Groundbreaking for the new 12,000 square foot Midwest ACE Hardware store was held Tuesday morning in Junction City.

The site is adjacent to Caroline Avenue and U. S. 77 Highway on the west side of Junction City.  The store will be owned by Scott and Karalee Ridder of Manhattan.

KaraLee said the new outlet will be open next spring. “We can serve all the businesses around here. We will deliver to them. We’ll be able to provide all their daily operations supplies.” There will be 10 to 12 employees at the store.

The Ridders also operate the Midwest Ace Hardware store in Manhattan.

Karalee said Dennis Westover is the general contractor for the new store in Junction City, which Scott Ridder confirmed had been under consideration for some time. “Oh, about three years in process, just to kind of make up our mind to come over here and sit and watch the traffic flow.  Karen Westover helped us get the property located, and find out the owners and get it purchased.”  The site was purchased from Hobby Lobby.

Local leaders attended the groundbreaking Tuesday.

A 24-year old Overland Park resident, Aaron Jay Barnes Peck, has been charged with 1st degree murder and child abuse in a Johnson County case.

According to news reports in Kansas City, Peck is charged in the death of a seven-month old baby, Annaleece McHenry-Widmer, on July 7.   According to the criminal complaint, the girl was injured on July 6 at Peck’s apartment that he shared with the girl’s mother in Shawnee, and died the next day from her injuries.

Bond for Peck has been set at one million dollars.  His next court appearance is scheduled on July 23.

Peck is a former Junction City resident.

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, scattered thunderstorms will move east out of central Kansas through 9 a.m. Most of this activity will be non-severe, but one or two strong to severe storms are possible. The strongest storms may produce hail up to 1 inch in diameter, wind gusts up to 60 mph, and localized heavy rain of 1-2 inches per hour.

Heat Advisory
Hazardous Weather Outlook

Today: Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 90s. East winds up to 10 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s. East winds around 5 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s. Southeast winds up to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

Thursday: Mostly sunny with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s.

Friday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 90s.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s.

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

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 70s.

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

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 70s.

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

 

MANHATTAN- One person was injured in an accident just before 10:30p.m. on Monday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2001 Ford Ranger driven by Eric J. Rivera, 36, Killenn, TX., was westbound on Interstate 70 eight miles south of Manhattan. The truck left the roadway to the right.

It came back on the roadway, the driver overcorrected and the truck rolled several times through the median and into the eastbound lanes. It came to rest in the south ditch.

Rivera was transported to Via Christi in Manhattan. He was not wearing a seat belt according to the KHP.

Law enforcement and emergency personnel responded to an accident near U.S. 77 and Old Highway 40 on the south side of Junction City late Monday afternoon.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department reported that Philip Major, Manhattan, was turning from Old Highway 40 onto U.S. 77 Highway in a 2008 Hyundai when he struck Jeremy Purkeypyle, Herington, who was traveling southbound on U.S. 77 in a 2000 Hyundai passenger vehicle.

Purkeypyle was flown to Salina Regional Hospital with leg injuries. No other injuries were reported.

 

MANHATTAN – A Kansas man, suspected in a shooting death in March, appeared in Riley County court on Monday.

Tierre Wall was last in court on May 14, when his public defender Larry McRell made a motion to withdraw from the case due a personal conflict according to the attorney.

Wall had still not secured a defense attorney Monday, and asked the judge for one to be appointed.

In addition, Wall told the judge that staff at the Riley County Jail had been mistreating him, and calling him slanderous names and slurs.

The judge advised Wall to put his claim in writing and submit it to the court so that it could be properly addressed.

Wall is suspected in the shooting death of Casey Lindley, 27, Ogden on Tuesday, March 10.

Police found Lindley suffering from a gunshot wound. He was transported to a Topeka hospital where he later died of his injuries.

Wall was arrested after turning himself in at a police station in Georgia. Wall’s charge of voluntary manslaughter is a severity level 3 personal felony, and comes with a minimum 55 months of incarceration, up to 247 months and $300,000 in fines.

The Manhattan Regional Airport Advisory Board met Monday morning and received an update on the terminal expansion project.

Jesse Romo, Airport Director explained that he wish he had better news to share with the board.

“We’re still closing out phase one, and we’re still trying to get phase two moving forward. We’ve identified a couple of issues for phase two that need to be resolved first, and we thought we had them resolved and then a new issue comes up,” said Romo.

He further explained that one of the major issues with starting phase two has to do with apron lighting.

“We have lighting attached to the old terminal, literally attached to the side of the building, as well as, some of the lights are strung on and powered on by the old terminal power. They need to be resolved before we can shut that down, before we can demolish. So we have to provide some sort of lighting.”

Romo said that if an airport brings in some temporary lighting they still need to file a report with the FAA and do an airspace analysis and the timing of it is an issue now. The reports were originally filed when construction on phase one began but with the numerous delays of phase one the reports are now out of date.

“It’s just one of those things that’s kind of slowed down right now between what should have been filed, what should have been extended, what the FAA is going to have to say about it and what other creative solutions we have out there. We’re trying to figure it out and move it forward.”

While they continue to work through the issues Romo remains hopeful that construction of phase two will begin within the next month.

 

As many as 500 area Girl Scouts will be visiting Manhattan Regional Airport Saturday, August 8th to earn their aviation badges.

The event will feature static displays, tower tours and inspirational speeches by Air Race Classic teams and the Acting State Aviation Director, Tiffany Brown.

The event is the first one that the new Airport Director, Jesse Romo has planned.

“We’re pretty excited, this will be our first event,” Romo told the Airport Advisory Board Monday. “It’s one of the things that I had said during the interview process, and I had said repeatedly in my previous position that you have to make sure your airport is a part of the community, and not just located in one. Doing events like this kind of helps bring all of those things together.”

The Airport Advisory Board also learned of another event that is interested in coming to the airport sometime next year that would be a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House in Topeka.

Nancy Johnson, CEO of the Topeka Ronald McDonald House explained she is interested in hosting a pull-a-plane fundraiser at the airport sometime next year and was seeking tentative approval.

Johnson is still trying to work some of the details out for the event, but wanted to first make sure she would have the support of the Airport.

As it is still in the preliminary phase, not all of the details are worked out. The Advisory Board didn’t want to give Johnson a definite yes, but didn’t want to say no either. They did go ahead and give their voice of approval while she plans it out, with the expectation that Johnson will bring more information for final approval at a later date.

 

Beginning on Friday ( July 17 ) a portion of K-43 in Dickinson County will receive a three-inch asphalt overlay. The project will begin at the western K-43 / 1400 Road junction then go north to the I-70 / K-43 / Mink Road interchange. The city of Enterprise will be excluded from this project.

Traffic will be carried through construction via a flagger and pilot car during daylight hours. There will be a 12-foot width restriction within the work zone. Plans call for the project to be completed on or about August 31, weather permitting.

KDOT said the purpose of the project is to extend the life of the roadway and improve the ride quality.

The project is being funded through T-Works.

LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that Pentagon leaders are finalizing plans aimed at lifting the ban on transgender individuals serving in the military.

Senior U.S. officials say an announcement is expected this week. They say the military would have six months to determine the impact and work out details, with the presumption that they would end one of the last gender- or sexuality-based barriers to military service.

The officials say that during the transition, transgender individuals would still not be able to join the military. Decisions to force out those already serving would have to be referred to a top Defense Department leader.

Several officials familiar with the planning spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue before the details have been worked out.