Seasonably warm temperatures are forecast for the 4th of July along with partly to mostly sunny skies. Scattered thunderstorms will be possible late Saturday Afternoon into the Evening hours, mainly along and West of Interstate 135.

Friday Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Light north wind increasing to 5 to 9 mph in the morning.

Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light east after midnight.

Independence Day A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Light east southeast wind becoming south southeast 8 to 13 mph in the morning.

Saturday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. South southeast wind 9 to 11 mph.

A broken lock on the camper used by Sundown Salute Director Sharon Glessner left them no choice but to break out a window and send someone through it to open the door from the inside. 

Glessner explained that the lock malfunctioned on the door Wednesday evening as she was returning to the camper that serves as her office during the four day Independence Day Celebration.

“Something malfunctioned with one of the locks and we were trying to get into our own camper, and one of our volunteers accidentally shattered the glass on one of the windows and so we sent a couple of guys through the window to open the camper,” explained Glessner.

The volunteers through the window included Jim Germann and B.J. Solander. The lock was fixed and the window replaced Thursday morning.

Junction City caught the eastern edge of a larger storm Thursday night that dropped some light rain on Sundown Salute, but not enough to delay or postpone any of the concerts.

Sharon Glessner, Sundown Salute Director explained that the rain would have had to been harder in order for them to take any action.

“As long as the rain isn’t like a downpour, we’re still good to go,” said Glessner. “If we get a lot of wind and rain we will have to lower the the canopy on the stage and wait until that’s over with. If there’s lightning we would have to cancel the show.”

The weather didn’t stop the show but it may have stopped some people from turning out for last night’s concerts as the crowd size was down from what was expected.

“So far I think it’s a little down from what we thought it probably should be tonight. I think that maybe the potential weather impacted it a little bit, but we still had a really great crowd out here and I think it’ll just get bigger every night.”

Friday nights lineup includes three tribute bands to three classic rock artists. Hitting the stage at 6:30 p.m. will be American Fool- Tribute to John Mellencamp, followed by Satisfaction- Tribute to the Rolling Stones at 7:45 p.m. and at 9:00 p.m. Revelation- Tribute to Journey will take the stage.

The C. L. Hoover Opera House will be the site of three programs in July.

On Friday, July 17th, at 7:30 p.m. Joseph Hall is bringing his Elvis show back to Junction City, this time with a full band.  Hall performs an Elvis Rock ‘n’ Remember Tribute show.

On Sunday, July 19, at 2 p.m. the 1st Infantry Division Band Soloists Recital is on the schedule. This includes a recital of solo and small ensemble performances showcasing the talented musicians from the 1st ID Band.

The Jeff Gordon Show is scheduled Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 p.m.  He will bring the music of Tom Jones and more in his performance.

Tickets are available at the Opera House, 785- 238-3906 or at www.jcoperahouse.org.

The annual Sundown Salute celebration is under way in Junction City.

The celebration including concerts, a carnival, a food and craft vendors, is headquartered in the Heritage Park and downtown Washington and Jefferson Street areas. There is no charge to attend the concerts.  Sundown Salute continues through Saturday night.

Dennis Beson was announced Thursday at the new CEO for the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce.

He is coming to Junction City from the Saginaw, Michigan area where he has provided leadership training for Merrill Technologies Group, which is a company of about 500 people. On his duties there Beson stated, “Developing an emerging leaders program as well as an established incumbent leader program, helping people discover their abilities in leadership.”

Teamwork is important to Beson. “I am only one part of the puzzle so the better cohesiveness I can have with my team the more we’re going to grow and do things the right way.”

On the initial direction he has been given when he goes to work in Junction City: “Well, one of the big initiatives is to kind of unite the four different agencies that I’ll be working with. Try to be a little bit more of a cohesive unit of one to help develop and grow the economic area of Geary County and Junction City.”

JC Post asked the new CEO about his leisure time interests. “I’m a former musician, so I like to sing and make music. I also like to play golf and ride my bicycle for exercise. So hopefully in the area around there I can do some nice hiking and work with the natural resources that you have around there.” Beson noted he was a singer in a rock and roll band for approximately 17 years.

Beson begins work at his new job in Junction City on August 3.

The schedule for Sundown Salute on Friday includes the All Star Stunt Dogs Challenge at 1:30 and 4 p.m. in Heritage Park, Brian Wendling – Juggler! Comedy! Energy! at the Heritage Park bandstand at 2 and 4:30 p.m.

The Ottaway Amusements carnival opens at 6 p.m.

Country music will be featured in the free concerts on Friday evening. State Line Drive will perform at 7 p.m. and Shawn Gerhard at 8:30 p.m.

The Kaw Valley Rodeo Association wants you to be tough enough to wear pink.

The association’s annual Tough Enough to Wear Pink rodeo will be Friday, July 24, to honor cancer survivors and raise awareness and funds for Kansas State University’s Johnson Cancer Research Center.

In conjunction with the Riley County Fair, the Kaw Valley Rodeo will be at 8 p.m. July 23-35 at Wells Arena in CiCo Park, Manhattan.

“We want rodeo fans to pack the arena with pink Friday night,” said Gene Klingler, a local physician and chairman of the rodeo association’s “pink committee.”

Spectators are encouraged to wear pink. Pink t-shirts, hats, bandanas and more will be available for purchase, with all proceeds supporting Kansas State University cancer research.

A benefit spaghetti dinner is also planned for 5-7 p.m. Sunday, July 12, at the First Presbyterian Church, 801 Leavenworth St., Manhattan. Tickets for the all-you-can-eat dinner, which is catered and sponsored by Cox Bros. BBQ, are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12, and free for children 4 and younger. They are available from the cancer research center, 785-532-6705.

Sponsors are still being sought for these events. Sponsors are listed on the center’s website and recognized in a variety of other ways. People interested in sponsoring should contact the cancer research center.

The American Red Cross is offering a series of steps that can be followed to safely enjoy fireworks on the holiday weekend.

The best way to enjoy fireworks is to attend a public fireworks show put on by professionals.

Here are five safety tips for people setting off fireworks at home.

–Never give fireworks to small children, and always follow the instructions on the packaging.

–Keep a supply of water close by as a precaution.

–Make sure the person lighting fireworks always wears eye protection.

–Light only one firework at a time and never attempt to relight a dud.

–Never throw or point a firework toward people, animals, vehicles, structures or flammable materials.

The 1st Combat AviationBrigade, 1st Infantry Division, is set to host a change of command ceremony at 10 a.m. July 8 at the Fort Riley Cavalry Parade Field.

Col. Matthew R. Lewis will relinquish command to Col. John M. Cyrulik after two years in command of the “Demon” brigade.

Lewis is slated to become the deputy commander of the Combat Readiness Center at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Cyrulik is a recent graduate of the U.S. Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He is coming to the Demon brigade from Fort Rucker, where he served as the director of evaluation and standardization from July 2013 to June 2014.