A beautiful week of spring weather is expected across the region as conditions remain dry and temperatures rise into the 70s, according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. Thunderstorm chances return to the forecast by Friday with scattered precipitation chancescontinuing through the weekend.

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 70. North winds up to 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 45. Northwest winds up to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny. Highs around 72. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s. Northeast winds up to 10 mph.

Thursday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. Northeast winds up to 5 mph shifting to the southeast in the afternoon.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 40s.

Friday And Friday Night: Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s. Lows in the mid 50s.

Saturday And Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s. Lows in the upper 50s.

Sunday: Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 80s.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s.

Monday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 70s.

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Geary County Commissioners are considering the possibility of refinancing the bonds issued some time ago to finance the most recent addition to the Geary County Detention Center.

That addition was completed in 2009.

Commissioner Florence Whitebread said interest rates are low right now, and if the County can get a lower rate they could make considerable savings of possibly around $400,000.

Requests for proposals will be submitted to local banks, and the responses will be brought back to the Commission May 11.  The topic will also have to go before the Public Building Commission on May 26th.

The Commission met with a representative of Ranson Financial on this topic on Monday.

Teacher contract talks in Geary USD 475 could run into June this year.

That’s the sentiment following a daylong session Monday in the school district.

Cathy Rankin, Junction City Education Association President, noted it’s a slow process. “We worked some on definitions today and then we had to sidetrack over to some of the issues surrounding the definitions, and so we’re going to be at this awhile.”

Dr. Beth Hudson, Associate Superintendent of Schools,  echoed a similar viewpoint.  She noted the next meeting is in the middle of May. “Because school closes and all the end of year activities we won’t meet again until June. But it does look like it’s going to take us another two-and-a-half days at least, to  get to some kind of resolution for the contract.”

Negotiations are scheduled for a full day on June 3, and for a half day on June 4.

The session on Monday also included a consensus on continued use of the KEEP process for teacher –  employee evaluation, and consensus  that would allow elementary school teachers who feel that they have an overload situation in their class  to have a process that they can go through with the administration to evaluate and find a solution.  On the overload issue Hudson added in the current agreement the middle schools and high school are more clearly defined by the number of courses that they teach in a day. That’s harder to do in the elementary schools.

 

The Kansas Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, along with Governor Sam Brownback were on Milford Lake Monday for a day of fishing as a part of the annual Larry Magill Sportsmen’s Challenge.

This was the ninth year for the Sportsmen’s Challenge which is annually held at Milford Lake. Speaker of the House Ray Merrick serves as the Co-Chair of the Kansas Sportsmen’s Caucus and helps organize the day of fishing.

“It’s the only time really, thinking about the Legislative year, it’s the only time that the Senate and the House really get together for non-legislative stuff,” Merrick Said. “It’s a way to really get to know each other.”

Governor Brownback agreed with Merrick and said the event helps build trust between the two legislative bodies.

“So much of getting anything done in a legislative body is built around relationships, and people knowing each other and the kind of background they come from and their ideas. Here’s a casual setting that you get to do that in,” explained Brownback.

This year 37 Legislators plus the Governor participated in fishing at Milford Lake. They were guided by local guides and had lunch at Acorns Resort. The Sportsmen’s Challenge will wrap up with a sporting clay shoot Tuesday in Topeka.

 

The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is seeking food vendors for the annual D-Day commemoration concert on Saturday, June 6. Symphony at Sunset will take place on the Eisenhower campus grounds in Abilene. The concert will include the 35th Infantry Division Band performance at 7 p.m. and the Salina Symphony headlining at 8:30 p.m.

Applications are being accepted for food vendors at Symphony at Sunset. Vendors will need to set up at 4 p.m. on June 6 and be open for sales by 5:30 p.m. Tear down will occur immediately following the concert at approximately 10 p.m. Completed applications must be turned in to the Eisenhower Library before May 15. There is no application fee.

For more information or to receive an application, call 785-263-6700 or send an email to eisenhower.library@nara.gov. All accepted vendors will be notified of placement / setup details and receive further information by May 22.

