A local delegation from Junction City and Manhattan attended the AUSA convention in Washington D.C.  While there they heard a presentation from the Chief of Staff of the U. S. Army, Gen. Mark Milley.

John Seitz, Military Affairs Council Director in Junction City, said Milley was straight forward for what he expected in his goals for the Army. “It’s readiness for combat. He says that’s the number one priority, and there are no other number one priorities, and the fact that we have a wide range of contingencies we have to prepare for with the increasing threats from Russia, North Korea and China.”

Seitz stated that Milley informed the audience that some popular myths have to be overcome. “The first one that war will be short because we’ve seen evidence that never happens, and then war can be won from a great distance. And we’ve learned you can’t bomb people to death or shoot them with ships. You’ve got to be on the ground to influence what’s going to happen.” Seitz noted a misconception that special operations forces could handle everything, but “they can’t do it all and are not a substitute for putting troops on the ground.”

Another myth addressed was that it’s easy to regenerate an Army. “It is not at all true because we’ve learned every time we’ve had a war that the creating of a new army afterwards, after we’ve drawn down for the peace benefits was a painful process and very difficult to accomplish.”

The AUSA convention wrapped up Wednesday in Washington D.C.

LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press
JULIE PACE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says his plan to keep more troops in Afghanistan than previously planned offers the best chance for long-term success.

Obama says the security situation in Afghanistan is still very fragile. He says in some cases there are risks of deterioration.

Obama is unveiling a new plan for the U.S. to keep 5,500 troops in Afghanistan when he leaves office in 2017. The shift retreats from his promise to end the war there during his tenure.

The president says the Afghan military has made gains but is still not as strong as it needs to be.

Obama says U.S. troops’ mission in Afghanistan won’t change. He says they’ll focus on counterterrorism and training Afghan troops.

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, dry and windy conditions are expected today as a cold front tracks through the area. Northeasterly winds may gust upwards of 30mph this afternoon across north central KS. These winds combined with low relative humidity values will result in very high fire danger concerns this afternoon, so outdoor burning is not recommended in that area.

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. East winds up to 10 mph increasing to northeast 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 30s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Cooler…sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Northeast winds around 5 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows around 40. East winds around 5 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s.

Sunday: Warmer. Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.

Monday: Breezy. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s.

Tuesday: Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows around 50. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University has partnered with Westar Energy to build one of the largest enclosed flight facilities for unmanned aircraft systems in the nation.

The university said in a news release Wednesday that the UAS Pavilion on Kansas State’s campus in Salina aims to allow students to conduct flight training and research. It also gives outside industries an arena for company training.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for Oct. 21 on Kansas State’s Salina campus.

Kansas State Salina was the second university in the nation to offer a bachelor’s degree in UAS, and has doubled its enrollment in the program every year since it began in 2011. This fall the university added a second bachelor’s degree in drone design and integration.

Westar is interested in using drones for infrastructure inspections.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY -A Junction City teen was injured in an accident just before 5:30p.m. on Wednesday in Wabaunsee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2011 Chevy Tahoe driven by Justice Rexrode, 19, Junction City, was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of Kansas 99.

The SUV went off the roadway to the right. The driver overcorrected and the SUV went across the highway to the left and overturned in the median.

Rexrode was transported to Geary County Hospital. He was wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

The corn harvest is on the downhill slope and wheat producers in Geary County are getting that crop in the ground.

Chuck Otte, Geary County Extension Agent, ssaid the soybean harvest is gaining steam. “Could probably use a little bit of a frost on some of those soybean fields, but there’s a lot of soybeans that can be cut. Not a lot of milo or grain sorghum in the county. There’s been a little of test cutting on that but a lot of that will wait until after the soybeans are cut. Right now moving along, it’s a good harvest.”

Otte added the rainy summer helped this year. “When it shut off in June it really shut off. We could have used a couple more timely rainfalls in late July and in early August, but all things considered we have an exceptional crop out there this year.”

The Chapman Middle School Outdoor Education program was a topic for the annual Kansas Association of Middle Level Educators conference in Junction City this week.

Andy Fewin took eight Chapman Middle school Outdoor Education students with him for his presentations. They included Macy Bliss, Hailey Frazier, Ayla Bryan, jenna Weeks, Kevin Mills, Hunter Picking, Zack Fewin, and Zach Ferris.

