Rain, strong winds, and extensive lightning were all part of the weather system that moved through the region Tuesday evening and during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
Junction City police dispatch had not received any reports of storm damage.
The first cell moved through in the six o’clock hour Tuesday evening with the last one packing strong winds sweeping across the region in the early morning hours.
The Junction City Brigade endured two rain / lightning delays but eventually picked up a 10-4 win over the Topeka Golden Giants at Rathert Field. The game was called after seven innings due to the weather.
The JC Breakfast Club presented cookies to Junction City Chief of Police Dan Breci and Geary County Sheriff Daniel Jackson Jr. and their law enforcement staff Tuesday in appreciation for the work they do for the community.
( Photos and information provided by Club member Ferrell Miller )
( L-R ) Don Manley, President of JC Breakfast Optimist Club, Nita Miller- spouse of club member and cookie maker, Police Chief Dan Breci( L-R ) JC Breakfast Optimist Club President Don Manley, Nita Miller, spouse of club member and cookie maker, Geary County Sheriff Daniel Jackson Jr.
Fort Riley is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to host the Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit on June 26th and 27th at Riley’s Conference Center. This will be a hiring event for all active duty service members, members of the National Guard and Reserve, veterans and military spouses, bringing together federal and state agencies, military leaders, business innovators and local community leaders to participate in panel discussions, workshops and a hiring fair.
More than 100 employers are expected to participate and many will be prepared to interview and hire potential employees.
The event begins with a free receptiion on Wednesday, June 26th followed by a full day of workshops ranging from career planning to using digital networking sites and interviewing on the 27th. The day will conclude with a career fair.
Service members, veterans and military spouses should pre-register for the career summit at hiringourheroes.org/events.
The Junction City – Geary County United Way will not meet its $140,000 annual fundraising goal. But there will be funding for agencies and organizations that are being served.
Nicole Mahder, Executive Director, discussed the fundraising drive, noting it is winding down. “Unfortunately this was a very bad year for us, but we still are doing everything we can. We came in at just under $100,000, but there’s still time left and we’ll still do everything that we can.”
The recent match day fundraiser coordinated by the Greater Geary Community Foundation did provide some extra assistance for United Way. Mahder stated they received funding. “So that will be applied to these funds so that we don’t have to make any of the cuts that we unfortunately have to make when we’re short.” She confirmed the match day money will raise the fundraising total to approximately $106,000.
Mahder said they wanted to reach $140,000 because it would have allowed United Way to fully fund all of their agencies and financial commitments, and do desired small extra things. “Right now we have to bare bone everything because we don’t have the funding. If we hit the $140,000 we would be able to do everything at 100% and be able to start branching out and do more things for the community.”
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say DNA from a Manhattan man who is standing trial this week has connected him to the sexual assaults of four women.
Baggett photo Geary Co.
18-year-old Tommie Baggett is charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape, one count of criminal sodomy, one count of aggravated criminal sodomy, one count of aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated burglary and three counts of aggravated battery.
One woman said she was assaulted in August 2016 after meeting Baggett in Manhattan through an escort service. Two other women were roommates who said they were assaulted in their home in February 2017. Prosecutors say Baggett then slipped through an open window a month later and choked a third roommate when she refused to have sex with him.
The Corps of Engineers has listed the Milford Lake elevation as of Tuesday morning at 1171.86, which is about 27.4 feet above normal multipurpose pool elevation. But on Monday the lake was more than 28-feet high.
The discharge from the lakeis 4,000 cubic feet per second while the inflow as of Tuesday morning was 1,668 cfs.
MANHATTAN — Two positions key to the success of Kansas State University’s strategic enrollment management efforts will be filled by experienced administrators on an interim basis while national searches are conducted.
Emily Lehning, Ph.D. photo courtesy KSU
Charles Taber, provost and executive vice president, has announced the appointments of Emily Lehning as interim vice provost for enrollment management and Mary Hale Tolar as interim vice provost for student success. Both Lehning and Tolar will begin their new jobs June 30 and report to Taber.
