The projected total property tax levy in the USD 475 budget for the coming year has been placed at 43.525 mills. That’s the same rate as the mill levy for the past year.

The proposed spending plan was outlined for the Board of Education Monday in Junction City.

Superintendent Dr. Corbin Witt said it’s important to be good community collaborators. “And if we can leave the mill levy the same, we’ll have a little less funding we’ll have a little less funding because of it, but I think we have a budget that’s very strong. And right now we’re going to leave it flat.”

Approval of the proposed budget for publication will be considered by the Board next Monday, Aug. 3, and there will be a budget hearing Aug. 17.

 

 

To prepare for a project that will widen Rifle Range Road on Fort Riley, Geary USD 475 has adjusted the start times of Fort Riley Elementary School and Seitz Elementary School.

According to a press release from Hugh Davis, Executive Director of Communications for USD 475 with the addition of Fort Riley Elementary on Rifle Range Road there is a need to widen that road in order to alleviate traffic congestion and keep children safe.

Due to construction scheduling conflicts the project was not able to start when originally planned, but will start later this year. To prepare for the project the Fort Riley and USD 475 have started to work on some immediate solutions to help plan for the morning and afternoon commute to school.

School start times for both schools will be staggered by 30 minutes for this school year with Fort Riley Elementary starting at 7:45 a.m. and releasing at 3 p.m. and Seitz Elementary starting at 8:15 a.m. and dismissing at 3:30 p.m..

The time change will not impact normal school activities, breakfast will be served. Boundary and normal school assignments will not change, housing on Main Post and Airfield are still assigned to Fort Riley Elementary School.

Due to elevated security on Post Rifle Range Road gate will not be opened.

Fort Riley and USD 475 will regularly evaluate traffic flow throughout the year, and want to hear from the public and will be scheduling a town hall meeting in early August.

The Junction City Public Works Department has announced a temporary closure along West Ash Street in Junction City.

The eastbound lane of W. Ash Street, between S. Jefferson Street and S. Washington Street, will be closed until late Wednesday afternoon due to a 4 inch meter exchange.

The Manhattan area Chamber of Commerce is organizing an InterCity Visit with Columbia, Missouri, scheduled for September 30th and October 1st in Columbia.

There are two benefits to participating in an InterCity Visit according to Lyle Butler, Chamber CEO/President.

“One is that you get to go to a community that’s similar to yours, but maybe a little bit larger, and they’ve had experience doing some activities, some programs, some creative ways that they’ve done something in their community,”said Butler. “I think our community can go and can learn some of those ways and then decide if they have any benefit to try them, or modify them, and try them in our own community.”

The second benefit would be the networking possibilities with people from the other communities.

The Chamber will be taking a bus to Columbia for the visit and space is limited to just 50 people.

“This isn’t generally open to the public, we’re not trying to hide anything, but we’re working on getting business people, local elected officials, and civic leaders in our community, a cross-section of those. We’re also going to include our partners in Geary County and Pottawatomie County to join us. We’re limiting it to 50. You get too much beyond that and it becomes difficult to move a large group of people around to get to the different venues and meetings in that InterCity community.”

The Chamber is looking to make this an annual event, either yearly or every other year, choosing between other cities across the nation of similar or slightly larger size.

Saint Xavier Schools in Junction City will be enrolling Pre-K through 12th grade Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m.

Shawn Augustine, School Principal, said there’ll be a sign up sheet as students enter the door through Building A. “They will pick up a registration checklist, and then they will enter the office to pick up registration forms, fill those out if they have not already. They can also pick up class schedules for grades 7 through 12.”  Students can also pick up paperwork for activities and events that are occurring throughout the school year, and for the school supply list.

“And then we’ll also have organizations like PTO and our activities committee available in the library to visit with people throughout the day. And then we’ll have our school Parker uniforms here between 1 and 6 p.m.  down in the cafeteria, so as parents stop through with their students they can actually go downstairs to try on the different clothing items to make sure everything fits and is good to go.”

You can still enroll after Wednesday, but Augustine notes if you can come on Wednesday there are more things available, and you can probably get few more things accomplished because everyone will be at the school on that particular day.  “Otherwise people can still register and get signed up after that point.” The office will still be running its summer hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. the rest of this week, but beginning next week will return to a more 8 a.m. to 3 or 3:30 p.m. time frame.