MANHATTAN – A Manhattan man arrested following the recent shooting in Aggieville that left one per injured is scheduled to appear in Riley County Court on Tuesday.

Just after 1:30 a.m. on April 12, police responded to a report of multiple shots being fired in the area of 11th Street and Fremont Street in Manhattan.

Authorities were told that a black suspect wearing a dark blue jacket and a shirt with a white design on it was observed fleeing from the area and was possibly armed with a handgun.

Police chased the suspect on foot through Manhattan City Park. They eventually apprehended Dontay Tabron, 21, near the intersection of South Manhattan Avenue and Houston Street.

Tabron is being held on charges of aggravated battery and criminal discharge of a firearm (into an occupied dwelling) after what police believe was originally a verbal altercation between Tabron and Wesley Dukes, 23, of Manhattan.

Dukes received medical attention at Mercy Regional Hospital for a gunshot wound to the leg that was considered non-life threatening.

Heavy rains north of Milford Lake over the weekend allowed the lake to rise about a foot, bringing the lakes elevation to just half a foot under normal conservation levels.

RJ Harms, Corps of Engineers Project Manager at Milford Lake explained that the lake was previously about a foot and a half low prior to this past weekends rain.

“Normal levels are 1144.4 and we’re about a half foot low, so we’re about 1143.9 right now,” Harms said.

Harms estimated that the inflow from the Republican River was close to 10,000 cfs.

There are two benefit to having a high inflow, it helps maintain the lakes elevation levels, and it also can bring the lakes turbidity levels up which will cloud the water and help the lakes blue green algae problems later this summer.

Milford Lake was exceptionally clear this year and clear water can speed up the growth of blue green algae.

“If we can have some water come into the lake from downstream, that should bring some turbidity in.”

It remains unclear how intense blue green algae will be at the lake this summer, but there are new regulations in place from the KDHE on how to handle algae blooms which are expected to be better than years past.

Retired U.S. Army veteran Sandy Popovich was presented with a Quilt of Valor through the Central Flint Hills Area Quilt of Valor 2015 Project.   The presentation occurred at the Quilter’s yard at 722 North Washington in Junction City.

The project honors service members and veterans in the Central Flint Hills area who have been touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor made by quilters from the Central Flint Hills area.

Popovich served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, including two tours of duty in Vietnam…1965-66 and 1968-69. He called the quilt a great honor.

“There was a time that I didn’t talk about being in Vietnam because of the attitude of the American people. This is a long way from being spit on in San Francisco. He called the quilt presentation “Really good.”

Popovich was presented the quilt by his longtime friend D.E. Lacer, whose company, DEL Motors, donated the money for all the embroidered cases in which the quilts are encased when they are presented to the recipients.

Project Coordinator Donna Martinson noted that 57 veterans have been nominated, and at least another 13 to 15 are pending.

 

A gradual warming trend is in store for the work week with mostly sunny skies

Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 65. Northeast winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 41. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 68. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. Northwest winds up to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Sunny. Highs around 70. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night And Thursday: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 40s. Highs in the lower 70s.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows around 50.

Friday And Friday Night: Partly cloudy. Highs in the mid 70s. Lows in the mid 50s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny with a 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Highs around 80.

Saturday Night And Sunday: Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s. Highs around 80.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A nearly 400-year-old collection of William Shakespeare’s plays will make a stop in Manhattan.

Kansas State University will host an exhibition featuring a rare “First Folio” of the Bard’s plays in February 2016.

The folio was assembled by two of Shakespeare’s actors in 1623 and is an original printing of the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays. Included are plays such as “Macbeth,” ”Julius Caesar” and “The Tempest.”

Of 800 copies made originally it’s estimated between 200 and 300 remain. The exhibition will tour all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Island.

The university reports that planning is beginning this spring on a monthlong program of events. The tour is organized by the Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with the Cincinnati Museum Center and the American Library Association.