It is a lot of people coming into the shop, there are a lot of phone calls, and we’re doing our arrangements and getting them out the door and delivered as soon as possible,” said Loehr who adds that they begin preparing in December for Valentine’s Day.

Loehr said that this year she received a lot of orders in January for the “hallmark holiday” but she anticipates a lot of traffic in the store tomorrow.

If you’re in the market for some jewelry for your valentine, Stephanie Anderson, Co-Owner Vernon’s Custom Jewelry, said that there are some definite trends this year.

“We have Lafonn, that is very affordable, it is simulated diamonds set in sterling silver and it is bonded with platinum and retails starting at $100 – it is very popular in New York, and a lot of celebrities are wearing it; we also have pendants ranging from crosses, diamonds and hearts – and right now heart pendants are very popular,” said Anderson.

Vernon’s Custom Jewelry, 703 N. Washington Street, will attempt to ease the tension of last minute shopping with 20% off storewide, with the exception of repairs and loose diamonds.

According to Fortune, the following was the average consumer spending trends for major holidays in 2016.

• Halloween:  $74
• Mother’s Day: $173
• Valentine’s Day: $512
• Christmas: $806

Whether you’re in the market for jewelry, chocolate, flowers, a night out or a night in you can find a special way to celebrate with your loved one.

The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce has a list of local businesses to suit your needs.

There will be a Junction City High School campaign meeting on Thursday, February 16th at the Geary County 4-H/Senior Citizens Building.

The meeting will be centered around the effort to gain community support in favor of a new high school at a new site.

Assembled by the school District, the Way Forward Steering Committee came to the decision to pursue a new high school at a new site. Their decision was presented to the Board of Education that detailed a desire to pursue a new school a cost not to exceed $105 million and with no increase to the mil levy. Board members voted 4 to 2 in favor of the effort.

A May 9th bond election has been scheduled in order for the Geary USD 475 School District to receive the 48% state aid necessary to complete the project. Without voter approval, the issue falls flat.

The campaign will work toward solid community approval ahead of the May 9th bond election.

The meeting on February 16th begins at 7:00 pm at 1107 S. Spring Valley Road. It is free and open to the public.

The 2016-2017 graduates of the Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program Class were honored Friday night at the Courtyard by Marriott convention center in Junction City.

Class members included from Junction City, Anthony Dokes, and Kevin Walker, Ellen Becker of Milford, Patsy LaMothe of Abilene, from Manhattan Kathy Bellinder, Clay E. Boyer, Bob Everdeen, Jesse Gilpin, Robin Graham, Micah Hydeman, George Mummert Jr., Clay Nauman, Jesse R. Romo, Marcia Rozell, Jamie Schrock, Robert Smith, Angie Sutton and Jared Tremblay, plus Susan Adams and Tanya Purvis of Westmoreland, Shawn Cheever and Joe Fanning of St. George, and Stacie Eichem of Wamego.

The KFC Restaurant at 504 W 6th Street in Junction City is closed until further notice.

According to reports, the owner temporarily closed the business notifying employees sometime on or before Saturday, February 4th.

According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture Food Safety, the most recent inspection for the fast food restaurant was on January 19th, 2017.

There were 5 violations ranging from dead insects, general cleanliness and infrastructure concerns. Despite these infractions, the restaurant was still found to be in compliance with health and food safety guidelines.

Reports have indicated that the fast food business closed due to “personal issues” with the owner; JC Post was unable to confirm this with him.

JC Post reached out to the owner multiple times this week; no one could be reached or returned calls for comment.

Workforce development and retention will be a key area for City leaders as they work toward a marketing plan for Junction City/Geary County.

Mickey Fornaro-Dean, Economic Development Director, said that spreading the word about what Junction City has to offer to areas beyond the local region is important.

“We need to be creative about where we look – besides locally – where we pull potential workforce people from, and that flows into the marketing plan – where do we market to get potential workforce,” said Dean. “We do not have the lowest unemployment rate in the state, but its low; workforce is a issue in the entire state of Kansas, so through our marketing, through our relationships with workforce development groups we need to be smarter about how we tell our story about our companies [and] about our community.”

Dennis Beson, Chamber of Commerce CEO, reported that between ACT, Footlocker and Smithfield Foods, there are approximately 500 jobs that need to be filled.

Dean said that she’s met with the three companies and is working with them and other businesses in the community to tackle the workforce issue. “I think we have a pretty skilled workforce, what we need to do is do more about getting the word out about our companies – that they’re good companies, [and] what type of work they have to offer.”

During an Economic Development Advisory Committee meeting, committee members expressed that in addition to bringing people to work in the community, they need to live in the community.

Pat Landes, City Commissioner, said that [we] have to do a better job of telling people what Junction City has to offer, specifically addressing the large quantity of available land bank lots.

“People from [here] know where the lots are, but we need to market those lots to everybody beyond Junction City’s borders, and we haven’t done a good job in setting up a website or any links to go look at lots; I think that there’s little tweaks that we need to make in the whole program regarding maybe price, what to do about the specials [and] what we can do to make Junction City more attractive,” said Landes.

Landes argued that the approach that the EDC Director (Dean) is using to “market Junction City” should include land bank – Dean agreed.

“I think Junction City/Geary County has incredible potential, there’s just assets here that I think are really positive; it’s just an issue of doing our marketing plan, looking at our websites, making sure we’re all working together – the comment about the housing lots came up, [and I think that] we need to have a clearinghouse so that if you’re looking for a house you know where to go to see that all those lots are available,” said Dean.

Dean said that the first step in economic development is building a foundation to take the community to the next level.

“I want to get Junction City/Geary County on the map,” said Dean.