February 8, 2017 is the 107th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America.
Junction City Mayor Phyllis Fitzgerald signed a proclamation declaring the day in Junction City during the February 7th City Commission meeting.
Chuck Wright, Pack 62 Cubmaster at the First Presbyterian Church, said that the declaration brings awareness to the community that Boy Scouts are active in the area.
“We have several troops in Junction City and this opens it up a little bit more for people to realize that we are active in this community,” said Wright.
The month of February is an important month for the history and celebration of Boy Scouts.
“This past Sunday (February 5th) was Scout Sunday, that’s also celebrated along with the anniversary/birthday of scouting within the churches that the scouts go to; we have a Baden Powell [celebration] coming up this coming weekend – Baden Powell started Boy Scouts in England, so we celebrate with a Baden Powell banquet here in the states – it’s like our big birthday party,” said Wright.
Pack 62 was one of several cub scout and boy scout packs/troops in attendance to witness the signing of the proclamation declaring February 8th as the 107th birthday of Boy Scouts of America in Junction City.
Geary USD 475 Board of Education voting 4-2 to authorize a special election for a proposed new Junction City High School at a new location.
The Geary USD 475 Board of Education has voted 4-2 to hold a special election to consider approval of a new high school on a new site with a price not to exceed $105 million dollars. In his motion Board member Brian Field said that would be contingent on the school district receiving the March 2017 federal heavily impacted aid payment and the 48% state capital improvement aid for the project. The goal is to fund the project without any increase in the local property tax mill levy.
The JCHS Way Forward Steering Committee that has been studying the high school issue submitted a recommendation to the BOE Monday evening to build a new high school on a new site at a cost not to exceed $105 million and with no increase in the local property tax levy.
Board of Education members Brian Field, Ferrell Miller, LaDonna Junghans and Tom Brungardt voted in favor of the motion, while Carolyn Gaston and Anwar Khoury cast no votes.
Khoury said he was for a new school but wanted to see a project in the $85 million dollar range. He wanted the project sent out for three bids before the school board approved anything. He initiated a lengthy discussion that led the Board to take a five minute recess before returning for more discussion prior to the final vote. Gaston stated she was willing to go forward with the project but she agreed with Khoury on the cost estimate. “We deserve a new high school. I will tell you that. But I want it for the best price that we can possibly get, and I am not for giving somebody a blank check.”
Board member Ferrell Miller referred to the local schools, which have as one mission the task of educating the military family students at Fort Riley. . ” I think it is very important that we keep in mind what big Army is doing in reference to our community and what soldiers are looking at in terms of making decisions.” Miller noted that base realignment and closure is being looked at again, Fort Riley is important to Junction City, and soldiers go online and look at the schools before coming to the post. He added they make choices and the school district needs to be at the top of their game.
Board member Brian Fields stated that the district staff was tasked to develop a plan where a high school could be built without raising the mill levy, or affecting the local taxes, and they’ve done that. “We asked a steering committee to vet this and they’ve done that, and we asked them to bring a recommendation to us and they’ve done that.”
After more discussion the school board also voted 5-1 to adopt a resolution authorizing and providing for the calling of a bond election on May 9th. The possibilities of both a mail-in ballot and regular election at the polls were both discussed with the final choice an election at the polls.
First Infantry Division soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team conducted a combined-arms livefireexercise Friday on Fort Riley.
The CALFEX, conducted by Company B, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd ABCT, employed about 18 M1 Abrams battle tanks and M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles supported by AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and a company-level mortar team. A squad of combat engineers worked to support a breach of an enemy obstacle using live Bangalore torpedoes to allow the company to maneuver to its final objective.
Local community leaders and media were invited to witness the exercise.
Operation Danger Focus II is a month-long exercise designed to build leaders prepared for combat operations within a fully enabled live, constructive and virtual environment.
The exercise will better prepare “Dagger” brigade Soldiers for an upcoming rotation at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California.