On their Monday tour log report the Junction City Police Department reported three cases of theft involving American flags.

The American flags were taken from outside residences in the 800 block of West 8th Street, 600 block of West 8th, and 1200 block of West 8th.

No arrests have been reported.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department reports that Deputies responded to the 19000 block of Old Highway K-18 Sunday for a single vehicle rollover accident.  While enroute to the scene Deputies were advised no one was around the vehicle.

Contact was later made with Darrick Masenthin, Manhattan, who stated he was traveling east when a deer ran out in front of him and he swerved to avoid the deer, causing his 2003 Chevrolet Trailblazer to leave the roadway, go up an embankment and overturn.

The Sheriff’s Department reported that Masenthin was issued a Notice to Appear for alleged Failure to Report an Accident, Leaving the Scene of an Accident and No Seatbelt. Scratches and bruises were reported as a result of the accident.

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, after some scattered morning showers and thunderstorms, skies should clear this afternoon. Highs will reach into the lower to upper 90s and humidity levels will remain high enough to produce heat indices in the 100 to 107 degree range this Afternoon. Tuesday will be hot again as most areas will warm into the mid to upper 90s with afternoon heat indices of 100 to 109 degrees.

A cold front will move southward across the area Tuesday night. Ahead of the front a line of numerous showers and thunderstorms will develop. Some of these thunderstorms will be strong to severe with the primary hazards being damaging wind gusts, heavy rainfall and quarter size hail. Wednesday will be mostly cloudy with showers and thunderstorms diminishing during the afternoon hours. Highs will be cooler with lower to upper 80s expected.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TOPEKA HAS ISSUED A HEAT

ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 8 PM
CDT THIS EVENING.

Today: Cloudy with isolated showers and thunderstorms in the morning…then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 90s. South winds up to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 70s. South winds 10 to 15 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 90s. South winds 10 to 15 mph. Highest heat index readings around 108 in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely in the evening…then chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the upper 60s. West winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north after midnight. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Wednesday: Not as warm. Partly sunny. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning. Highs in the mid 80s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

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

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows around 70.

Sunday: Mostly sunny with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s.

MANHATTAN- Three people were injured in an accident just before 7p.m. on Sunday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2014 Volvo driven by Silvana Okanoviv, 29, St. Louis, MO., was northbound on Kansas177 two miles north of Interstate 70.

The Volvo made a hard left turn through the median into on coming traffic and struck a southbound 2009 Ford passenger vehicle head on in the southbound lanes.

Okanoviv was transported to Via Christi.

The KHP reported the driver of the Ford Patrick G. Drewes, 44, Lawrence, and a 7-month-old girl from Wamego in the Ford were possibly injured but not where they were treated.

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

The next public donation day for Stuff the Bus in Junction City is Saturday, August 1 at Wal-Mart at 521 East Chestnut Street.  The hours will be 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.

This is the program in which United Way is working with USD 475 to ask members of the Junction City / Geary County area to donate school supplies to help children in the district whose families who may struggle to provide the necessary items to start the school year.

Now is the time many families begin to purchase the necessary school supplies for their children for the upcoming school year.

Supplies needed include 3-ring binders, 3 x 3 sticky notes, black dry erase markers, Clorox wipes, composition books, Crayola crayons – 24 pack, Fiskar Scissors, gallon Ziplock freezer bags, glue sticks, hand sanitizer – 8 oz., Kleenex – large box, large pink erasers, plain pocket folders, quart Ziplock freezer bags, white glue – 8 oz., wide ruled notebook paper, wide ruled spiral notebooks, yellow highlighters, and yellow #2 pencils.

Another public donation day is also scheduled Saturday, Aug. 8 from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. at Wal Mart.

Also, several businesses are serving as drop-off locations for school supplies. they include Central National Bank locations, Exchange Bank locations, Geary Community Hospital, Intrust Bank, KS State Bank, Landmark National Bank, Millennium Bank, and Sunflower Bank.

Donations can also be dropped off at the United Way Office, 139 East 8th Street, Monday through Friday. The office is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For those who do not wish to shop for school supplies, financial contributions can be made. All funds generated will be spent on the purchase of additional school supplies. Checks should be made to United Way with “Stuff the Bus” written on the memo line. Mail checks to United Way, P.O. Box 567, Junction City, KS 66441.