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Seven-Day Forecast

Posted on October 5, 2015

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, today you can expect mostly cloudy skies and cool temperatures with highs in the mid to upper 60s. There could be a few sprinkles possible in the morning. Look for a warm up through mid week with Highs in the mid 70s to around 80. There will be a chance for showers and storms late Wednesday night through Thursday evening.

Today: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 60s. Southeast winds up to 5 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. Southeast winds up to 5 mph.

Tuesday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southeast winds up to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s. Southeast winds up to 5 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny. Highs around 80. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 60s.

Thursday: Partly sunny with chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Thursday Night: Cooler. Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the lower 50s.

Friday: Cooler. Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s.

Saturday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.

The Teacher Response in USD 475 Contract Negotiations

Posted on October 4, 2015October 4, 2015

Teacher contract negotiations remain at impasse in Geary USD 475.

Teachers voted 355 no and 113 yes in favor of a contract proposal submitted to them.

Cathy Rankin, Junction City Education Association President, said teachers care a great deal about the quality of education their students receive, and they demonstrate that by working on beyond an 8-hour day or 40-hour week. “By spending hours every week grading and planning at home in the evening and weekends, coming in early to prepare classrooms, staying late to assist students who need help, meeting with or calling parents, and supporting students in their extracurricular activities.”

Rankin stated, “Instead of recognizing teachers effort with an increase in pay, the District has presented an offer that conditions the raise on an additional 10-minutes under the school roof, removal on the limit on the number of meetings held on a weekly basis, which then contractually obligates teachers to a 43-hour and 45-minute work week and has removed protections for the teacher’s preparation time during the school day.”

On the subject of teacher plan time Rankin said that time is student centered. Teachers use the time to research, plan or adapt lesson plans, modify assignments to meet individual student needs, grade and prepare feedback, communicate with parents, collaborate with other teachers, counselors and social workers regarding best practices for individual students, get the necesssary materials for the classroom. And whether we have 25 students that we teach four to five subjects, or 150 or more students that we teach a single subject, this individual plan time is essential to providing our students a quality education.”

Rankin said JCEA hopes that the school board will return to the negotiating table and collaborate on a resolution to the impasse. State statute calls for fact finding as the next step in the process, but the JCEA hopes the District will negotiate at the bargaining table.

District officials have indicated the latest contract proposal included a 7.23% average pay raise for teachers. Rankin would like to see verification on those numbers. She stated Sunday that 11-days ago she had asked the District to provide the JCEA team with information on how they calculated that percentage amount. “But we were told that it was not complete, and not in a format that was easily shared, so we still do not have any information that would authenticate this claim. ” Rankin would like the district to provide detailed numbers proving that there would be that type of pay raise for teachers.

The Board of Education is expected to discuss the situation during their meeting on Monday.

KSU Provost Finalist for Chancellor’s Job at Arkansas

Posted on October 4, 2015October 5, 2015

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Three finalists have been named for the chancellor’s job at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. Two of them are currently based at Kansas universities.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports the finalists for the top job at UA were announced Friday. They are: April Mason, provost and senior vice president at Kansas State University; Jeffrey S. Vitter, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas; and Joseph E. Steinmetz, executive vice president and provost at Ohio State University.

UA System President Donald Bobbitt selected the finalists from seven candidates interviewed on September 25th in Dallas by a search committee. The finalists are seeking to replace G. David Gearhart, who stepped down at the end of July.

Each finalist will visit Fayetteville for two days of activities, including a public talk on the morning of the second day.

USD 475 Teachers Reject Contract Proposal

Posted on October 3, 2015October 4, 2015

Teachers in Geary USD 475 have turned down a contract offer for the current 2015-16 school year. Contract negotiations remain at impasse.

The vote announced on Friday by USD 475 officials included 355 teachers in the district voting no and 113 yes. A total of 468 out of 729 teachers cast a vote, for a percentage total of 64.19%.

Brian Field, Board of Education President, was disappointed. “We’re very disappointed. In the end we felt like we offered a fair contract. The contract included an average salary increase of 7.23%. But from here we’ll continue to move forward. In the end we want what’s best for everybody involved, but we really want, especially, what’s best for the students of USD 475.” Initially school district officials had indicated the raise for teachers would average 6.5%, but the percentage released Friday was even higher.

The next step in the process must be determined. State Statute calls for a move on to a fact finding process. ( JC Post had initially reported that if the fact finding step is bypassed the next step could possibly be the issuance of a unilateral contract by the Board, but the fact finding is required under statute.) For now, teachers are working under the contract that was in effect for the 2014-15 school year.

Issues in the contract negotiations on which the two sides differ range from taking the work day from 7 hours 50 minutes up to 8 hours, added collaboration time where administrators could be active participants with input in collaboration among teachers, allowing meetings to start a little later after school following the departure of students or a bit earlier before students arrived at school, and elimination of flex time where teachers had some options of arriving or departing 15 minutes early…for example a teacher required to arrive 15 minutes early could depart 15 minutes early.

