The Junction City – Geary County United Way will not meet its $140,000 annual fundraising goal. But there will be funding for agencies and organizations that are being served.

Nicole Mahder, Executive Director, discussed the fundraising drive, noting it is winding down. “Unfortunately this was a very bad year for us, but we still are doing everything we can. We came in at just under $100,000, but there’s still time left and we’ll still do everything that we can.”

The recent match day fundraiser coordinated by the Greater Geary Community Foundation did provide some extra assistance for United Way. Mahder stated they received funding. “So that will be applied to these funds so that we don’t have to make any of the cuts that we unfortunately have to make when we’re short.” She confirmed the match day money will raise the fundraising total to approximately $106,000.

Mahder said they wanted to reach $140,000 because it would have allowed United Way to fully fund all of their agencies and financial commitments, and do desired small extra things. “Right now we have to bare bone everything because we don’t have the funding. If we hit the $140,000 we would be able to do everything at 100% and be able to start branching out and do more things for the community.”

United Way serves 14 agencies in Geary County.

 

Junction CIty police responded to the 100 block of East Vine Street Monday evening for a subject who had been stabbed. Detective Lieutenant Cory Odell reported that upon arrival officers found Eddie Starks, 55, Junction City, suffering from a stab wound. He was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka where he was later pronounced dead.

Through their investigation police arrested a suspect, Vondra Brown, 49, Junction City, on suspicion of Second Degree Murder.

The incident was reported to police at 9:24 p.m.

No other suspects are being sought at this time, and police said there is no on-going threat to the public. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Junction City Police Department.

Geary County officials have received good news on assessed valuation.  It has gone up!

County Clerk Rebecca Nordyke said Monday that the numbers in the entire county are up about $4 million compared to one year ago at this time. “The residential and some of the commercial property has gone up.”

Nordyke added that the county also went up about $1.4 million in state asssessed utilities. “This is really good news because over the past couple of years we’ve actually been losing value so to have some increases is good for us.” That could potentially produce more tax revenue but Nordyke noted that would depend on what the county commission does with the 2020 budgets.

She has advised the commission to be conservative in their budget planning for 2020 by dropping $1 million from their estimates due to anticipated appraised value appeals to the State Board of Tax Appeals by a pair of lodging establishments and one church.

The Corps of Engineers daily lake information for Milford Reservoir showed the elevation Monday morning at 1172.02, down about seven-tenths of a foot from Friday.

The normal multipurpose pool elevation is 1144.40.

The lake is open for use but numerous campgrounds and boat docks are out of service due to the high water. The Operations Manager for the Corps of Engineers Bill Whitworth said it may take quite awhile for the water to drop until the Corps once starts consistently releasing water. “Things will need to dry out before we can put heavy equipment on those sites. We pulled out breakers from a lot of the electrical services from our campgrounds. It’ll take awhile to assess the damage, replant seed, regrass a lot of the areas that are under water. It’ll be a fairly significant cleanup.”

The 25th annual Juneteenth celebration in Junction City took center stage in Heritage Park on Saturday.

Participants engaged in activities ranging from gospel music to a reading of the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln. There was a Junction City proclamation signed by the mayor Pat Landes, and read by Juneteenth Coordinator Jim Sands which stated June 8th was declared Juneteenth in the City of Junction City, “and urge all citizens to become more aware of the significance of the A celebration and African-American history and in heritage of our city and nation.”

Juneteenth is celebrated in recognition of the time in 1865 in the south and southwest that the slaves first learned about the Emancipation Proclamation signed by Abraham Lincoln.

Other activities included a skit to a Juneteenth Got Talent Show. There was a car show and numerous booths and tables set up by different organizations featuring a variety of products, messages and food.

The Corps of Engineers reported on Friday that the current Milford Lake elevation is 1172.45, which is 28.05 feet above normal.

The Corps is currently 4,000 cubic feet per second and plans to do so through June 12th. They are forecasting a lake level of 1171.70 by June 20th, which would still leave the reservoir approximately 27 feet above normal.

 

By Jeannette Demars

JC Post

The first ever Geary County Sheriff’s Department Community Involvement Team completed Camp SHIELD last week at the Rock Springs 4-H Center. Twenty-six youth from Geary County fifth and sixth grade schools were selected for the camp which stands for Sheriffs Helping to Inspire and Encourage through Leadership Development.

The students which included 14 boys and 12 girls, spent the week doing such activities as team building exercises, archery, shooting and a couple movie nights. An anti-alcohol class which involved driving a pedal car with “drunk goggles” gave the campers a simulation of how it is to try and navigate under the influence of alcohol.

Junction City-Geary County SWAT gave a demonstration and let the campers explore its command vehicle and see how the equipment works. Geary County Sheriff’s deputies gave them some understanding of fighting fires and even let the campers put on gear. Rock climbing, water games and more games rounded out the week which was four nights and five days.

Counselors for the camp were Sheriff’s Deputies, department civilian personnel and CIT Board members. Junction Police Department personnel assisted with the camp during the day.

Each of the campers were given a Camp SHIELD hoodie; two t-shirts, a water bottle, back pack, challenge coin, personal hygiene supplies, a certificate of completion, pens, pencils, key chains and a week of unforgettable memories.