The presentations had two parts. The first was about how the program at Chapman Middle School was established, its’ structure and make-up. That included the NASP program, Hunter Safety and Fishing Futures, and what is being done with CPR & Basic First Aid.

The second portion of the presentation involved the Chapman Middle School students actually demonstrating and teaching teachers from different middle schools the techniques of NASP Archery and Fishing for backyard bass. CMS principal Bruce Hurford also joined the group for the second session to offer his view as a Principal about how the programs have benefited the school.

Central National Bank hosted a Chili / Cinnamon Roll Feed in the basement of the Main Bank at 8th and Washington Wednesday afternoon.

The proceeds from the event went to the Junction City/Geary County United Way Campaign.

Aileen Cray, United Way Executive Director explained that the partnership between United Way and Central National Bank in Junction City is huge.

“They literally were our largest donor last year, donating through all of their events and plus their own payroll deductions and single donations. They donated over $22,000 and that’s a huge portion of our total goal of $175,000,” said Cray.

Robert Munson, President of the Junction City Central National Bank explained that as a community bank they feel it’s very important to be involved in organizations that give back to the community.

“For many, many years we have felt that United Way is a great organization in terms of the many different caring groups that it supports,” said Munson.

The next food fundraiser the bank will host will be next Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the basement of the Main Bank at 8th and Washington.

MANHATTAN — With a focus on national growth and an aim to meet the needs of tomorrow’s careers, Kansas State University Salina is changing its name to Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus, according to a media release.

The Kansas Board of Regents approved the name change at its Oct. 14 meeting. The new name is effective immediately.

The polytechnic campus — which will focus on teaching theory through hands-on, interdisciplinary and applied learning — is the only campus of its kind in the state of Kansas. While the name is changing, the polytechnic campus still remains one of the four campuses in the Kansas State University system. The other three campuses include the Manhattan campus, Olathe campus and Global campus.

“A polytechnic identity not only provides a much-needed niche for Kansas State University in the immediate region, but also aligns with our teaching and research mission,” said Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president. “The career-based learning and hands-on research at our polytechnic campus will play a vital role as we strive to become a Top 50 public research university by 2025.”

The name change reflects the Salina campus’ 50-year mission as a polytechnic campus, said Verna Fitzsimmons, CEO and dean of Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus.

“Since its inception 50 years ago, the campus has consistently provided an educational environment that focuses on applied learning, professional programs and connections to industry,” Fitzsimmons said. “We are ready to take that tradition into the next 50 years, and identifying ourselves as a polytechnic campus perfectly represents who we are and the experience our future students will have here.”

Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus will retain the College of Technology and Aviation, while merging the academic departments of aviation, engineering technology, and arts, sciences and business to create the School of Integrated Studies. The creation of a school will build on the diverse student and faculty population and better manage resources, Fitzsimmons said.

Through a polytechnic campus transformation, Kansas State University will continue contributing to the revitalization of Salina and the surrounding community.

“The Salina community has invested into the growth and success of this campus and we are grateful to have such loyal support,” said Fitzsimmons. “We believe this transformation will greatly increase our value within Salina and we’re proud to be able to give back to our neighbors and friends as well as contribute to the current revitalization of the city.”

Staff and faculty at the Salina campus have worked for the past 18 months to develop a proposal for an academic realignment of the campus. Wednesday’s approved proposal reflects the work of the College Committee on Planning for the College of Technology and Aviation and the College Advisory and Planning Committee. These committees led a series of campus discussions during the 2013-14 academic year, which culminated in the presentation of the draft proposal to faculty and staff in January 2015.

The name change request was reviewed by the Council of Chief Academic Officers and the Council of Presidents at the September Kansas Board of Regents meeting. Both councils approved the recommendation to be placed on the board’s agenda for October.

For more information, visit the Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus website.

The opening date of the new City Building in Grandview Plaza has been pushed back to the first week of November.

Jerome Thomas, GVP Superintendent explained that the contractor, Cheney Construction, is currently waiting on materials that have been ordered in order to finish the project.

“We were trying to get it scheduled to open up next week, but we have a delay due to flooring materials coming in. It’s probably going to be the first or second week of November,” said Thomas.

Thomas said that the City is eager to get into the new building in order to give the Community Center back to the Community as it is currently being occupied by the city offices.

The new city building is a 40×60 metal building that has been built just south of the former city office building and Grandview Plaza Police Department.