Court Appointed Special Advocates will be going through a change.

Tiffany Clark, Director has submitted her resignation in order to concentrate on work on a Master’s Degree, and she has also accepted the position of Life Skills Instructor with the 8th Judicial District.

Clark will begin work in that job Tuesday.

She also plans to remain a Dickinson County CASA volunteer and plans to be active in CASA fundraising efforts.

The CASA Board has named Denra Riley as the Interim CASA Director effective Tuesday. Riley has been serving as the Lead Case Supervisor for CASA.

The Board will conduct interviews for the CASA Director position over the next two months.

Milford Lake is about six feet beyond normal conservation pool level.

R. J. Harms, Milford Lake Corps of Engineers Project Operations manager, said a lot of water has been coming down the Republican River into the reservoir. “At one point we had about 15,000 cubic feet per second in the Republican River coming into Milford, so really over the weekend, starting on Thursday, Friday, and then over the weekend right now we’re at about six feet above normal. ”

Prior to that influx the Lake was up about two feet, meaning about four feet of water entered the Reservoir the latter part of last week.

There has been some impact in the Milford State Park area with water over walkways to a pair of public docks, and the Jet Ski Beach Road.

The Corps of Engineers, as of 2:30 p.m. Monday ( June 8 ) will be releasing 2,000 cubic feet of water per second from the Lake. They have been releasing only 25 cfs.  In recent days the Corps had to hold water in Milford Lake to prevent a problem downstream on the Missouri River in the Waverly, Missouri area.

The Flint Hills Regional Council is expected to begin it’s search to replace it’s longtime Regional Planner within the next week or two.

Gary Stith, FHRC Executive Director updated the Riley County Commission Monday and explained he’s currently developing the job description that he will present to the FHRC Executive Board next Monday for the replacement of Jeff Adams.

Adams is stepping down as the FHRC Regional Planner to become the Community Development Director in the coastal resort city of St. Marys , Georgia.

Stith explained that the new Regional Planner will have to be someone who is experienced and knowledgeable about data mining and using data sources.

“As a part of the Regional Sustainable Communities Grant that we’re just closing out, we acquired access to several databases that provide us with a great deal of information for economic development,” said Stith.

He went on to explain that the Regional Council’s role in economic development will be focused on analyzing economic opportunities and identifying clusters that they can attract to the flint hills region.

GRANDVIEW PLAZA – Three people were hospitalized after an accident during a police chase on Interstate 70 just before 7a.m. on Monday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported officers attempted to stop a 2000 Audi passenger car driven by Arturo Molina, 20, Kansas City, for speeding.

The vehicle fled. After driving recklessly through traffic, the vehicle exited the interstate at Grandview Plaza and came to a stop after striking the embankment.

Molina, and passengers Miguel Angel Macias, 22, and Christian A. Cruz, 21, both of Kansas City were transported to Geary County Hospital.

They were not wearing seat belts according to the KHP.

The Junction City Community Band will present a free concert for Flag Day at 7 p.m. Sunday, June 14 at the C. L. Hoover Opera House.

Tom Miles of Abilene, will be conducting the band in a program featuring traditional marches, popular music, show tunes, and patriotic music. The program will also feature a trumpet solo by Terry Iseli of Riley.

FORT RILEY, Kansas – The 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, has announced the final flight for the 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment’s
OH-58 Kiowa Warrior helicopters will be at 6:30 a.m. Friday, June 12, over Fort Riley as part of Victory Week 2015 activities.

“This is going to be a crucial day in the history of Army aviation,” said Lt. Col. Andrew Beyer, commander of 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st CAB, 1st Inf. Div., “both for families and friends of ‘The Fighting Sixth’ as well as many of the ground forces the craft and crews have supported over
the years.”

As the penultimate event of the division’s Victory Week, 25 Kiowa Warriors
will fly over a formation of more than 10,000 Soldiers as they conduct the
yearly Victory Run on Custer Hill. This will be the Kiowa Warrior’s last
mission flight at Fort Riley and will mark a historic change in the Army’s
aviation arsenal.

