You can start your Halloween at the Geary County Historical Musum Thursday, Oct. 29, from 1-5 p.m.    The museum will be open for trick or treaters, and at 4 p.m. the Milford Nature Center will present “The Unhuggables” at the museum.

You will be able to get up close to animals that have few admirers, but provide help in ways not always recognized. The live animal program will help viewers understand a few of them.

The new exhibit, “Our Cabinet of Curiosities,” will be open to the public. You can learn about the nature history discoveries found in Geary County through the curiosity cabinets. Discover how curiosity cabinets transformed into museums and how museums preserve artifacts for future generations.

All of the activities are free.

After isolated showers and storms this morning, skies will become mostly sunny with high temperatures from the upper 70s to mid 80s according to the National Weather Service ofTopeka. There will be small chances of showers and storms tonight as a frontal boundary moves into the area. However the best chances for rain and thunderstorms will be from Thursday through Friday night as an upper level storm system moves across the Central Plains. Abundant moisture will be in place by the latter half of the week increasing the potential for locally heavy rainfall.

Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. North wind around 5 mph.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 75. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 59. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Friday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 66.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 66.

Open enrollment for Medicare beneficiaries with prescription coverage began last week.

The Geary County Extension Office reports that in addition to the two to three counseling conferences Extension Agent Deb Andres provides each week, open enrollment willbe a highly concentrated time for work with Medicare beneficiaries. The enrollment period will end December 7.

Andres is anticipating a heightened interest by retired federal employees concerning enrollment in Medicare due to the increase cost of premiums to those who are over 65, and who are not currently enrolled in Part A & B.

The information was released at the weekly Geary County Commission meeting.

The retirement reception for Geary County Human Resource Director Lisa Eickholt is scheduled Friday, Oct. 23, from 2-4 p.m. in the county commission chambers at the Geary CountyOffice Building.

Eickholt is stepping down after 18 years in the H-R job, and 27 years of employment with the County. She is planning to enter private industry, but remain a resident of Geary County.

The public is invited to attend the reception.

The Geary County Commission has approved minor changes in the annual leave and sick leave policies for county employees.

It ties in with the County’s plan to move to a bi-monthly pay period, instead of the one time per month employee pay period that has been utilized in the past.

Ben Bennett, Commission Chair, noted the changes are almost the same, but they needed to be changed over, and the formula they’re developed with reconstructed. “They’re going to start out with 10 days annual leave, moving up to 16 after a few years, and then on up to 20, and eventually for 15 years of service they can get 25 days of annual leave or vacation time.”

Bennett added sick leave will remain almost the same with an accumulation of 12 days after the first year, moving up to 13 days.

At least three local churches will be hosting events on Halloween as alternatives to the traditional door to door trick or treating.

Flint Hills Church will be hosting a Harvest Block Party, JCNaz Church of the Nzarene will be hosting The Harvest, and First Christian Church of Junction City will be hosting a Trunk or Treat the night of Halloween.

BJ Solander, Pastor of Flint Hills Church JC explained that the Harvest Block Party will be held from 4 pm to 8:30 pm on 7th Street between Madison and Adams.

“All of us are doing candy. We’re doing carnival games and inflatable and we have probably about 20 business’s in town that are giving away prizes, so we’ll have a big drawing for those. We’re also doing face painting, we have an airplane ride, a zip line and that kind of stuff,” said Solander.

At the JCNaz Church of the Nazarene located at 1025 S. Washington Street there will be multiple activities set up inside and outside of the church for children according to Enola Leonard, Children’s Pastor at JCNaz.

“The children have an area where they can play lots of carnival type games, and each game they play they receive more tickets for drawings for prices. And then we have big air jumpers that we’ll have inside and outside, hopefully outside. We serve food during the event in the cafeteria area. They receive a ticket when they arrive and it’s all free, theres no charge for anything,” said Leonard.

They will also have a trunk or treat where the children can go trunk-to-trunk and receive candy or other prizes.

First Christian Church of Junction City will also be holding a trunk or treat in their parking lot at 1429 St. Mary’s Road in Junction City.

“We have our church members volunteer to come out in our parking lot on Halloween night from six to eight o’clock. They decorate up a trunk and they have a game or some kind of activity to do at their trunk, or if nothing else sit at their decorated trunk with a bucket of candy to hand out to the kids,” explained Lindsay Landrith with First Christian Church of Junction City.

Ultimately the churches are trying to offer families a safe family environment to enjoy the harvest season on Halloween Solander added.

The Junction City Public Works Department has announced that traffic in the 1000 Block of North Washington Street will be re-routed Tuesday for hydrant replacement.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department is reporting non-injury accidents that occurred over the weekend.

Deputies responded to the 100 Block of 9th Street in Milford on Saturday just before 4:30 p.m. for a report of a non-injury hit and run accident.

According to the report Deanna Gloth of Herington, struck a parked 2015 Chevy Colorado with her 2001 Oldsmobile Silhouette. Gloth was later arrested on US-77 at mile marker 163 on suspicion driving under the influence, no driver’s license, violations of restrictions, duty of a driver to report an accident.

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A second accident was reported  just after 5 p.m. Saturday at 100 South Outlet Drive in Milford.

According to the report Brandon Walker of Junction City rolled a 2003 Chevrolet TrailBlazer when he went into a ditch to avoid a deer.

There were no injuries reported.

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A third non-injury accident was reported on K-177 involving a single vehicle. Jonathan Ferguson, Kansas City, was traveling north in a 2014 Ford Focus when the vehicle hit a raccoon.

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, a Red Flag Warning is in effect from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. for the entire outlook area due to the heightened fire weather concerns. Conditions will be warm and dry today with highs reaching into the mid 70s to low 80s. Southerly winds will increase quickly this morning, with gusts of 30-40 mph from late morning through the afternoon hours. These conditions combined with critical fuel conditions across the area will result in extreme fire danger concerns, so do not burn today!! These mild conditions will continue through the week with rain chances increasing Thursday night into Friday.

Today: Windy…sunny. Highs in the lower 80s. South winds 15 to 30 mph with gusts to around 40 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening…then mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Lows around 60. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Slight chance of rain showers in the morning. Highs in the lower 80s. South winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows around 60. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny with slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. West winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north in the afternoon.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 50s.

Thursday: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Friday: Rain showers likely and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 70s. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 50s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny with slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 40s.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.