The Junction City Fire Department had to respond to four calls within a 2 hour 34 minute time frame Thursday afternoon.

According to the Fire Department the first call came in at 1:06 p.m. iinvolving arcing electrical equipment and a minor transformer fire at a Westar Energy substation in the 500 block of East 8th Street.

Seven minutes later a smoke scare was reported at Fort Riley Real Estate at 2426 Elmdale Avenue. It was a ballast ( light fixture ) issue. It was believed to be related to the earlier fire at the substation. The utilities to the building were turned off, and the facility will be checked by an electrician.

At 3:19 p.m. firefighters responded to what turned out to be a false alarm at Kings Moving Company at 401 East 8th Street, and at 3:40 p.m. there was a two vehicle accident that also resulted in one of the vehicles coming to rest against a parked vehicle. One person was transported to Geary Community Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

ST. GEORGE – Law enforcement authorities in Pottawatomie County are investigating two suspects who are in custody following a Thursday morning chase.

Just before 5 a.m. the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a resident in the Oak View area of St. George, reporting that they saw the dome light come on in their 2012 Chevy Camaro, according to Sheriff Greg Riat.

The caller went to investigate what was going on when the Camaro was driven away from his residence.

A Sheriff’s deputy saw the suspects driving the Camaro driving east on Highway 24 at a high rate of speed

The vehicle left Highway 24 and went east on Vineyard Road.

Two suspects, a driver and passenger, abandoned the vehicle in the area of Vineyard Road and White Tale Lane.

One suspect was taken into custody a short time later, and the second suspect was taken into custody just before 8:00 a.m.

Names of the suspects have not been released.

The Kansas Highway Patrol, a helicopter from the Kansas Highway Patrol Aircraft division and Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, assisted the Pottawatomie Count Sheriff’s Office.

Purple Power Play On Poyntz opens a two-night run in the Manhattan City Park Thursday evening.

The Thursday night schedule includes the Diles Mavis Group performing at 7 p.m. followed by a K-State Band Pep Rally at 8:05.  K-State football coach Bill Snyder is scheduled to participate at 8:20 p.m.

This event is an annual kickoff to the football season in Manhattan.

The Kansas Missing and Unsolved Facebook page is reporting Fort Riley woman Jessica Echevarria as ‘missing’.

According to the flyer, Echevarria went missing from Fort Riley, Kansas on August 16, 2015.

It is believed she may be going to either southern California or Houston, Texas., and she was last known to be driving a 2000 or 2001 red Honda Civic two door coupe with black rims.

She is 29 years old, brown eyes, 5’5″ tall and weights around 180lbs. Last time Jessica was seen she had dark brown hair.

If you have any information regarding Echevarria’s disappearance or you know of her whereabouts, call Ft. Riley CID Agenet Andrew Johnson at 248-807-1336 or 785-239-2681

Below is the flyer from the Kansas Missing & Unsolved Facebook page.

An isolated shower will be possible early this morning across northern Kansas, according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. Highs today will range from the low 90s in east central Kansas to the upper 90s in central Kansas. For Labor Day weekend there is a chance for storms Sunday and Monday as a cold front moves through the area. Temperatures will cool down and rain chances continue into mid-week.

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. South winds 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 70. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 10 to 20 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 70s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 70s.

Sunday: Mostly sunny with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 90s.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s.

Labor Day: Mostly sunny with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s.

Tuesday: Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s.

Wednesday: Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s.

At approximately 9:15 Wednesday night a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter made a precautionary landing in a field about five miles south of Fort Riley. None of the four crew members were injured.

The 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office reported that the Black Hawk crew is from the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. They were on a training mission.

The incident is under investigation.

MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal watchdog says nearly 900,000 veterans have pending applications for health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

But a report by the VA’s inspector general says “serious” problems with enrollment data make it impossible to determine how many of the 867,000 veterans with pending applications were actively seeking VA health care.

About one-third of those with pending applications are likely deceased, but the report says “data limitations” prevent investigators from determining how many now-deceased veterans applied for health care benefits or when. The applications go back nearly two decades and officials said some applicants may have died years ago.

The report also says VA workers incorrectly marked thousands of unprocessed health-care applications as completed and may have deleted 10,000 or more electronic “transactions” over the past five years.

In April of 2013 over 75 percent of the Student Body at K-State voted to increase the student privilege fee for students taking classes on the Manhattan campus effective fall 2014, in order to fund a renovation of the Student Union.

Over two years later the University has broken ground on that project.

“This is just really another project towards us making sure that our campus, and our facilities are reminiscent of a top 50 public research University,” said Kirk Schulz, KSU President.

The renovation will include a new south facade, updated retail spaces, enhanced dining facilities and even a sports bar, which is something that is starting to become popular at other Universities across the nation according to Andy Hurtig, Kansas State Student Body President.

“I think maybe in the past years it was more of just a sensitivity issue, putting a sports bar in a Union,” said Hurtig. “But we see it as a great draw for students. It will be something that students can get excited about, something that prospective students and their parents can try out when they come to campus and alumni when they come back for game days. It will just be a really cool place that people identify that’s on campus instead of going someplace that is off of campus.”

The renovation is expected to begin on September 8th. The Union will remain open, with certain sections blocked off at certain times due to the renovation.