May 2019 Kansas State University commencement ceremonies will be Saturday, May 11, at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina and Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, on the Manhattan campus.

The class of 2019 is the 152nd to graduate from Kansas State University. In all, more than 3,250 students are candidates for graduation. To be awarded will be more than 2,300 bachelor’s degees, nearly 100 doctoral degrees, nearly 700 master’s degrees, and more than 100 students willreceive a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

A live webcast of the ceremonies will be available at k-state.edu/graduation/.  A virtual commencement ceremony for the nearly 360 students earning their degrees through distance educatiuon is available at  dce.k-state.edu/students/commencement/.

Commencement ceremonies kick off at 10:30 a.m. May 11 in the Student Life Center on the Kansas State Polytechnic Campus. Robert Wood, chief operating officer of the Hearts for Hearing Foundation, will serve as commencement speaker. The nonprofit foundation works with children and adults with hearing loss.

The graduate school commencement ceremony is on Friday, May 17 at 1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum on the Manhattan campus, and the undergraduate commencement ceremonies are spread through the day on Saturday, May 18 on the Manhattan campus beginning with the College of Arts and Sciences ceremony at 8:30 a.m. in Bramlage Coliseum.

The College of Archiecture, Planning & Design is scheduled at 10 a.m. in McCain Auditorium, College of Education at 11 a.m., College of Business Administration at 12:30 p.m., College of Human Ecology at 4:30 p.m. and The Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at 6:30 p.m., all in Bramlage Coliseum.

Commissioning ceremonies for the university’s graduating Air Force and Army ROTC cadets will both be May 17 in the K-State Student Union. The Army ROTC ceremony will be at 10 a.m. in Forum Hall at the K-State Student Union and the Air Force ROTC ceremony will be at 11 a.m. in the Main Ballroom at the Union.

The water level at Milford Lake is up more than 11 feet beyond normal conservation pool level. The Corps of Engineers is having to hold water in the reservoir to prevent downstream flooding.

Blake McFerren with the Corps of Engineers explained the number one mission for the Corps at Milford Lake is flood risk management. “But that is just holding water back from downstream. A lot of the areas below the Republican RIver are all flooded. All those rivers and tributaries are as full as they can take it as far as water goes. So we’re just holding the water back, trying to reduce the flooding downstream.”

Because of the high water level at Milford Lake some boat ramps are closed. Boat ramps that are still accessible include the military marina, State Park north and State Park yacht club plus West Rolling Hills.

The new Superintendent of Schools for Geary USD 475, Dr. Reginald Eggleston, will host several listening sessions for community members as part of his entry into the school district.

Community members can attend the sessions and provide feedback to USD 475, let the district know what is being done well and what areas need improvement.

The sessions are scheduled May 8th at Grandview Elementary, May 15th at Junction City Middle School Auditorium, May 21st Fort Riley Middle School Auditorium and May 22nd at Milford Elementary School. Each of the listening sessions will run from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The second annual food drive for Wheels of H.O.P.E. is scheduled Friday and Saturday at the two Walmart outlets and Dillons in Junction City.

The goal is to fill their food pantry so efforts can continue to serve the 80-85 families that Wheels of H.O.P.E serve each month. The organization distributes almost 6,000 food items each month, which reflects food for 3-5 days.

Board member Shelly Kite says the drive will run 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. both days.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on drug distribution charges after an arrest in northeast Kansas.

On Wednesday, a Wabaunsee County deputy and his K-9 Partner Karma came across a vehicle in which the driver had a suspended driver’s license. Karma alerted to the odor and presence of narcotics, according to a social media report.

The deputy arrested the driver, the vehicle was impounded and a search warrant was obtained for the vehicle.

Investigators located two bags containing several hundred pills and 10 wrapped bundles. The pills are suspected to be fentanyl and the bundles were also suspected to be heroin or methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl. The estimated street value of these drugs were over 9 million dollars.

The sheriff will release the suspect’s name after charges are filed.

The sheriff did remind that Fentanyl is a very dangerous substance and has been the cause of many deaths by overdose.
Over 100 deaths occurred in Kansas last year and recently there were 2 deaths in Riley County from fentanyl.

A Geary County native, Michelle Munson, will deliver the commencement address for the College of Arts and Sciences at Kansas State University.

The University announced that Munson, a KSU alum who earned a Goldwater Scholarship while an undergraduate at K-State, will speak during the College of Arts and Sciences ceremony at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, May 18th.  Munson is the co-founder and CEO of Eluvio, a software startup company.