The annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration is scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday at the C. L. Hoover Opera House in Junction City.
One of the organizers, Ronald Atkinson, noted that Dr. Cheryl Grice of Kansas State University will be the keynote speaker. She will speak on the thene, “It takes a Village; A Community Call to Action.” The Geary County Children’s Choir will also perform.
There will be a commemorative march at the conclusion of the celebration. Atkinson stated the march signifies the time when King had his march on Washington D.C. “When he did that famous I Have a Dream speech. I think that’s a way to celebrate something that he left behind.” Atkinson added that’s something that we can do in our own communities as well.
Geary County Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges reported that firefighters from that department responded to a blaze near K-18 Highway and Sage Road just after six a.m. Saturday. Dickinson County rural firefighters are also working the fire. No injuries have been reported.
Berges stated that when firefighters were notified a one-story residence was fully engulfed in flames. “Nobody home at the time of the fire. Due to a furnace malfunction they were staying away from the residence, so no injuries.” The identity of the family is not yet available.
“There were about five or six hay bales across the road that also caught fire so Dickinson County requested assistance from Geary County. We responded with two trucks and personnel to assist.”
Local emergency personnel participated in a webinar with the National Weather Service Friday afternoon in Junction City.
Geary County Emergency Management Director Gary Berges said the predicted ice storm will hit the area slightly later than expected.
“We’re going to probably see the storm coming in later tomorrow afternoon instead of mid-morning like they originally planned…some of the models are showing that the temperature is going to be a little bit higher so we might not get the ice accumulation that [they] are predicting,” said Berges.
The heaviest impact from the ice storm is projected to hit late Saturday and overnight into Sunday morning. The ice storm warning issued by the National Weather Service for 6:00 pm Friday (tonight) until midnight Sunday, January 15th is still in effect.
Reduced amounts of ice have been forecast ranging from 1/4 of an inch to half an inch for Geary County. There will be isolated pockets where there will be a one inch ice fall over the course of the weekend.
Hazardous travel conditions are expected as well as possible scattered to numerous power outages. Have emergency home kits ready and prepared.
URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TOPEKA KS
245 PM CST THU JAN 12 2017
NEMAHA-BROWN-RILEY-POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-
WABAUNSEE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…SABETHA…SENECA…HIAWATHA…HORTON…
MANHATTAN…WAMEGO…ST. MARYS…HOLTON…ABILENE…HERINGTON…
JUNCTION CITY…COUNCIL GROVE…ALMA…ESKRIDGE…MAPLE HILL…
ALTA VISTA…MCFARLAND…HARVEYVILLE…PAXICO
245 PM CST THU JAN 12 2017
…ICE STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PMFRIDAY TO MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT…
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED AN ICE STORM
WARNING…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PMFRIDAY TO MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.
* TIMING…LIGHT FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED TO BEING ACCUMULATING FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY ACROSS THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA.
INTENSITY IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE THROUGH SUNDAY.
* ICE ACCUMULATIONS…HALF AN INCH TO ONE INCH OF ICE POSSIBLE BY SUNDAY AFTERNOON…WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.
* MAIN IMPACT…ROADWAYS… BRIDGES AND ELEVATED SURFACES WILL
BECOME INCREASINGLY SLICK INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON. AS
ACCUMULATIONS INCREASE SATURDAY EVENING INTO SUNDAY…DAMAGE TO
TREE LIMBS… POWER LINES… AND SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO TRAVEL
ARE EXPECTED.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
AN ICE STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF ICE ACCUMULATIONS
WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. TRAVEL IS STRONGLY
DISCOURAGED. COMMERCE WILL LIKELY BE SEVERELY IMPACTED. IF YOU
MUST TRAVEL…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT…FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. ICE ACCUMULATIONS AND WINDS WILL
LIKELY LEAD TO SNAPPED POWER LINES AND FALLING TREE BRANCHES THAT
ADD TO THE DANGER.
Friday, January 13th projected accumulations
Saturday, January 14th projected accumulations
Sunday, January 15th projected accumulations
Additional ice accumulations may occur Sunday in the shaded area
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Topeka has issued a Winter Storm Watch for our area that is in effect through Sunday evening.
Forecasters are predicting a high probability of ice accumulations throughout the area. Area counties potentially in the path for the winter storm include: Riley, Pottawatomie, Dickinson, Geary, Morris and Wabaunsee.
Light freezing rain/drizzle will develop Friday morning with widespread freezing rain expected to impact all areas Saturday through Sunday. Most areas can expect ice accumulations of half an inch to one inch by Sunday evening. Snow/sleet are also likely with this storm.
Forecasters have indicated with a high degree of confidence that all areas will see freezing rain this weekend. Some areas north of Interstate 70 could see additional heavy ice accumulations depending on how fast air temperatures rise to above freezing on Sunday and Sunday night.
This storm carries a potential for damage to trees and power lines from the potential heavy ice accumulations. There will be power outages – how widespread that will be is not yet confirmed.
There will be extremely hazardous travel conditions especially on bridges, overpasses, and untreated roadways. It is best to stay home during these conditions, avoiding driving if possible.
City public works staff will be on 12 hour shifts in anticipation of the storm this weekend, and law enforcement will conduct regular patrols. A shelter has not been setup at this time, the Red Cross will make the ultimate decision to staff a community shelter if it is deemed necessary. If you lose power, stay inside and stay warm – wear extra clothing and have blankets readily available.
Local officials were briefed on the impending storm this afternoon and will get another update from the National Weather Service and Geary County Emergency Management staff on Friday afternoon.
Friday, January 13th projected accumulations
Saturday, January 14th projected accumulations
Sunday, January 15th projected accumulations
Additional ice accumulations may occur Sunday in the shaded area
Explosive device found near Herington -photo courtesy KWCH
A 17 year old suspect has been arrested for constructing an explosive device.
Herington Police officer received a tip and notified the Dickinson County Sheriff’s office. An interview and investigation led the Sheriff’s Department to arrest and charge the 17 year old in Dickinson County Court.
On the evening of Wednesday, January 11th, 2017 law enforcement from the Sheriff’s Department, the Dickinson County Drug Unit, and the Herington Police Department executed a search warrant on a Herington residence where the 17 year old suspect resided.
The 17 year old male will face charges in Dickinson County Court for Criminal use of explosives, Possession of marijuana, and Possession of drug paraphernalia. He is currently being held in the Juvenile Detention Facility in Junction City awaiting a first appearance in court.
There will be two public town hall meetings in January on the possibility of building a new Junction City High School. The first one will be on Tuesday, January 17th at 5:30 p.m. and the second session will be on January 28th at 10 a.m. Both meetings will be in the Warren Settles Auditorium at the current Junction City High School Career Academy campus.
Information will be presented on the need for a new high school, different options for building of a facility, including the costs and how the facility could be financed through a combination of federal heavily impacted military aid and state aid funds.
The public will be able to pose questions about this project.
The town hall meeting on the 17th will be broadcast on 1420 KJCK, The Talk of JC. It will also be live streamed on JCPost.com and on the USD 475 website.
The JCHS Way Forward Steering Committee is hosting the town hall meetings in order to inform the public and answer questions about the project.