“These previously announced positions are key to the university’s strategic enrollment management, or SEM, structure,” Taber said. “Both Drs. Lehning and Tolar have indicated they will not be candidates for the permanent positions. I want to thank them for their willingness to provide the leadership, stability and the balance needed in a time of major transition while we complete the national searches now underway for both the vice provost for enrollment management and vice provost for student success.”
As interim vice provost for enrollment management, Lehning will provide leadership to K-State’s enrollment management units particularly focused on the student recruitment, admissions, financial aid and registrar areas. For a list of the units under the vice provost for enrollment management, go to k-state.edu/2025/initiatives/sem/structure/index.html.
Lehning, who currently serves as associate vice president for student life and director of New Student Services, has been involved with the recruitment of high school and transfer students to K-State since becoming assistant director of New Student Services in 2001. She was promoted to assistant dean for student life and coordinator of New Student Services in 2005, became assistant vice president for student life and director of New Student Services in 2008 and was named associate vice president for student life and director of New Student Services in 2015.
Lehning has been involved with several key student retention and success programs and initiatives, including freshman and transfer enrollment and outreach, which have helped K-State retain its status as the No. 1 choice of Kansas high school seniors; the creation and leadership of K-State First, the university’s first-year student experience program; securing funding to create Wildcat Warm-up, the extended orientation program; and serving as project lead on the $20 million renovation of the historic East Memorial Stadium into the Berney Family Welcome Center, which houses the Career Center and New Student Services. She also helped secure funding for the university’s CliftonStrengths program and the K-State Challenge Course. As New Student Services director, Lehning supervises staff of K-State’s campus visits program and orientation and enrollment program, All-University Open House and other major campus recruitment events.
Mary Hale Tolar-photo courtesy KSU
In her role as interim vice provost for student success, Tolar, the director of the Staley School of Leadership Studies, will provide leadership in the student retention, success and progression areas of SEM. This will include working with the university’s advising community and advancing the Student Success Collaboration Initiatives. For a list of units under the vice provost for student success, go to k-state.edu/2025/initiatives/sem/structure/index.html.
Tolar joined K-State in 2006 as associate director of the School of Leadership Studies, leading community service, service learning, nonprofit leadership and student engagement efforts on campus. She also directed the Coffman Leadership Institute. She was promoted to director, after serving as interim director, of the Staley School in 2009 and earned tenure and promotion to associate professor in 2014. Tolar’s accomplishments as the school’s director include completing the privately funded $11 million construction of the Leadership Studies Building; raising more than $11.3 million for the school as part of the Innovation & Inspiration Campaign for K-State, exceeding the initial goal of $3 million; establishing a $2.5 million endowed chair; and helping the school be a host site for the Mandela Washington Fellows program through the U.S. Department of State. In addition, Tolar has served as one of four scholars nationally to develop and launch The New York Times in Leadership online education resource since 2012.
A 1988 Truman scholar and 1990 Rhodes scholar from K-State, Tolar has served as deputy secretary/chief of staff of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation and as executive director of the Kansas Campus Compact. She also served as assistant director, academic grants and awards, at Willamette University; development officer at the University of Michigan, Dearborn; and assistant to the dean of arts and sciences and director of study abroad at the University of Tulsa.
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to the 3200 block of Skiddy Road where a Harley Davidson motorcycle operated by Charles L. Dyer, White City, struck a deer in the roadway.
Dyer was transported by EMS to Geary Community Hospital for treatment of his injuries.
The accident was reported to the Sheriff’s Department at 9:11 p.m. Monday.
Junction CIty police responded to the 100 block of East Vine Street Monday evening for a subject who had been stabbed. Detective Lieutenant Cory Odell reported that upon arrival officers found Eddie Starks, 55, Junction City, suffering from a stab wound. He was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka where he was later pronounced dead.
Through their investigation police arrested a suspect, Vondra Brown, 49, Junction City, on suspicion of Second Degree Murder.
The incident was reported to police at 9:24 p.m.
No other suspects are being sought at this time, and police said there is no on-going threat to the public. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Junction City Police Department.
Rain, strong winds, and extensive lightning were all part of the weather system that moved through the region Tuesday evening and during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