The Board of Education will discuss their next step when they meet Monday at the Devin Center. KASB attorney David Shriver plans to meet with the Board then. He has been their lead negotiator in the contract process this year.

Sen. Moran to Host Kansas Listening Tour Stop in Morris County

Posted on October 2, 2015

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran has announced that he will visit Council Grove as part of his Kansas Listening Tour on Monday, Oct. 12. Area residents are encouraged to attend and share feedback with Sen. Moran on issues facing Kansas and the nation.

The Listening Tour Stop is scheduled from 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 12 at the City Hall Meeting Room at 205 North Union Street in Council Grove.

Dagger Soldiers to Receive New Training Prior to Kuwait

Posted on October 2, 2015

Prior to their upcoming deployment to Kuwait, Soldiers from the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat team, 1st Infantry Division, will be the first in the Army to receive training on Sgt. Maj. of the Army Daniel A. Dailey’s new initiative, Not in My Squad.

From oct. 5-8, “Dagger” brigade Soldiers will gather in both large and small groups at Fort Riley’s Victory Resilience Center to discuss building positive climates within their units and creating a culture of dignity, respect and inclusion across the Army. Not in My Squad aims to embrace overall resiliency, thereby adding to the unit’s mission readiness as it deploys.

USD 475 Students Participate in The Bramlage Family Walk-a-Mile Day

Posted on October 2, 2015October 2, 2015

Students throughout Geary USD 475 could be seen walking around their schools Friday morning and afternoon as they participated in the annual Bramlage Family Walk-a-Mile Day.

The Walk-a-Mile day began in October 2006 when the federal government set aside October 4th for kids to exercise by suggesting that parents walk their children to school.

The Geary Community healthcare Foundation has since continued the event according to Jolana Montgomery-Matney, GCHF Executive Director.

“After Ron and Becky and the children were killed in that horrible plane crash, the Bramlage Family Foundation adopted this as the Bramlage Family Walk-a-Mile Day,” said Montgomery.

Relatives of the Bramlage Family still come to Junction City each year for the event in honor of their loved ones, including Helen Johnston, Becky Bramlage’s mother.

“We feel honored that your community, Junction City, takes time to have this walk in their memory,” said Johnston. “Walking was something I know Becky and the children, and Ron too, all did daily, even these same steps they took almost everyday.”

Johnston attended the event at Lincoln Elementary Friday afternoon and walked with the students.

There were some incentives to walk as well, each student and adult who walked was able to enter into a drawing for a number of prizes. Each school drew for two prizes. Grades K-2 drew for a Razor Scooter, and grades 3-5 drew for a new bicycle. Following those drawings each name went into a grand prize drawing for an XBOX 360 with Kinnect and two games. Adults also have the chance to win a Fitbit Flex Band.

Officials work to identify body found at Fort Riley

Posted on October 2, 2015October 2, 2015

FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — Efforts to identify a body found at the Fort Riley military base are taking more than a week.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that the body was found Sept. 22 in a non-military vehicle. Army’s Criminal Investigation Command spokesman Chris Grey wrote in an email that agents are working with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner to identify the remains.

He says no information will be released until identification is made.

Weekend Weather

Posted on October 2, 2015

Expect another pleasant day Today, with highs in the mid to upper 60s which will be about 5 to 8 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. There will be a chance for showers on Saturday across north central Kansas, with the showers ending by Saturday evening. Mostly cloudy skies and an occasional shower will keep temperatures cooler across north central Kansas on Saturday with highs only reaching around 60. The remainder of the area on Saturday will see partly cloudy skies and highs in the mid to upper 60s. Sunday will have more sunshine with highs in the mid to upper 60s. Look for a warming trend into the next work week with highs reaching the upper 70s by Tuesday.
Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

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

Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.

Monday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.

Tuesday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.

Wednesday: Partly sunny with slight chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 80.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s. Chance of precipitation 40 percent.

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

Land Bank To Keep Working to Sell Lots

Posted on October 1, 2015October 1, 2015

Land Bank officials in Junction City will continue to work on trying to sell vacant housing lots in Junction City.

The first sealed bid sale produced the sale of only two lots, and many remain.

The Director of Planning and Zoning for the City, David Yearout noted they’ll establish a sale price and get information out to the builders. “Because the objective is to get people to buy them ( the lots ) to build homes, and that primarily means it’s going to be builders who are looking for lots to build homes on. We are working a plan similar to what the advertising was the last time to get word out.” Yearout added they will start marketing, and use the media and every other means they possibly can to let them know they have lots available.

The lots are on the west and northwest sides of the City.

Yearout did add the next time they will be able to bundle lots together, and will identify groupings of lots for sale.