The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to the intersection of Ash Street and Spring Valley Road for a two-vehicle non-injury accident.
Randy Gonzalez-Guzman, Junction City, was stopped waiting at a stop sign in his Mitsubishi Eclipse when he was struck from behind by Mallory Hamilton, Junction City, in her Hyundai Sonata when the vehicle slid on the ice.
The USD 475 Board of Education has voted 4-2 to accept a staff recommendation to have Junction City High School freshman attend classes at the main Career Academy Campus next school year. The freshman have been attending school at the Freshman Success Academy building. That facility will be converted into a home for the Boys and Girls Club, Parents as Teachers program, and alternative programs currently located at the Larry Dixon Center.
BOE President Tom Brungardt voted against the move of the students. ” I worked in the building when all four grades were there. All four grades are important. I think one of the reasons that I support the new high school is having all four grades there. The problem is that it is not good for the educational environment to have teachers without their own rooms. teachers sharing rooms during their plan time, that’s not good I think.”
There will be room for all of the students, but teachers could have to share classrooms.
By DEWEY TERRILL
JC Post
Jefferson Elementary School at Fort Riley will be closed after the current school year. The USD 475 Board of Education voted 7-0 in favor of a resolution on Monday evening in favor of that action.
Approximately 150 to 160 students attend that school. BOE President Tom Brungardt explained for next school year they will be moved to other schools. “Students will be moved to a variety of schools, mostly Morris Hill and Ware because there’s space.”
This is part of a larger scenario under which the school district is seeking a federal grant to help pay for a new elementary school on post. In the future both Jefferson and Morris Hill could be closed with the students attending the new school, which would be built on a site adjacent to the current Jefferson Elementary.
The federal grant, which is anticipated, would pay for 80 percent of the cost of the new school, with the district covering the remaining 20 percent of the cost.
Brungardt noted there were meetings with parents at both Morris Hill and Jefferson to inform them about the plan. “I attended one of those. There were a handful of people there. There didn’t seem to be a lot of angst. Some people will miss it, but they understand the students will still be able to go to a school close by and get an education.”
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25° | Sunny. Highs in the mid 20s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chill readings 2 below to 12 below zero in the morning. |
By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
There will no longer be a Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Advisory Committee. The Geary County Commission adopted a resolution on a 3-0 vote Monday to dissolve the committee.
Commissioner Keith Ascher said the issue was discussed with members of the Advisory Committee who were supportive of the idea and that CVB Director Michelle Stimatze was also asked about it. “And she thought it was appropriate, so we took action today ( Monday ) to dissolve that committee. So now it ( CVB ) will strictly be in the hands of the county commissioners, which makes more sense.” Ascher added it does streamline things and removes a layer of bureaucracy.
Ascher stated he thought it probably allows the director to do more of what she needs to be doing. ” I think her goal in place of a committee is that she would have monthly meetings with hotelers. It wouldn’t be as formal but she would get input from them trying to increase some of our conventions, conferences and reunions…just all across the board.”
Ascher confirmed those numbers have not been down, and in 2018 the county was up approximately $40,000 in transient guest tax collections over 2017.
One of the problems involved difficulty getting a quorum for committee meetings. Ascher said that was part of the issue. “Basically they were just an advisory board. At the end of the day the decisions always come down to the county commissioners. And frankly when we pulled the CVB out of ( Chamber ) consolidation the goal was to have a little more control from the county side. Once we did that virtually, the director of the CVB became kind of a department head.” Ascher added with the latest action it fits more closely with how the commission works with other departments and department heads where there are not any committees. “It just kind of falls more in line with what we’re doing already.”
The CVB Advisory Committee was first established in Geary County in 1978.
By Dewey Terrill and Dr. Ferrell Miller
JC Post
The topic of “Scams” was the focus for the Junction City Area Retired School Personnel during their most recent meeting.
Family and Consumer Sciences Agent for Geary County, Deb Andres stated the top three scams are imposter, debt collection and ID theft scams. ID theft includes medical, estate, taxes, cell phone plans, military benefits and wire transfer fraud. The most common fraudulent scam in Kansas is credit card fraud. “have a cap on your credit card at a certain amount, so if someone other than you tried to use it, they won’t be able to beyond the limit you set.”
Andres also suggested, “people should not met mail accumulate in their mailbox; do not have prescription drugs sent in the mail or use the red flag on the mail box for the mail carrier to pick up your mail. In these cases theft can occur by those who plan to steal items from the mail box.”
Other suggestions ranged from being alert to impersonators wanting personal information to wiping the hard drive off of your computer before you replace it.
Report suspected fraud to 1-800-432-3535.
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Officers for 2019-2020 were elected. They include Margaret Kilpatrick as President, Dr. Ferrell Miller, Vice President, Sarah Talley, Recording Secretary, Julia Ferguson, Corresponding Secretary, Sheila Ritchie, Treasurer and Shelley Hoyle-Kite, Past President.
The Junction City Middle Singers under the direction of Matthew Schwan performed during the session at the Zion Church of Christ.
Water service has been restored.
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Junction City Public Works reported a water main break on Country Club Lane on Monday. They stated at 12:35 p.m. that repairs would take one to two hours. During that time customers on Country Club Lane would experience periods of low water pressure or no water.
Just before 2:20 a.m. Saturday, the Riley County Police Department Dispatch Center received a report of shots fired in the 2300 block of Tuttle Creek Blvd in Manhattan.
By Dewey Terrill
JC Post
State Senator Jeff Longbine expects the state to unveil a new transportation plan in the near future.
Longbine revealed some of the details last Saturday in Junction City, saying it would require the legislature to wean themselves off of the transportation sales tax over the next three years. “So that would be returning up to about $400 million to KDOT to be used for preservation, maintenance and new projects.”
The State Senator noted that here would be a few slight vehicle registration fee increases. “Major components would be returning some money to cities and counties to allow them to do street projects and street rehab. Another major component would be to life the property tax lid on transportation related projects within the city or county. It wouldn’t count against the property cap for them. If they voted for it they could use that money for either match or to do a smaller project.”
Longbine confirmed KDOT would approve and prioritize both state level projects and those that are considered cap related. The state senator attended a legislative coffee in Junction City where he provided some information on the transportation plan.
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded Sunday to four different accidents, but there were no injuries.
The first was reported at 4:44 a.m. on the K-18 bypass at mile marker 177 where Natalie WIlliams, Junction City, had been operating a 2013 Toyota Tundra. The vehicle was merging onto I-70 from the K-18 bypass when she control of the car and it struck a guardrail.
The second accident occurred at 9:53 a.m. in the 7800 block of Old Highway 77 where Jose Lopez Agular, Junction City, was driving his 2017 Toyota Corolla when he lost control of the vehicle due to inclement weather and struck a guardrail.
The third accident was reported at 10:15 a.m. with Deputies responding to K-177 and the I-70 westbound off-ramp. Upon arrival Deputies learned Katie Charay, Topeka, was attempting to turn north onto K-177 in a 2014 Dodge Charger when she hit the brakes to slow down and the vehicle slid straight on the ice and struck the driver’s side of a 2017 Ford F-150 truck driven by Connor Clements. He was traveling south on K-177 at the time of the accident.
The fourth accident was reported at 10:45 a.m. at the intersection of I-70 mile 299 and J-Hill Road. Kayden Brady, Murfeesboro, Tennessee was driving his 2013 Ford Escape when he attempted to stop, due to inclement weather, struck a road sign and left the roadway into a ditch.
No injuries were reported in any of the accidents.