The Army announced in 2014 Kiowa Warriors’ duties would be assumed by the
AH-64 Apache after serving as the Army’s primary aerial scout reconnaissance
aircraft. The OH-58 has been a part of the Army’s aviation corps since May
1969, though it has adapted to the times and mission requirements. The
current Kiowa Warrior was first fielded in 1983, and has deployed in support
of almost every major U.S. operation since that time.

The following is a statement released Monday by K-State President Kirk Schulz on the busy weekend at the state capitol.

“The signing of the bill declaring all state employees “essential” is a welcome relief to the K-State family and our communities. We hope the Legislature will finish its work on the budget soon so we can move ahead with our work and focus on our students.

The past week was difficult and distracting, yet I am proud of the way our faculty and staff members got the job done. The amazing folks in the Division of Human Capital Services — led by Vice President Cheryl Johnson — spent the week on overdrive and deserve recognition for performing admirably under extreme duress. Please let them know how much we appreciate their service to us all.

I also want to give a shoutout to Jeff Morris and our staff in the Division of Communications and Marketing for managing universitywide communications; Sue Peterson in Government Relations for keeping us appraised of what was occurring with the Legislature; and all of our supervisors for making very difficult decisions on who was deemed “essential” for campus operations.

While we still have many unknowns, I encourage you to conduct business as normal. Once the budget issues get sorted out we can move ahead with our tuition proposals and will know where we stand.

Thank you for your continued patience and willingness to persevere. We will continue to keep you informed of the process and answer questions as we can. Updated information can be found at k-state.edu/furloughs or by calling 785-532-1565.

Kind regards,

Kirk”

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department reports two vehicle – deer accidents occurred Sunday night.

One occurred on I-70 near mile marker 292 about two miles west of Junction City. Aaron Bryan, Chapman, was westbound in a Chrysler PT Cruiser when he struck a deer in the interstate. Bryan was not injured, but there was more than $1,000 damage. That accident occurred just after 10:30 p.m.

The second accident occurred a short time after 11:30 p.m. on the interstate approximately 14 miles east of Junction City. Robin McMahon, Junction City, was operating a Ford Ranger when she struck a deer. McMahon was not injured.

According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, dry and warm weather is in store for the first half of the week. The stormy June weather pattern returns by Thursday though and looks to lastthrough the weekend with several chances for thunderstorms.

Early This Morning: Mostly clear. Near steady temperature in the mid 60s. Northwest winds up to 5 mph.

Today: Sunny. Highs around 87. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 63. Southwest winds up to 5 mph.

Tuesday: Sunny. Highs around 93. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night And Wednesday: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 60s. Highs in the mid 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 60s.

Thursday: Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s.

Thursday Night: Thunderstorms likely. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs around 80.

Friday Night: Thunderstorms likely. Lows in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 60 percent.

Saturday Through Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 80s. Lows in the upper 60s.

Quilt of Valor quiltmakers, quilters, supporters and others interested in the Central Flint Hills 2015 Quilt of Valor Project are invited to a Quilt of Valor celebration.  It is scheduled Wednesday, June 10, 7 p.m. at the Alida Upland Parish Church, 2243 3300 Ave., Junction City.

Although the Project has been underway only since the first of the year, 35 quilts Quilts of Valor have been made by local quiltmakers and distributed to be awarded to local veterans.  The celebration include a slide show of the completed quilts and a guest speaker, Jan Stephens. Stephens will speak about the lives of pioneer women as they crossed the Kansas prairies on the trails connecting the eastern and western sides of the country. She will also share her “She Came from Kansas” quilt featuring blocks representing famous Kansas women.

There is no charge to attend the celebration. Reservations are not required.

The Central Flint Hills Area Quilt of Valor Project will continue through Veteran’s Day, November 11, 2015. Additional quilts will be made to award and to honor local veterans.