Three brigades cased their colors during a ceremony at Fort RIley on Tuesday.

The 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade and 1st Sustainment Brigade are deploying on overseas assignment. The first two units are headed to Europe while the Sustainment Brigade will be providing support in Afghanistan.

Junction City Commissioner Phyllis Fitzgerald was in attendance for the casing ceremony at Marshall Army Airfield. “So they case the colors when they leave. All the Soldiers are starting to leave for deployment. We just keep them in our thoughts and prayers and we have assured them while they’re gone that we will help to take care of their families, and we’ll be here for them and the Soldiers when they return.”

The nine-month deployments are expected to include more than 5,000 Soldiers.

By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

Spare Time Interactive Entertainment is coming to Fort Riley. The ribbon cutting for the new facility is set for 4 p.m. Thursday at 7485 Normandy Drive.

Activities will range from golf simulation and a multi-sport simulator to batting cages and yard games. There will be a Kids Beam area with an interactive kids gaming project, you can play a round of glow mini-golf or a game of bowling as a family. You can watch games on the 250 inch Megatron. Food and beverage will be available for purchase.

The Business Manager, Nicole Troilo, said there are 15 bowling lanes, including 12 for traditional bowling. “Some of our lanes are actually going to be turned into hype-bowling. That’s going to happen a little bit down the road.” Troilo said it’s a new exciting way to bowl where the goal is to hit the bumpers.

There are two golf simulators with hydraulic floors. “You hit the ball and say if you land in a bunker it actually raises and tilts. Feel like you’re standing on the landscape of the hole itself.” There are different courses ranging from Pebble Beach to Harbor Bay.

There free open play at Spare Time Interactive Entertainment from Thursday through Sunday of this week. The hours for free open play are 4:15 p.m. – 9 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday, and noon until 10 p.m. on Sunday.

 

By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

Charles Stimatze will serve a second consecutive year as chairman of the Geary County Commission. He was reelected to that position by his fellow commissioners Monday during their annual reorganization.

Stimatze praised his fellow commissioners, Ben Bennett and Keith Ascher, for their help. During his first year as chairman Stimatze noted he learned the key is to listen. “In my opinion listen. There’s always different ways to do things.”

Keith Ascher will continue serving as vice chairman and Ben Bennett as secretary for the governing body.

The commissioners will retain the same seats on different public boards and committees as in 2018. For example, Bennett will serve on the Chamber of Commerce Board, Military Affairs Council and Flint Hills Regional Council, Ascher on the Convention & Visitor’s Board and Stimatze on the Economic Development Commission.

 

The project manager for the new Junction City High School, Brandon Brungardt of Hutton Construction, said the design phase is under way for the building construction. “The architects at Schaefer, Johnson, Cox and Frey are about 25 percent complete with the construction documents.  So during this stage of design, Hutton Construction and myself, we are working wit Schaefer constantly giving them budget feedback.”

Brungardt said when complete the JCHS project will stand alone for awhile in the state of Kansas. ” I fully expect other districts as they look to grow their education coming to Junction City to look at this school and say okay we really like this. How do we duplicate what Junction City has.”

Brungardt explained he expects to receive the dirt package for the project in the near future. “And then we look at about two weeks turnaround from our subcontractors to price that out, another week for me to review all of the prices, sit with the Junction City school district and the architect, make sure we’ve got everything covered. And then we’ll actually submit that for approval the middle of February to the school board. Once given approval we’re going to hit the ground running.” Large equipment will be mobilized and they could then start moving dirt by March 1st.

The goal is to have the new school built and in use by August of 2021.

The 2019 session of the Kansas Legislature begins Monday in Topeka.

State Representative Lonnie Clark will take the oath of office for his third two-year term in the Kansas House. “they’ll call legislators ten at a time to the well and we’ll be sworn in for another two-year term. And they’ll continue to call them up ten at a time until everybody in the House that returned this year, and the new legislators are sworn in for a new two-year term.”

Clark and Dave Baker, who both represent portions of Junction City, will begin new terms in the House. Baker was reelected to his second two-year term.

Laura Kelly is scheduled to take her oath of office at 11 a.m. Monday on the south lawn of the Kansas State Capitol.

By DEWEY TERRILL
JC Post

Troop deployments to Europe have been under way from Fort Riley.

This past week, the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army, Mark Edwards, Junction City, noted that equipment has been shipped and will meet the troops in Belgium in a couple of weeks.

“The flow of the troops has kind of already occurred, and then we’re also going to have the flow of troops from the Second Brigade when they flow out to NTC (National Training Center) but that won’t be until February,” he said.

Edwards estimated just shy of 3,000 Soldiers are in the group deploying to Europe, and 500 headquarters personnel are already in Europe preparing for them. The Second Brigade would consist of about 3,500 Soldiers.

Edwards says everything that can be done is being undertaken to ensure that there are more activities on post that will bring smaller units to Fort Riley. “And that’s really our goal. And eventually we’re hopeful we’ll get our brigade back that was set aside at the time of sequestration.”

The update on troop deployments was provided to the Military Affairs Council this past week.

The Courtyard By Marriott Convention Center is the site for the VFW State Convention in Junction City this weekend.

Junction City Commissioner Phyllis Fitzgerald provided welcome remarks on Saturday.

The Corps of Engineers has announced that the controlled drawdown at Milford Lake has begun. They are taking the lake down three feet below normal to an elevation of 1141.4. They are currently releasing 3,000 cubic feet of water per second and should be close to the target level in 10 days, depending on inflows and downstream conditions.

The current lake elevation is 1144.75.

The current inflow at the Clay Center gauge is 1,160 cfs.

The Corps plans to maintain the lake elevation at 1141.4 until mid-March. That will eradicate any exposed zebra mussels and provide clear spawning areas for walleye. They will then allow the lake to gradually increase to 1143 elevation and maintain it through the summer.

The basketball games between Junction City and Emporia High School teams that were scheduled Friday night at the Shenk Gym at JCHS have been postponed.

The makeup date will be Saturday, February 2nd. The specific game times still must be determined.

The postponement is due to travel concerns for the Emporia teams. Snow is in the forecast Friday night.

By DEWEY TERRILL
JC Post

Bob Laster will bring his 32-year run as Junction City Blue Jay head wrestling coach to an end at the conclusion of the current season.  Laster has announced his intention to retire.

“I have already told my team that this is my last year as the Junction City High School wrestling coach. In fact this is my retirement year from teaching as well as from coaching.” Laster has also served as a physical education teacher at JCHS. He has spent a total of 35 years as a coach in the program, including three seasons as an assistant before becoming head coach. Laster also competed as a wrestler for the Blue Jays during his time as a student at JCHS.

“I’m 61 right now. Basically I want to do something different, and also give somebody else an opportunity to take over this program. I’ve been doing it for 32 years and I think it’s time for a change, and I’m ready to make that change.”

During his tenure there have been a number of outstanding wrestlers and good teams. Laster remembered a squad that finished second in the Class 6A State Tournament, some league championships and some individual wrestlers like Bobby Lashley, who went on to compete in professional WWE wrestling. ”

As for his future plans the coach stated they will include “anything to do with i-n-g. Traveling, fishing, golfing, any of those words. That’s my plan, just to keep up with the i-n-g  words.”

Laster will lead the Blue Jays into the Basehor-Linwood Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday.