The Geary County Rural Fire Department responded to the 2500 block of Crider Road Wednesday evening for a report of a grass fire. The site is about three miles west of Junction City.
Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges estimated the fire covered less than an acre. No one was injured. The cause is still undetermined.
The Director of the Junction City Military Affairs Council, John Seitz and State Representative Lonnie Clark of Junction City were both presented a Quilt of Valor Thursday morning during the Military Affairs Council breakfast in Junction City.
Both Clark and Seitz are Vietnam War Veterans and were very humbled to receive the Quilt of Valor.
Clark said it’s been a long journey.
“The Vietnam era, when we came home we weren’t very well accepted. To have the quilt now, go back and heal some of those wounds about fighting for the Country and not really being appreciated at the time, this is really a big deal for the people that receive it, me included,” said Clark.
Seitz who organizes the Military Affairs Council breakfast had no idea that he was going to receive the quilt.
“I was stunned. I fully didn’t expect it, I knew Lonnie Clark was going to get a quilt and I don’t know how the office kept a secret from me, because I pry into everything,” said Seitz.
Both Seitz and Clark said they plan to hang the quilt somewhere in their homes so that they can look at it everyday.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas agency says its workers are locked out of a computer program, delaying them from processing veterans’ claims through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Kansas Commission on Veterans Affairs uses a computer program that allows them to process hundreds of claims each month and send them to the VA’s regional office in Wichita.
But commission workers have been locked out of the program lately. Without the program, the claims have to be faxed or mailed, which can take weeks.
Wayne Bollig, a deputy director at the commission, says the outage began Tuesday, and if the issue isn’t resolved soon, the agency will receive a flood of claims at the end of the month.
The VA didn’t immediately respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.
Heavy rainfall will be possible although flooding is not much of a concern. Majority of the rain should come to an end Friday morning. Another round of more isolated to scattered showers and storms is possible Friday evening mainly across northeast and east central KS. Most locations dry out for the weekend.Today: Cloudy. Chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms in the morning…then rain showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 70s. East winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
Tonight: Showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 60s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.
Friday: Partly sunny with chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.
Friday Night: Cooler. Partly cloudy. Slight chance of rain showers in the evening. Lows in the upper 40s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. North winds 5 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.
Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s.
Monday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 60s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s.
Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.
CHILLICOTHE, Mo – A Manhattan man was injured in an accident just before 5p.m. on Wednesday in Livingston County Missouri.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2013 Ford Edge driven by Peggy Switzer, 81, Chillicothe, was northbound and attempted to cross U.S. 36 just east of Chillicothe.
The vehicle traveled into the path of a 1999 Chevy Monte Carlo driven by Lawrence L. Nicholson, 75, Manhattan, that was westbound on U.S. 36
The Chevy struck the Ford in the front right corner and ran off the road.
Nicholson and Switzer were transported to Hedrick Medical Center. They were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — A House committee has voted to issue subpoenas to five high-ranking officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs after the officials did not show up at a hearing Wednesday on alleged manipulation of the agency’s hiring system.
Just approved first ever individual subpoenas of #VA Execs to testify on possible criminal activity. #Cultureofcorruption #VAAccountability
— Cong. Tim Huelskamp (@CongHuelskamp) October 21, 2015
First District Congressman Tim Huelskamp serves on the House Committee on Veteran’s Affairs and its Health Subcommittee.
The department’s acting inspector general says two senior VA officials forced regional managers to accept job transfers — then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their pay while reducing their responsibilities.
The report said the officials also misused VA’s moving-expense system to claim more $400,000 in questionable moving expenses.
Diana Rubens, director of the Philadelphia regional office for the Veterans Benefits Administration, and Kimberly Graves, director of the St. Paul regional office for the VBA, face possible criminal prosecution.
Rubens and Graves skipped Wednesday’s hearing, as did three other VA officials.
The Land Bank Board of Trustee’s will soon consider the sale of a 50 foot easement along four land bank lots in the Patriot Point subdivision.
According to Allen Dinkel, Junction City, City Manager, Kansas Gas 
Services will need to move a gas line when KDOT puts in the diamond interchange at K-18 and US-77 and has requested to purchase an easement from the Land Bank.
The location of the easement would be along four land bank lots located in the Patriot Point subdivision. Instead of purchasing the lots at a cost of $8,250 per lot and paying twenty years of specials and back taxes Kansas Gas Services has offered to pay $80,000 for the easement. The Land Bank would still keep the lots and be able to put them up for sale. Kansas Gas Services believes the lots will still be able to be developed with the proposed easement included.
The Land Bank Board of Trustee’s is expected to hold a special meeting sometime next week to discuss the proposed sale. No decisions have been made at this point.
Privacy fences over six feet tall will no longer be permitted in the front yard of Junction City homes from here on out.
The City Commission approved an amendment to the City’s Zoning
Regulations regarding fences Tuesday night lifting a moratorium that has been in place since August.
“What had happened was, through a misunderstanding over the years, front yard fences were put in front of the house that were tall, up to six-foot tall. Plus you couldn’t see through them and of course that’s a safety concern, police concern, fire concern and everything else,”said Allen Dinkel, City Manager.
The amendment now allows for only four-foot fence’s with at least 75 percent opacity to be placed in the front yard, side yard and street frontages. But if the yard facing the street is the back yard, six-foot privacy fencing will still be allowed.
It’s not clear what will happen to the current fences that are over six feet tall and placed in the front yards of homes. The Commission discussed it at length Tuesday but ultimately decided that they need to look into the matter further.
Anyone wishing to exceed the four-foot requirement for front yard fences will be allowed to apply for a special use permit on a case by case basis.
The Junction City Public Works Department has announced that the
1000 block of North Washington will be without water Thursday for a valve replacement project.
A brief power outage of about five minutes occurred in Junction City early Wednesday afternoon.
Electricity was quickly restored.
Westar Energy confirmed more than 1,300 customers were impacted by the outage.