The Executive Director of the Kansas State High School Activities Association delivered a clear message to the Junction City High School Academic Letter Banquet audience Thursday evening in the Shenk Gym.
A total of 257 students, sophomores through seniors, were recognized for their work in academics in the classroom.
Musselman, who served as keynote speaker at the banquet, told the audience, “The 257 young Junction City High School Blue Jays are getting an opportunity to be featured for the real reason that we have school. ” Musselman went on to say, “The activities of this school, the sports of this school, the things that drive too many people’s lives and bankrupt too many people in pursuit of the elusive college scholarship as my child’s going to be the second coming of Lebron or whoever it was, Elgin Baylor, or your era okay, I got news for you. This is why we have school…tonight. These 257 kids, this is why we have school.”
This was the 23rd year for the academic letter banquet, which honored students with a cumulative grade point averages of 3.5 or higher. In addition to a meal catered by Cox Barbecue there was musical entertainment as well during the banquet which was attended by parents, friends and teachers of the students.
Seniors who were honored at the JCHS Academic Letter BanquetJuniors who were recognized during the banquetSophomores were honored during the banquet
“We go after the assets of these criminal organizations, and it hurts them a lot worse than just taking them to jail.”
Asset forfeiture laws are making headlines once again.
Kansas Judiciary Committee members are awaiting input from an advisory committee before drafting any new policy regarding the law that allows law enforcement to seize and forfeit citizens’ property.
Tony Wolf, Geary County Sheriff, said that everyone “has this big misconception about asset forfeiture”.
“The asset forfeiture laws in this country have been around for 200 years, now if they were found to be in violation of the 4th Amendment then I think someone would have changed a lot of stuff between now and then,” said Wolf. “It’s an extra tool in the arsenal that we can use to hit these drug dealers where it hurts, and that’s right in the pocketbook; I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again that it is a lot like fighting terrorism, you hear the people in Washington, D.C. and they always talk about going after their assets and their funds…this is no different.”
Critics of the laws say the practice violates due process rights by allowing law enforcement to seize property from potentially innocent citizens.
Wolf said that’s misleading. “This is not something that we go out and we just find something and we take it – it does not work like that and [they] want you to believe that kind of stuff…you don’t ever hear the other side of the story…in [their] description a little league coach and real pillar of the community got their property seized, well you don’t hear why they were involved with the police in the first place and 99.9% of the time, they are involved in some type of criminal activity.”
Asset forfeiture is known to be a benefit to law enforcement, but it is also beneficial to the community.
“Once we are awarded [this] by a judge, through the court system which again completely debunks their due process theory, we can then spend this on things that we need that normally we could not afford,” said Wolf. “I buy cars for the department through asset forfeiture, I was able to upgrade the fleet of cars that I have because of asset forfeiture and I can’t expect the taxpayer to pay that.”
Wolf said that the money also helps keep Deputies up to date in training. “Recently I had a Deputy attend classes on Forensic Computer Analysis – that’s $30,000 for that training; you know I couldn’t do that within our regular budget that we have, so this is a big boost to help us get the tools that we need to pursue the criminal element even better.”
Everything from computer systems to bullet proof vests, cars and training were afforded to the Sheriff’s Department; Wolf reiterated that without asset forfeiture these expenses fall on taxpayers.
Junction City, Kansas is now on the map – both literally and figuratively, thanks to the efforts of the Junction City Noon Rotary Club.
2017 marks the 100th anniversary of the Junction City Rotary Club and as a tribute to the community, the community began work on having the Grand Army of the Republic Arch in Heritage Park listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Past President Mary Hogan said that in celebration of their 100 years as an organization, they wanted to find a worthy community project.
“We decided on the project of the Grand Army Republic Arch and it needs some restoration, so the group decided that it would be a wonderful project along with our 100th anniversary of our Rotary Club to restore our arch,” said Hogan.
The Arch was officially recognized on the State Register of Historic Places in December 2016, and as of January 11th, 2017 is now on the National Registry.
Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the Big Red One, Hogan said it was the perfect project. “I think it’s really apropos for the times that we’re in to honor our soldiers coming together this time after so much that we’ve been through; but our arch it’s just a beautiful memorial to our soldiers in this area that have come through over the last 100 years.”
Fundraising efforts are now being undertaken toward restoration and maintenance of the arch.
“We are working on restoring the marble/granite plaques that are on there that you can’t read what’s going on there right now so we want to put next to it a replication of the granite pieces so we can actually read it again,” said Hogan.
The Junction City Noon Rotary Club is trying to raise $30,000 for the project. Donations will be facilitated through the Geary County Historical Society Foundation.
With a 32-3 vote the JCHS Way Forward Steering Committee has recommended to the USD 475 Board of Education that a new Junction City High School be built at a new site at a maximum cost not to exceed $105 million, and with no increase in the property tax mill levy.
The motion on that recommendation was made by a member of the steering committee, Vic Davis. “I think it’s a great opportunity we have to build a new high school for the children of the future, and replace this building which has had a lot of good use and a lot of good memories. We’ve got an opportunity to do it without impacting our taxes, and I think it’s a great opportunity.” Davis added he was glad the committee has accepted that challenge and that will be the recommendation to the Board.
The proposal being considered calls for a new school to be financed by a combination of federal heavily impacted military aid and state aid with no increase in the local property tax levy. Voters in the district would need to approve a bond issue in order for USD 475 to qualify for the 48% state aid portion of the funding total. The committee recommendation goes to the Board of Education on February 6th.
During deliberations four options had been reviewed by the steering committee….do maintenance on infrastructure problems at the existing school, renovate the existing school, build a new high school at the current site, or build a new school at a new site, possibly on the west side of the city near the current Junction City Middle School. But it became clear Tuesday evening that a new high school could be located there or possibly at some other site. That will be up to the Board of Education to determine.
Davis made that clear as did Superintendent of Schools Dr. Corbin Witt. JC Post asked Witt if a new school would be located on the west side of town. He replied, “I don’t know that yet. We are currently looking for all of the available land. The Board has asked us to look for that. So we’re looking for that as we speak, so I can’t say that it would for sure be on the west side of town. We’re looking for any land that’s available right now.”
The steering committee is also strongly recommending that the Board do a new high school in one single phase and not in multiple phases. Committee member Jim Schmidt stated, “The consensus was if we’re going to after it and let’s go after it and get it done, and use the money we have available, understand the funds as they come in, and understand where the federal government is going to land and where the state is going to come in.”
The existing high school building was first built in 1958 with multiple additions in later years.
The Board of Education meeting on February 6th will be held at the Junction City High School cafeteria. It will begin at 5 p.m. During that session the Board could take action or could delay action for a short time. That is unknown at this point. It was noted during steering committee discussion if the BOE approved a bond issue resolution on February 6th that could allow for a possible election on that bond issue May 9th. Again….bond issue approval by voters would be necessary to obtain the state aid portion of the funding for a new high school project.
KJCK Mark Ediger interviewing Garrison Commander Col. John Lawrence, photo courtesy U.S. Army Fort Riley Garrison Commander Facebook
Fort Riley has a major economic impact on the Flint Hills region.
Garrison Commander Colonel John Lawrence said that the independent analysis done by the Matrix Design Group assessing Fort Riley’s impact on the region was a big talking point at the Regional Leader’s Retreat held earlier this month.
“Their report confirmed that Fort Riley is a large impact on the Flint Hills Region to the point of 45% of the economic impact of the five county region,” said Lawrence. “That’s a $10 billion economic schedule, but 4.5 billion of that is related to the military.”
Officials at Fort Riley are working to keep the major economic engine thriving.
“We just signed an agreement with the Veteran’s Administration to bring 150 new jobs to Fort Riley and allowing them a facility on the post to work with; this will not only help our civilian population and create some jobs, but it will also solidify that Fort Riley is a post that wants to be there in the future, and we’re working with different partners using excess capacity filling that with federal employees and keeping the Division safe and sound at Fort Riley,” said Lawrence.
