The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning Wednesday night and early Thursday morning for multiple area counties and cities. They includeClay-Riley-Dickinson-Geary-Morris-Wabaunsee-Shawnee-Douglas-Lyon- Osage-Franklin-Coffey and Anderson, including the cities of Clay Center, Manhattan, Abilene, Herington, Junction City, Council Grove, Alma, Eskridge, Maple Hill, Alta Vista, McFarland, Harveyville, Paxico, Topeka, Lawrence, Emporia, Osage City, Carbondale, Lyndon, Burlingame, Overbrook, Ottawa, Burlington, Lebo, and Garnett

HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CDT THURSDAY… …WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 7 AM TO 7 PM CDT THURSDAY… * TIMING…Very strong southeast to south winds will continue into early this evening. A brief break from the strong winds may occur late Wednesday evening. Winds are forecast to strengthen once again later tonight while becoming west to northwest, with strong winds continuing into Thursday. * Winds…Sustained winds of 25 to 40 mph with occasional gusts to 60 mph are expected into early this evening. Sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with occasional gusts to 50 mph are expected late tonight into Thursday.

* IMPACTS…Driving will be hazardous especially for those traveling in high profile vehicles. Winds this strong may cause structural and property damage especially to roofs. Be sure to secure all outdoor property.

Oscar-winning screenwriter, acclaimed filmmaker and Junction City native Kevin Willmott, will be the keynote speaker for “The Art of Democracy” all-day engagement symposium at Kansas State University on Thursday, March 21st. The symposium is co-organized by the office of the Provost and the Center for Engagement and Community Development.

Willmott will present “BlacKkKlansman: A Response to the Resurgence of Overt Racism in America Today” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Bluemont Room at the K-State Student Union. No tickets are required and the public is invited to attend.

A professor film at the University of Kansas, WIllmott co-wrote the film “BlacKkKlansman” with director Spike Lee and other collaborators. The film earned the Oscar for best adapted screenplay at the recent 91st Academy Awards ceremony.

In hi keynote address, “The Art of Democracy,” Willmott will discuss how “BlacKkKlansman” explores and exemplifies the rise of racism, Charlottesville, the Muslim travel ban and the government shutdown over funding for the wall. “BlacKkKlansman” is based on the true story of and book by Ron Stallworth, a young African-American police officer who infiltrated a cell of the Ku Klux Klan in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the late 1970s.

Willmott’s talk is presented by the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art at Kansas State University in partnership with the university’s Dow Center for Multicultural and Community Studies, the Center for Engagement and Community Development, Department of Art, UFM Community Learning Center and Black Student Union.

“How Sweet the Sound” is the title for the Easter Celebration Concert planned by United Way of Junction City.

United Way Director Nicole Mahder said the concert will be Saturday, April 13th at 2 p.m. at Junction City Middle School. Doors will open at 1 p.m. The entry fee is $5.

There will be performances by local church choirs and praise / worship teams. Proceeds will support United Way initiatives including efforts to help meet family needs, health, education and safety initiatives within the Geary County community.

Saturday, March 30th is the day for a King Kat Tournament Trail regional qualifier.

Rick Dykstra with the Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau said officials have been informed registration is high for this event. “They’re fishing for catfish, which includes the channel cat, the blue cat and the flathead, but I think we’re going to see a lot of blue cats. With the new slot here they can only keep one of the monster fish, and they’re four of the smaller ones and the smaller ones are still big. It’s going to be really exciting.”

Kansas Wildlife Parks & Tourism has been stocking the lake with blue catfish since the early 1990s.  Dykstra believes it’s possible there could be a new record set in the tournament for blue catfish. “I encourage everybody to come out to the weigh-in which is going to be there at Acorn’s Resort.” Dykstra added he thinks there may be a blue catfish caught that is over 85 or 90 pounds.

Participating anglers must be a member of the King Kat Association. They will be vying for an opportunity to advance to the national 2019 King Kat Classic November 1-2 on the Tennessee River ( at Wheeler Lake ) in Decatur, Alabama.

The Corps of Engineers have reported that snow and ice melting have put the current flow of water into the lake at 5,830 cubic feet per second, and the lake continues to rise above the Corps’ winter target of 1141.40.

Due to downstream gauge criteria the Corps has reduced outflows from 600 cfs to 25 cfs which is the lowflow stage. The current lake elevation is 1142.71 and rising.

The current forecast indicates the lake level reaching 1148.52 on March 25th with no additional precipitation, and that would be a seven-foot rise in pool, four-feet over the normal pool level.