Local law enforcement officers, school personnel and community members assisted in helping to identify which children in the community would benefit the most from attending Camp SHIELD.  There were several circumstances as to why a child was selected to attend the all-inclusive camp such as the student possibly worked extremely hard during the school year; he or she may have come upon a difficult time in their life, somebody may have referred the child because he or she could benefit from a positive experience.

Students attended the camp for free. All costs were paid for by CIT through its fund-raising efforts over the past three years. The camp costs approximately $14,000 in its entirety.

The Community Involvement Team is a non-profit 501c3 community coalition that aims at building a positive rapport between law enforcement members and the citizens of Geary County and surrounding communities.  The support of the local community is vital for the success of the organization. The CIT board is comprised of 15 law enforcement personnel and community members.

The Community Involvement Program currently participates in numerous events within Geary County to include Touch a Truck, 4H Fair, Junction City Block Party, Shop with a Cop, Operation Milford Santa, Sundown Salute, an Easter Egg Hunt and the Float your Boat event.  At the events CIT members are available to meet and greet with the citizens of Geary County and surrounding communities to provide children with water bottles, educational materials, crayons, junior deputy badges and more. The cost for these events alone exceeds $2,000 annually.

CIT can be contacted through its Facebook page, Geary County Sheriff’s Department Community Involvement Team; e-mail; GearyCountyCITTeam@aol.com; or call to leave a message at 785-210-3655. Its mailing address is: CIT – 826 N. Franklin St. – Junction City, KS 66441

 

 

By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

During a remembrance ceremony at Fort Riley, Brig. Gen. Todd Wasmund said D-Day was not a story from the history books. “D-Day was real Soldiers, most drafted, many or all afraid who nonetheless embarked on this great crusade as Eisenhower called it to bring about security in a free world. ”

The names of 316 1st Infantry Division Soldiers killed on D-Day were

read aloud during the ceremony on post. Wasmund stated they were men from all walks of life that “accomplished a great victory in the face of terrible odds. Their selfless service and sacrifice eliminated tyranny over the peoples of Europe and won a lasting peace that endures today under the watchful eye of the U.S. and our allies in Europe. That lasting peace is a legacy of these names”

Six World War II veterans were in attendance for the ceremony on Fort Riley. One of them, Oscar Larmer, Manhattan was with the 90th Infantry that fought across France on the north flank of Patton’s Third Army. “Went through the Maginot Line and the Siegfried Line. I was in France for about four months, and it was a cold winter. I fought several little skirmishes cleaning out churches and hedgerows as we went across with Patton.”

John Lindholm, Manhattan, was a B-17 pilot that flew across the Rhine River into Germany. He remembered the fire from the Germans. “Looked like a wall of flak up there ahead of me. ” Lindholm remembered being in Piccadilly Square in London the day the war in Europe ended, and with a chuckle his reaction. ” Well I kissed probably one of the girls there.”

The remembrance ceremony was held at Victory Park adjacent to the 1st Division Headquarters. It included a 21-gun Salute, the retiring of the colors and the presentation of the Flag.

1st Infantry Division troops were among those landing on Omaha Beach June 6, 1944. It was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting during the D-Day invasion in Normandy.

Dr. Robert Smith, Fort Riley Museums Director, explained that during the landing the troops needed to get off the beach quickly. There were only five ways, or draws, off the beach. “There were between 75 and 100-foot cliffs on either side, and you had the Germans looking down on those 1st Infantry Division Soldiers. It wasn’t very pleasant and that’s an understatement.”

An earlier bombardment of the German fortifications at Omaha Beach did not work very well. The 16th Infantry Regiment of the Big Red One was the assault regiment, and was followed by the 18th. “The 16th took about two-thirds of the casualties on Omaha Beach that day. The 18th took about another one-third of those casualties. They were the followup regiment.” Smith described the scene on Omaha Beach as “incredibly chaotic.”

Today the Big Red One is headquartered at Fort Riley. On Thursday, the 75th anniversary of D-Day will be commemorated on post with a ceremony at 4 p.m. The ceremony will pay tribute to the 316 Soldiers of the 1st Infantry Division who were killed on June 6, 1944.  There will be a reading of the names of the fallen, remarks by Brig. Gen. Todd Wasmund, 1st Infantry Division Deputy Commanding General for Supportm and a 21-gun salute fired by the 1st Infantry Division artillery.

Milford Lake is currently 28-feet above normal conservation pool level. The lake is open for use but the high water has impacted many campgrounds and some boat docks.

The Operations Project Manager for the Corps of Engineers, Bill Whitworth, noted that’s a lot of water and there are things you can’t see. “Until the water drops and that may take quite awhile once we start releasing consistently things will need to dry out before we can put heavy equipment on those sites. We pulled out breakers from a lot of electrical services on our campgrounds. It will take awhile to assess the damage, replant seed, regrass a lot of the areas that are under water. It will be a fairly significant cleanup.”

The Corps of Engineers began releasing 4,000 cubic feet per second this week from Milford Lake. Prior to that they were required hold water in the reservoir to prevent downstream flooding.