MANHATTAN – Two people from Junction City were injured in an accident just after 7:30 p.m. on Thursday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Chevy Silverado driven by Roberto Pedro Carlos Mendiola, 25, Junction City, was northbound in the 2100 Block of McDowell Creek Road four miles southwest of Kansas 177.

The vehicle traveled to the right and into the east ditch.

Passengers in the Silverado Leticia Jo Martinez, 20, Junction City, and a 1-year-old child were transported to Via Christi.

The KHP reported Mendiola was possibly injured but not where he was treated. He was arrested by the KHP for DUI, refusal of preliminary breath test and improper driving on a laned roadway. Bond was set at $1,500, and he is currently confined at the Riley County Jail.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Change will be in the future for the Old Milford Road – U.S. Highway 77 intersection northwest of Junction City.

Dennis Cox, Geary County Public Works Director, informed Geary County Commissioners this week KDOT is in the process of a new design phase for the intersection. He said the Kansas Department of Transportation plan is to square up the intersection, “move the intersection a little bit to the actual south of where it’s located now.”

The bid letting on this project would not occur until June of 2017.

Old Milford Road is the route that runs from U.S. 77 that goes to Rolling Meadows Golf Course.

The C.L. Hoover Opera House was the setting for the first ever performance of the Flint Hills Community Orchestra Thursday evening.

Orchestra director David Bernard-Stevens said the concert went successfully. “We played about as well as we rehearsed. and there’s always a little bit of pre-concert nerves, but things went very successfully. Attendance was calculated at 175 people.

Among those in attendance, John Triplett, called it a great concert. “David’s talked about this for years, that he has a lot of people, and how talented the students are.”

Mona Kessinger called the concert terrific. She liked the fact the Orchestra practiced only two months and could prepare that type of program, which she described as “amazing.”

Bernard-Stevens said the Orchestra, consisting of 28 members performing on instruments from violin and cello to viola and base. “We played a couple Scottish folk tunes, a Star Trek tune which I really enjoy.” The famous Civil War tune ‘Johnny Comes Marching Home’ was also performed, amont other songs.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment Thursday released the results of water samples taken at Milford Lake on August 3rd, and according to the samples they have placed Zones A and C into “warning” statuses and Zone B into a “watch”.

RJ Harms, Corps of Engineers Project Manager at Milford Lake explained that the microcystin toxin levls were low in Zones A and B but the cell counts were elevated.

“Really the only reason that Zone A was in a warning this week is the cell counts at the Milford State Beach came back pretty high, a little over 400,000 cell count and new this year the level for a warning level is 250,000,” said Harms.

The cell counts were the only counts that were in the warning level with the microcystin toxin counts barely breaking into the watch level according to Harms.

As a result of the “warning” status in Zone A, designated beaches operated by the Corps of Engineers and Milford State Park will be closed until further notice.

With the “Warning” status body contact with the water (swimming, skiing, tubing, jet skis) will be strongly discouraged but wording on the signs provided for 2015 will not prohibit the activity.

The Dickinson County Sheriff is reporting the arrest of Brian Dickerman, 32, on multiple counts including Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Methamphetamine, Possession of Marijuana, Criminal Use of a Weapon, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.

Sheriff Gareth Hoffman reports Dickerman was arrested on Tuesday after Sheriff’s Deputies and Officers of the Abilene Police Department executed two search warrants at 307 Northwest 10th Street in Abilene.

During a search of the residence investigators recovered a stolen Yamaha 4-Wheeler that had been reported stolen in 2013 in Salina. Investigators also seized numerous items of drug paraphernalia that are consistent with use and sales of methamphetamine and marijuana. A loaded handgun was also seized that was in close proximity to the items of drug paraphernalia.

Two children, ages 3 and 10, that were living in the home were placed in protective custody.

Hoffman reported on August 6 that Dickerman was incarcerated at that time in the Dickinson County jail.  Dickerman was arrested in Geary County in March.

A status check hearing initially scheduled Thursday in the case of Geary Community Hospital orthopedic surgeon Dr. Allan D. Holiday Jr. has been continued to a new date in Geary County District Court.

According to Michelle Brown, Assistant Geary County Attorney, a new date of August 20th has been set.  She indicated the defense counsel sought the continuance due to a scheduling conflict.

Holiday was arrested by Junction City police July 30th on suspicion of Aggravated Sexual Battery stemming from a case allegedly involving a 16-year old juvenile.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Veterans Administration plans to open an assisted living center on its Topeka campus for veterans with mild dementia.

The building on the Colmery-O’Neil VA Medical Center campus is expected to open this fall.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the building will offer 12 private rooms with their own bathrooms. It also will offer such amenities as a social area, kitchen, dining area and outdoor courtyard.

Veterans Administration officials say the building will cost about $8.8 million to design and build.

Nurse manager Colleen Grinage says the center is designed for veterans with cognitive impairment or mild dementia. She says residents will be encouraged to do as much as possible for themselves, with supervision to ensure they are safe.

Saturday is the final public collection day for the Stuff the Bus program in Geary County.

Coordinated by United Way with USD 475, it is where members of the public can donate school supplies for use by children in the district during the 2015-2016 school year.

The collection of supplies will be held in the parking lot of Walmart from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Items needed include: 3-ring binders, 3 x 3 sticky notes, black dry erase markers, clorox wipes, crayola composition books, crayons-24 pack, fiskar scissors, gallon ziplock freezer bags, glue sticks, hand sanitizer, kleenex – large box, large pink erasers, plain pocket folders, quart ziplock freezer bags, white gule – 8 oz., wide ruled notebook paper, wide ruled spiral notebooks, yellow highlighters, and yellow #2 pencils.