Additional precipitation is forecast this week so the Corps has indicated that they are sure the forecast will change.

Junction City Commissioner Phyllis Fitzgerald is working with city staff to put hanging baskets in the 600 block of North Washington Street. It’s a beautification project for downtown.

Fitzgerald said there will be ten hanging baskets, five on both sides of the street. “It will be the start of what I hope will continue and our whole downtown with the next year or two will have hanging baskets.”

Fitzgerald said the baskets are 18-inch metal baskets with a lining inside. She wants to hang the baskets for permanent display in May and they would stay up until sometime in September.  The City staff would provide the necessary watering for the flowers and maintenance. Private and business donations are financing the project.

Fitzgerald said there has been a suggestion to put petunias in the baskets. They are a hardy type of flower in the Kansas weather.

 

Geary USD 475 plans to move freshman from the Freshman Success Academy building to the Career Academy Campus building next school year. That in turn will allow the Boys & girls Club, Parents as Teachers program and some programs from the Larry Dixon Center to be moved into the FSA building.

Those moves will allow the school district to expand their early childhood program at the Heim Building, explained the Chief Operations Officer for USD 475, David Wild.

The Board of Education provided the necessary authorization for the moves during their meeting last week.

There are still some possible plans being considered as well for the Larry DIxon Center. Wild confirmed officials at looking at the possibility of moving the Information Technology Department to that facility just off West Sixth Street.

The American Red Cross responds to approximately 64,000 disasters each year and most are home fires. Red Cross Disaster Action Teams are the first line of care, comfort and compassion for those affected by a disaster.

In fiscal year 2018 there were 483 DAT responses in Kansas and demand for those services is rising. To meet those demands the Red Cross is making an urgent call for new volunteers.

No previous experience is required. Volunteers will be trained to respond to a scene of a disaster and properly assist those affected. The Red Cross is offering special disaster volunteer training sessions this spring.

Training sessions are scheduled March 12th and 14th from 1-5 p.m. at the Topeka Red Cross office at 1221 SW 17th Street in the capitol city, and on March 23rd from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Manhattan Public Library at 629 Poyntz Avenue. For information on those sessions, contact Sarah Wickham at Sarah.Wickham@redcross.org.

By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

Kansas State ( 24-7 )  has captured a share of the Big 12 men’s basketball championship with a 68-53 win over the Oklahoma Sooners ( 19-12 ) at Bramlage Coliseum.

K-State took a 10-point lead to the locker room at halftime and then expanded the lead to 29 points in the second half enroute to the win. As the game ended confetti fell on the floor, the Big 12 championship trophy was presented to the team. and the players and coaches cut down the nets. It was also Senior Day for three Wildcats who played their final home game, Dean Wade, Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes.

Following the game K-State coach Bruce Weber said it couldn’t be a better story as he referred to the team. “To have that group be honored like they were and then to win the game like this and to celebrate it was special.”

Weber commented that he was so proud of the seniors, the whole team, their resilience. K-State lost their first two games in Big 12 play as they dealt with injuries, but would later reel off nine consecutive victories in Big 12 play. “for them to continue to fight and battle, this is about them, them to enjoy it. It’s so great that, to be part of it. It’s a thing you dream about for them.”

Kansas State will share the Big 12 regular season championship with Texas Tech, who defeated Iowa State on Saturday in Ames 80-73. Both teams finished 14-4 in conference play.

For Kansas State it was their first Big 12 regular season title in six years.

K-State will get the number one seed in the Big 12 Tournament at Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri next week. The Wildcats will have a first-round bye on Wednesday and then meet the winner of TCU and Oklahoma State on Thursday. The tournament runs through Saturday.

The Environmental Services team at Geary Community Hospital ( Crothall Healthcare ) has received awards for their work at the hospital. They keep the facility clean in every capacity, and cleanliness is often a major factor in the hospital’s patient satisfaction survey scores.

According to a news release from GCH, the patient satisfaction survey is the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems, and is required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for all hospitals in the United States.

The GCH – Crothall EVS team received awards for highest HCAHPS survey results of a quarter in the region for the fourth quarter in 2016, second quarter in 2017 and third quarter in 2018, highest HCAHPS survey results in all 500 hospitals that Crothall Healthcare North America manages for the second quarter 2017 and third quarter 2018, and highest improvement of HCAHPS survey scores since the contract start and sustained ( 13% increase under three years ).