In continued efforts working with the community, Lawrence said that he has been coined the “Mayor of Fort Riley”.
“I work with a lot of the local and the political leaders throughout the state and it’s very important that we be connected with the local communities and Fort Riley; and the two Mayors of both Junction City and Manhattan work very closely with me,” said Lawrence.
The number one goal for soldiers at Fort Riley, Home of the Big Red One is undoubtedly “readiness”, but Lawrence said that they also support and become a part of the community.
“[Soldiers] support the economy, they support the region and they’re good neighbors; we have 87 partnerships across the region in Junction City, Chapman, Abilene, Manhattan – you name it, we are partnered with it because we want to be a good neighbor,” said Lawrence.
Lawrence was a guest on KJCK 1420 AM – The Talk of JC morning show JC Now Tuesday morning. You can hear his entire interview here.
Geary County Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges presented a plaque to Bob Foreman.
Bob Foreman, Milford Township resident, served Geary County as a volunteer rural firefighter for approximately 28 years. He retired January 1st.
Foreman was honored during a reception at the Geary County Office Building on Monday. He remembered his time with the rural fire department when a neighbor got him to write a letter to the editor. “The sheriff ( at the time Bill Deppish ) responded, and said why don’t you just volunteer. I did. It turned out to be a really great deal. I highly recommend it for folks to get active in it, because in the county that’s your fire department.”
Foreman was presented with a plaque and his firefighting helmet during the reception at the County Office Building.
The final JCHS Way Forward Town Hall meeting was held Saturday morning at Warren Settles Auditorium at the Senior High.
Over 100 community members were in attendance, many of whom spoke out in favor of a new high school project.
Retired Big Red One soldier Ronald Clasberry said that he went into the meeting with a negative perception.
“After listening to the whole brief and considering everything that was said today and listening to the community…looking at the financial seat and seeing that my mil levy wasn’t going up, and all the technology that would be coming to the school I agree with the 105 (million) as far as the expenditure, but I also think it should be phased in,” said Clasberry.
Clasberry suggests “completing the main project and phasing in the rest as you go;” his logic being that the State financial woes are so severe – it creates uncertainty. Clasberry said that he’s confident in the School District’s assertion that the funds will be there if the community acts now.
Dr. Corbin Witt, Superintendent of Schools, said that the positive affirmations toward the District and Steering Committee were uplifting.
“I think we are always optimistic that we [will] get the information out and people learn the facts and then they make good decisions, so I know this community will make the best decision based on the facts that they learn,” said Witt.
While many were growing in support of a new high school project, others stood their ground in opposition.
“We don’t have enough information right now, we don’t have a clear plan to be able to make a decision on which direction we should go,” said Phil Diestelkamp. “Where is the location, that would be a really nice start, what will the disposition of the current facilities be – the current high school, will it be demolished, will it be used for some other source – what about the current Freshman Success Academy, we spent a lot of money over there…if a building stays, we still have to maintain it…if we go build a new [high school] and still leave those facilities in place, we will still spend money to maintain them.”
Diestelkamp’s concerns were surrounding the financial woes of the State, County and City adding that despite a flat mil levy promised by the District taxes would go up.
“That would take place no matter what happens as far as this discussion…the valuation of homes and things like that, we hope continue to go up – you don’t want your house to lose in valuation; as long as the community continues to grow, your home goes up in value,” said Witt.
Growth and community were echoed throughout Saturday’s Way Forward Town Hall meeting. A JCHS teacher said that with all the education initiatives and innovation that JCHS has taken, the outdated building does not and can not support that in the way that a newer facility would afford the students.
“I know this community will make the best decision based on the facts that they learn,” said Witt.
For a recap of Saturday’s town hall meeting streamed by BlueJay Media on JC Post check out the video below. If the audio is distorted, a full audio recap is available below as well.
February 8, 2017 is the 107th birthday of the Boy Scouts of America.
