Major General Joseph Martin told a suicide prevention summit in Junction City Friday that there must be an effort to confront head-on the problem of suicidal thought and behavior.

The commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley, stated the goal is to eliminate suicide from the active duty ranks and veteran’s community.

There have been a number of soldier suicides in the Fort Riley region in recent months, and many across the nation.

Martin noted suicide is difficult to predict. “Only trend I see is someone becomes so hopeless at what they’re facing in life that they no longer value their life.” He stated each of us is different with different sensors, and that trends can stem from relationships, financial or work stressor issues.

The commanding general added that the culture in the military is not always open to discuss this topic. To help meet the challenge there must be trust, mutual respect and empathy between the leaders and those that they lead.  Data on suicide attempts have been studied to try and develop counter methods to deal with it, but sometimes the problem comes out of nowhere.

Martin reported that leader development is a critical aspect of the 1st Infantry Division and that has been reviewed. They want young NCO’s to be able to help identify stressors in a Soldier’s life, and there are visits to Soldiers they lead at their quarters both on and off post. He added that the best prevention is engaged leaders and peers.

During his comments Martin called for a need to change the perception within the community on the value of our lives.  “We want to work to solve whatever issues that may exist.” He said they tell Soldiers they are not alone and asking for help is not a weakness, but in his opinion, a sign of courage.

Martin encouraged those attending the summit that together they can achieve the goal of eliminating suicide in our active and veteran’s ranks.

“Remembering Vietnam” is the title of a program scheduled Saturday at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene.

The Deputy Director of the Library, Tim Rives, said this will be an opportunity to meet Vietnam veterans. “Of course we’ll have so many folks there sharing their stories but it will be a chance to greet other veterans, perhaps share their stories informally.

Rives added there will be a special lapel pin for Vietnam veterans and Vietnam era veterans that will be presented to them on Saturday as a sign of the nation’s gratitude for their service.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. with a keynote address by Chris Lovett, a Vietnam veteran and professor at Emporia State University, presenting an overview of the Vietnam War.

There will be a panel discussion about federal policy at 11:15 a.m., a panel discussion with Vietnam veterans, and a presentation on “Vietnam: Then and Now” by Rick Williamson, a Vietnam veteran who returned to Vietnam for a 19-day tour in 2015.

A mock fire explosion, response by firefighters, police and additional emergency personnel were part of the live training exercise at the Cloud County Community College Geary County campus Wednesday afternoon.

Junction City Fire Chief Terry Johnson said the drill was initiated by the college to test their preparedness and response efforts. ” We took our part of it to see how our folks would respond and work with what we call a unified command. That’s where all the bodies come together, fire, police, ems, the occupant at the school. Everybody comes together and we figure out what we can do better, what we need to work on. It helps us understand what we’re going to be dealing with on

different levels.”

Johnson noted there was good cooperation between the school and emergency services. The evacuation plans worked well and all the buildings were evacuated in a timely manner.

A pair of students at the school were among the mock victims for the exercise, Krissy Still and Jennifer Schultz. Decorated in fake blood over face and neck for the exercise, Schultz called it an eye-opening experience. “Going in as a secondary education teacher, having this experience, it definitely gives you an opening of what could happen, what to be prepared for or what not to be prepared for.” Still said the experience was real. ” I had real tears because seeing everybody messed up and being a mom, this opens your eyes because anything can happen no matter where you are. It doesn’t matter who you are, anything can happen.

The Lead Math Instructor for the campus, Dr. Gwen Carnes said the exercise went according to plan due to a lot of hard work from outside personnel. The Fire Department, EMS and the instructors here who practice and try as much as possible to prepare for an event like this.”

The annual Celebration of Teaching banquet is May 7th in Junction City.

The Director of the Geary Community Schools Foundation Margie Pinaire said Roland Fabia will be the guest speaker. “He’s a 1973 ( JCHS ) graduate. He spent over 40 years, his career in intelligence. He’s worked for vice presidents, the president, lots of important people and has a very lengthy resume.”

This will be the 14th year for the Celebration of Teaching banquet.

GEARY COUNTY —  The bridge that carries Interstate 70 eastbound in Geary County over Clarks Creek is open again.

KDOT closed the bridge and detoured drivers after they found debris from a previous overlay that needed cleaned up and patched.

KDOT opened the bridge late Tuesday. There are no reports of any accidents or injuries.

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UPDATE:

KDOT has tweeted that engineers have assessed the Clarks Creek bridge over interstate 70 adnd it is structurally sound. The debris on the bridge is from an old pavement overlay that will be cleaned up and patched. The bridge will reopen tonight ( Tuesday night ).

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According to the Kansas Highway Patrol as of 5:20 p.m. an effort was being made to patch the interstate where the concrete crumbling has occurred. It is unknown how long the eastbound lanes of I-70 will have to remain closed at the location near the Clarks Creek bridge.

Eastbound traffic is still being diverted off of the interstate at the 303 exit and onto K-18 Highway.

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Late Tuesday afternoon traffic continued to be diverted off eastbound I-70 onto K-18 Highway at the 303 exit. The traffic backup was about three-quarters of a mile long.

Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf reported that it appeared some of the concrete on the bridge deck was breaking away. ” I spoke with some of the guys from KDOT. They believe it’s what they call delamination where the very upper levels of the concrete on the deck of the bridge heated up in the sunshine. It was the traffic driving over it that actually broke the concrete up. It looks a lot like gravel laying there on the deck of the bridge.”

Eastbound traffic is being diverted onto K-18 where motorists can travel into Manhattan and then can get back on K-177 and travel south back to the interstate.

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The Kansas Highway Patrol is diverting eastbound traffic on Interstate 70 to exit 303 at K-18 Highway. That location is about 7 miles east of Junction City.

Geary County Emergency Management Director Garry Berges said KHP and KDOT are on I-70 between exits 303 and 304 where one of the bridges on the eastbound lanes has an issue. Eastbound traffic is being diverted off the interstate onto K-18 into Manhattan and then back south on K-177 to the interstate where traffic can then travel east again.

No injuries have been reported.

The Northeast Kansas Regional Notification System provided the information.

 

Corvias has begun a planned demolition of 324 homes in the Colyer Manor housing area of Fort Riley. During this time you may notice increased construction machinery, traffic and noise between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Drivers and pedestrians should exercise caution when traveling near the
construction areas. Additionally, children should not be allowed to play on
or near the construction equipment. Although the area is inviting for
exploring and play, it is not a playground and can present very real
hazards.

For questions or concerns about the demolition – which is expected to take
about one year – call Corvias at 785-717-2260.

There will be a community conversation on May 2nd about the possibility of a future new public library in Junction City.

That’s the current focus of Dorothy Bramlage Public Library officials. Library Director Susan Moyer said over the last several months they have looked at different concepts. “Including being able to expand and add on to our building. As we continue being able to expand and add on to our building. As we continued to get more information about that we decided that really a better course would be to demolish our current building and rebuild on the same spot.”

The public can give their input during the event on May 2nd, which will be held at the upstairs Montgomery Rehearsal Hall meeting room at the C.L. Hoover Opera House.

A new building could possibly be built at the same location as the current library at 230 West 7th Street. Library officials have been working with a rough cost estimate in the $6 million to $7 million range, and fundraising would have to occur. Moyer is hopeful officials will be able to cut a ribbon on a new building in five years.

On the second the public will be able to learn the history of the discussions, where the conversation is at on the project now, and help officials move forward with it.

Students from across Geary USD 475 put their work on display Friday night and Saturday at the

C.L. Hoover Opera House. The occasion was a USD 475 reception, art show and silent auction.

Junction City High School art teacher Jimmy Goheen noted there was a big turnout for a Friday evening and a good turnout again on Saturday. In the past typically several pieces of art, probably 20 to 35% sold during the auction. Goheen added he believes they will be around the same range this year.

The winnng entry from the high school was created by Kennedy Cox. “She does a lot of paintings with oil. It’s an orange and kind of blue mountain painting. Really captured a lot of light, lot of contrast going on in her piece. She does a lot of nice stuff and she did a really nice job on that one.”

 

 

Junction City firefighters responded to a pair of  fires at a single story large duplex at 1204 Blue Stem Drive Friday night at 5:39 p.m. and again at 12:28 a.m. Saturday after a call for a rekindled fire.

The duplex, valued at $250,000, was destroyed and has been declared a total loss by the Fire Department. No injuries were reported.

When firefighters responded to the first call they found the large duplex with a substantial amount of smoke coming from the roof. The north side of the building was the side that was involved. Firefighters confirmed there were no occupants in the structure. Crews knocked down visible fire in the attic, fire was found in the chimney section of the north duplex and the southwest corner of the south duplex. Multiple hot spots were difficult to access due to restrictions in the attic space. Units departed the scene at 8:09 p.m.

Firefighters returned to the scene Saturday morning at 12:28 a.m. after the call for a rekindle. The building was fully engulfed when they returned. There were flames approximately 20 feet above the roof line. The flames were knocked down in approximately 15 minutes. The roof of the structure was mostly gone. Numerous hot spots were put out.

 

 

Distinguished concerts International New York City has announced that Michael Brown and the Junction City High School Chamber Choir have been invited to participate in a performance of the “Music of Eric Whitacre on the DCINY Concert series in New York City. The performance in David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center is on Sunday, April 15th. The choir will join with other choristers to form the Distinguished Concerts Singers International, a choir of distinction. Composer Eric Whitacre will lead the performance and will serve as the clinician for the residency.

Dr. Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for DCINY states: “The Chamber Choir received this invitation because of the quality and high level of musicianship demonstrated by the singers as well as the exceptional quality of their audition recording.”

The singers will spend 5 days and 4 nights in New York City in preparation for their concert. “The singers will spend approximately 9-10 hours in rehearsals over the 5 day residence,” says Griffith. “Not all of the time is spent in rehearsals, since there is so much history and culture to see in New York City. However, the perfomance is the primary purpose for their visit to the city.”

Eric Whitacre is a Grammy-winning composer and conductor, and his concert music has been performed throughout the world by millions of amateur and professional musicians. His Virtual Choirs have united singers from more than 110 countries.

The JCHS Chamber Choir was notified of their selection in the spring of 2017. Their trip will include 25 to 30 students plus additional chaperones. They have raised funds during the past year for the trip.