The Junction City Commission will conduct their annual reorganization Tuesday night at the Municipal Building.

That will include the election of a mayor and vice mayor for the coming year.

Phyllis Fitzgerald, James Sands, and Pat Landes will take their oath of office for new terms. Landes and Sands were reelected by voters on April 7, and Fitzgerald was elected to her first term as a member of the governing body.

There will also be the appointment of commissioners to city public boards for the coming year.

It will be the final meeting for Cecil Aska as a member of the city commission. He chose not to seek reelection.

The meeting begins at  7 p.m. Tuesday.

The City of Junction City will hold an open house Monday, April 20, from 3-7 p.m. in the Municipal Auditorium.

All builders, developers, engineers, real estate agencies, businesses and the general public are invited.

Information concerning the City’s policies, standards, codes, ordinances, and procedures for building, construction, and development in and around the city will be available.

City staff from the Building & Codes, Engineering, Public Works, and Planning & Zoning Departments will be in attendance to answer general questions on city policies, standards, and procedures.

Municipal Services Director Greg McCaffrey said the open house will follow an informal format, and is intended to better educate the development community, and those looking to build and develop within the city.

A HUD Grant that has funded the Flint Hills Regional Council for the past three years run’s out in May, leaving the council with enough funding to get through the rest of the year and barely into next year.

Gary Stith, FHRC Executive Director explained that they are currently working on a number of things to keep the organization sustainable. 

“We’re making some adjustments in staffing and we’re looking for all kinds of opportunities for next year in terms of grants and projects that we can work on and partnerships we can create,” Stith said.

Currently the FHRC has a contract with the City of Council Grove doing a Comprehensive Plan for them and working with four or five other communities in the region preparing grant applications and then administering those grants once they’ve been awarded. The FHRC also has some other possible projects they will be going after.

The Council’s base budget for 2016 is approximately $260,000 and if they do receive some projects they hope to go after in the near future they expect they feel they will then need to hire a full time Executive Director, which Stith says will cost them an additional $75,000.

“Right now we only have $36,000 we’re rolling over, plus the dues for next year will generate about $64,000. We still have a hole to plug but we we’ve got several irons in the fire that we think are going to come through and provide us with additional resources.”

As of right now Stith is working part-time as the Executive Director. Much of the staff has moved to hourly wages in order to preserve money and keep the Council operational until additional funding is secured.

 

The former Jim’s 66 service station at 1201 North Washington has been sold to Chris Scarf of Junction City.

The announcement was made by Russ Nixon, who confirmed that Scarf plans to run  that business, which will be called “The Station,” in addition to his already existing business, “Extreme Automotive,” which is located at 1105 North Jefferson.

Nixon noted that the “The Station” is expected to be up and running in the near future after some revamping, painting, and cleaning work is completed on the facility.

Jim’s 66 closed last November upon the retirement of Jim Nixon.

On April 12, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department has reported that two rural Dickinson County burglaries had been cleared after an investigation into a stolen trailer led Deputies to a Herington residence.

Sheriff Gareth Hoffman said on March 26th the Sheriff’s Department took a report from a rural Dickinson County resident that a four by six wooden trailer was stolen from a barn. A Sheriff’s Deputy was investigating the theft of the trailer when the investigation led him to a residence in Herington , where the trailer was located. The trailer was secured by the Sheriff’s Department and identified by the owner.

The investigation led Deputies to a second Herington home where they recovered two wall mounted propane heaters. the investigation revealed that the propane heaters were taken from a rural Dickinson County residence in January of 2011.

Hoffman reported that a 41-year old Herington man, Tracy A. Hayden, was arrested on suspicion of Theft of Lost or Mislaid Property.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas State University laboratory that conducts rabies testing is reporting a spike in positive results.

Diagnostician Rolan Davis says there were 28 positive rabies cases from January through March of this year, up from 10 positives for the same three months in 2014.

The school said this week in a news release that 23 of the cases involve rabies in a skunk, the animal most associated with carrying the virus in Kansas. There also were three cases in cats, one in a bovine and one in a fox.

Davis says the increase isn’t a cause for alarm but urged people to be aware in case they come across an infected animal. Officials at the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory say vaccinating pets is the best protection against rabies.

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) – A New York congressman has introduced legislation to halt the planned sale of Plum Island.

The island off the northeastern tip of Long Island is home to a government-run laboratory that studies infectious animal diseases.

Congress voted in 2008 to close the research site and move its work to Manhattan, Kansas where the new NBAF Lab will be built.

The federal General Services Administration is required by law to sell the island.

The Nature Conservancy recently estimated the appraised value of the island at $32.9 million.

First-term Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin said in a statement Friday that he is re-introducing legislation to rescind the 2008 vote. The bill previously was sponsored by his predecessor, Democrat Timothy Bishop.

Environmental and conservation groups want to block the sale of the island and keep it as a nature preserve.

MANHATTAN -Westbound  Interstate traffic at exit 316 has re-opened  to one lane of traffic due to a vehicle fire.

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MANHATTAN-Westbound traffic on Interstate 70 is temporarily closed in Riley County at Deep Creek Road, exit 316, due a vehicle fire according to the KHP.

Few additional details are available. Check the post for more information as it becomes available.

 

 

 

The Great Plains Theatre in Abilene has announced their show lineup for the 2015 season.

All six of the mainstage shows will take place at Abilene High School’s auditorium at 1300 North Cedar Street in Abilene.

Astra Bank will be the full season underwriter with a $25,000 contribution to GPT. Corporate sponsors for the 2015 season include Pinnacle Bank, First Bank Kansas, and Holm Automotive, Inc.

The show lineup includes:

–Damn Yankees June 12-21

–The Dixie Swim Club July 10-19

–Ring of Fire: the songs of Johnny Cash August 7-16

–Weekend Comedy October 2-11

–On Golden Pond November 13-22

–She Loves Me December 11-19.

Season tickets and single tickets are on sale. To purchase tickets call 785-263-4574 or stop by the office location at 31 NW Third Street in Abilene.

Friday May 1 is the date set for the annual Geary County Third Grade Ag Day.

Ginger Kopfer, said more than 700 third-grade students in Geary USD 475 will visit the 4-H Fairgrounds and learn about the agriculture industry. The programs are taught by 4-H members and Extension Educational Unit members from Geary County.

There will be classroom-type presentations and presentations involving livestock.

There will be two sessions, one from 9:15 – 11 :15 a.m., and the other from noon until 2 p.m.