Forty-three Fort Riley Soldiers spent time Wednesday morning fishing at Milford Lake with participants in the upcoming Cabela’s National Team Walleye Championships at the reservoir.
They departed the Milford Marina at 7 a.m., returning about 11 a.m.
The tournament itself, featuring approximately 175 2-person teams, runs Thursday through Saturday. They will be competing for more than $274,000 in prize money. ( Photos courtesy of Rick Dykstra )
Additional information has been released by Riley County police in regards to the fatality accident that occurred over the weekend. George Davis, 19, of Junction City, Kansas was identified as the second passenger in the vehicle accident 
that occurred in the 3200 block of Stagg Hill Road on May 23, 2015 at approximately 3:30 p.m.
He was transported to Via Christi Hospital by Riley County EMS for serious injury.
The vehicle, a 2003 Nissan Sentra, was driven by Anthony Jones, 20, of Wamego, Kansas. Jones was also transported to Via Christi for serious injury.
One of the passengers in the vehicle, Cheyanne Olivia Higgins, 18, Junction City was pronounced deceased at the scene of the accident.
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to 302 Whiting in Milford on Tuesday in response to a theft.
The S-O reported that Jason Lemke from the state of Iowa had a green tote, cooler with drinks and bait stolen off of his porch sometime after midnight. The case was under investigation.
According to the National Weather Service of Topeka, the unsettled weather pattern continues with thunderstorm chances lasting through Friday night. The best chances will be Thursday through Friday night, and a few storms 
may be strong. This additional rainfall in these periods could be heavy enough to cause localized flooding. This weekend looks dry with pleasant temperatures and a warming trend into next week.
Today: Mostly sunny. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs around 81. Southeast winds up to 10 mph.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Lows around 62. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs around 80. South winds 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 25 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.
Friday: Thunderstorms likely. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.
Friday Night: Thunderstorms likely. Lows in the upper 50s. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Saturday: Cooler. Partly sunny with slight chance of showers and isolated thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Saturday Night Through Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s. Highs around 70.
Monday Through Tuesday: Partly cloudy. Highs around 80. Lows around 60.
CONCORDIA -A Kansas man was injured in an accident during a law enforcement chase just after 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Cloud County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by Mark W. Brandt, 48, Concordia, was fleeing law enforcement northbound on 90th road five miles west of U.S. 81.
The vehicle crossed US 24 on to a gravel road.
The driver lost control and crashed into the west ditch.
Brandt was transported to Cloud County Medical Center.
He was properly restrained at the time of the accident.
Sixty Fort Riley soldiers will fish at Milford Lake with Cabela’s National Team Championship participants on Wednesday from 7-11 a.m.
The Soldiers will be able to spend time with professional anglers from across the country who are participating in the 2015 Cabela’s National Team Championship Thursday through Saturday at Milford Lake.
185 two-person teams will vie for the title and more than $274,000 in cash and prizes.
The entire field will compete the first days on the 16,000-acre reservoir. Each team will be allowed to bring their best five fish to the scale each day. Only the top 25 teams will advance to the final round on day three.
Fans can watch the fishermen take off at 7 a.m. each day, and the weigh-ins which begin at 3 p.m. daily.
The event is being streamed live on the internet at cabelas.com/ntc.
Acorns Resort in the Farnum Creek area near Milford Lake has been awarded the 2015 Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor.
The owner of Acorns Resort Mike Harris stated, “Our staff works very hard to provide the very best customer experience. We strive every day to improve and make our resort the best it can be. We are excited to be recognized by TripAdvisor as one of the best. ”
As a way of saying thank you to customers, Acorns Resort is offering a 10% lodging discount for any weekdays in June 2015. Call 785-463-4000.
POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY – Two stranded canoeists were rescued on Sunday on the Kansas River.
The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office said they received report of two stranded canoeists on the Kansas River east of the Belvue Boat Ramp. The two had been attempting to return to the boat ramp but were unable to because of the hazardous conditions of the river.
The Sheriff’s Office along with Belvue Fire, Wamego City Fire, Louisville Fire, Wamego EMS, Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, St. Mary’s Police Department and Pottawatomie County Emergency Management converged on the area in a rescue effort.
Personnel down stream towards the east eventually located the stranded individuals. Manhattan Fire Department’s Water Rescue (swift water rescue)was called in to assist and took the Sheriff’s Office Rescue Boat to go out on the water.
The two stranded individuals were located by the rescue boat and brought back to the boat ramp where they were treated by Pottawatomie County EMS for signs of hypothermia and were released.
This is the second rescue in two weeks on the Kansas River involving these as well as other agencies in Pottawatomie County. The other rescue also occurred late in the day on May 16th, east of the boat ramp, in St. George.
The Sheriff Office urges those using the Kansas River for recreational purposes to take into consideration the weather and river conditions. Both of these rescues involved rain, lighting and high water with debris floating in the river, making for hazardous condition for the rescuers.
Keishly Franco of Junction City, Kansas, and Kailyn Riffel of Lincolnville, Kansas are the 2015 recipients of a $500 LaVerne Allen Memorial Nursing Scholarship, according to Christine Jones, registered nurse and scholarship chairperson at Geary Community Hospital in Junction City.
Franco is a 2009 graduate of Junction City High School, a 2014 graduate of Kansas State University and is currently pursuing her bachelors of nursing degree at Baker University School of Nursing in Topeka. “My aunt was a nurse and I remember how interesting it was for me when she would explain the human body and different diseases that could happen,” stated Franco. “From there I knew my future would be in healthcare.”
Franco is married, teaches Sunday school, is a youth group treasurer, and currently works as a certified pharmacy technician.
Kailyn Riffel is a 2015 graduate of Centre High School and plans to attend Wichita State University this fall while pursuing her nursing degree. She graduated high school with a 3.83 GPA, was a member of the National Honor Society, Student Council, FFA, SADD secretary, Class of 2015 treasurer, FBLA and the Centre High volleyball and girls basketball teams.
Riffel works part-time as a CNA at a retirement community. “The best feeling is when a resident you they appreciate everything that you have done for them. I am rewarded knowing that I am doing something that makes someone else feel better.”
LaVerne Allen was a dedicated registered nurse who worked at Geary Community Hospital for 61 years. The LaVerne Allen Memorial Nursing Scholarship was established by LaVerne’s granddaughter Amy to honor her grandmother’s contribution to the nursing profession with the thought of helping individuals achieve their goal of becoming a registered nurse and giving back to their community.
Donations to the LaVerne Allen Memorial Nursing Scholarship can be made to Geary Community Healthcare Foundation, P.O. Box 3015, Junction City, Kansas 66441.
The Kansas Department of Revenue is planning to change the way it notifies residents they need to renew their vehicle tags.
The state plans to move away from sending 2.6 million personalized
vehicle renewal letters currently being sent out and instead send generic postcard reminders.
Kathy Tremont, Geary County Treasurer says she’s disappointed in the State in their decision because she feel’s it’s that State’s responsibility to send out the information to allow customers to renew their vehicles.
“I feel like our population here in Geary County we have a lot of retired people and we also have a lot of military people that don’t understand the whole process. So I think it’s pretty important that they get that renewal,” said Tremont. “With a postcard a lot of the information is not going to be on the renewal. The person is going to be instructed to go to the website to get the information to renew their tag, and I don’t think it’s customer friendly service.”
Tremont said that she believes her office will see an influx in phone calls and office visits by those confused by the postcards which will create more work for her staff.
The State did leave the option though for counties to absorb the cost if they want to continue using the previous method, but Tremont said that’s something she’s not willing to do.
“I understand that the State is struggling with their many problems that they have with the money situation, but so does Geary County. I’m working for Geary County and I have to do the best for the citizens of Geary County and I disagree with this issue.”
She said that she will watch to see how her office handles any issues that may come up with the change and will make a decision at a later point in time, but right now she will not have the county absorb the cost of the personalized letters.