By Fort RIley PAO

JC Post

As part of an ongoing Army wide effort to assess conditions in Army family housing, Fort Riley’s leadership held town halls on Feb. 25 and 26 to provide information and gain residents feedback.

Maj. Gen. John Kolasheski, 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley commanding general, Col. Stephen Shrader, Fort Riley garrison commander, Steve Milton, Director of Housing Services at Fort Riley, and Angela Watson, Corvias director of operations, answered questions and addressed concerns from Soldiers and their families regarding various housing issues.

During the town hall meetings, Maj. Gen. Kolasheski referred frequently to a recent statement from Secretary of the Army Dr. mark Esper, “Our most sacred obligation as Army leaders is to take care of our people – our Soldiers and our family members.

“We are committed to living up to those responsibilities,” Kolasheski affirmed. “We will make good on the discussions that we’re having,” Kolasheski informed those in attendance.

Col. Shrader encouraged all residents to use the existing reporting systems to request maintenance of their homes, and encourages candid feedback. “If we don’t know about a maintenance problem,” Shrader explained, “we can’t fix it.”

Since Feb. 21 housing assistance teams have been visiting homes in each of Fort Riley’s neighborhoods, speaking with residents to assess the condition of the homes and determine if there are problems that need to be addressed. As of Feb. 28, those teams have assessed more than 44 percent of homes, with the goal of speaking with each of the residents of the more than 3.500 homes currently occupied on Fort Riley.

More than 100 people attended the two town hall events with more tuned in and commenting via livestream. Most of the questions and comments focused on policies, fees and deposits, with some concerns about the timeliness of response to maintenance requests.

In a recent annual survey, residents at Fort Riley gave Corvias an 85 percent approval rating, amongst the highest in the Army’s privatized housing. A review of work order requests showed no ongoing issues affecting life, health or safety.

1st District Congressman Roger Marshall told a legislative coffee audience in Junction City on Saturday that the President and Congress are dedicated to helping veterans. “We have 200,000 veterans across the state of Kansas. This last congress we appropriated almost a billion dollars toward opioid treatment and suicide prevention.”

Marshall said there are 11 clinics across the state and groundbreaking is just now occurring on a new inpatient mental health center at the Robert Dole VA Center in Wichita. “I want to make sure we’re connecting all the dots and that we’re using telemedicine to help our veterans.”

On the issue of addressing veterans suicide the Congressman said the most important thing can be done is to make veterans part of the team. “When people are in the military And when they leave that team they sometimes get lost in society. I think there are some warning signs we ought to be looking out for. ” he pointed to people who have nothing that makes them smile any more as one symptom. “So we need to be aware of it, but I think an ounce of prevention is a pound of cure.”

Marshall said veterans need to be hired and need to be in our jobs and communities.

The legislative coffee sponsored by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce was held at the 12th Street Community Center. Other speakers included Kendall Schoenrock from the Quality Play for All Committee on the improvements for Fifth Street Park project, plus State Senator Jeff Longbine and State Representative Dave Baker.

The JC Breakfast Optimist Club will hold a fundraiser at the JC BBQ and Grill at 812 East Chestnut Street in Junction City from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Tuesday. Ten percent of the cost of purchased meals will go to the Optimist Club to support youth activities in Geary County.

Some of the youth organizations supported by the JC Breakfast Optimist Club include Boys and Girl Scouts, I.C.A.R.E. , JCHS Band, Orchestra and Choirs, Geary County Historical Society’s programs and education, Junction City Community Band, Junction City Little Theater Summer Youth programs, Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Court Appointed Special Advocates, the Fort Riley Special Needs Rodeo, St. Francis Christmas is for Kids and Geary County Girls Softball.

RILEY COUNTY —  Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent two people to the hospital.

As of 3:30 PM officers have cleared the scene the 2300 Block of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and the area is back open.

The Riley County Police Department would like to thank the businesses in the area for their cooperation. We understand the inconvenience of remaining closed and appreciate their assistance in helping us conduct a thorough investigation of this incident.  Authorities have released no additional details.

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RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting that sent two people to the hospital.

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.

Two individuals were life-flighted to Stormont-Vail Topeka Hospital for injuries. Investigators were still on the scene and authorities asked the public to avoid the area.

Anyone with information on this crime, is encouraged to contact the Riley County Police Department at (785) 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers at www.p3tips/353 or (785) 539-7777. Using the Crime Stoppers service allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.00.

Monday, March 18th, 1 p.m. is the date and time for the 25th annual Chapman EDC St. Patrick’s Day parade in Chapman.

Thee will be three prizes of $25 for best entry, and those entries should be lined up for the parade at 12:30 p.m. at the Middle School parking lot. There will be free hot dogs and Pepsi provided by the Lions Club and Pepsi following the parade.

By Dewey Terrill

JC Post

A measure that has passed in the Kansas House and moved to the Senate would require more disclosure or transparency on the follow-up on return on incentive packages offered by the state and individual communities. That information was reported by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce President Mickey Fornaro-Dean.

The measure is a concern for economic development directors, explained Fornaro-Dean. “We understand the need for return on investment and you can definitely review that with companies, but to publish entire packages, development agreements on a public web site is very concerning to the economic development directors across this area.”

Communities would be required to put their information on a state web site for projects beginning after July 1st of this year. The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce board was updated on the issue during a meeting on Thursday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — State prosecutors are seeking a retrial after a jury could not reach a verdict on one charge against a 38-year-old Manhattan man charged with trying to kill three law enforcement officers.

Prosecutors say Mark Harrison fired 33 shots during a standoff with police in January 2018.

A Riley County jury could not reach a unanimous decision Thursday on an attempted capital murder charge involving the shooting of Riley County police Sgt. Pat Tiede, who was hit in the leg.

The jury found Harrison not guilty of two attempted murder charges stemming from Harrison shooting at a SWAT vehicle with two officers inside. He was found guilty of criminal damage to property.

Prosecutors say Harrison, who was working as a research associate at K-State’s mechanical and nuclear engineering department at the time, fired at Tiede, then barricaded himself inside his home and surrendered after a three-hour standoff.

Eagle Communications announced today the promotion of Mark Trotman to Vice President of Radio, effective immediately.

Trotman has served as Eagle’s market manager in Hutchinson since 2010. He will now focus on coordinating the company’s revenue development, sales training and additional processes for Eagle’s 28 radio stations.

“Mark’s experience and success in Hutchinson is valuable in each of our markets and we look forward to his leadership in these important areas.” said Eagle Communications Chairman and CEO Gary Shorman Eagle

With Trotman’s promotion, sales manager Terry Drouhard will now serve as market manager in Hutchinson. Drouhard was appointed to operations manager in Hutchinson in 1989 and promoted to Sales Manager in 1996.

“Terry has outstanding teambuilding skills and a commitment to growing each of our customers,” said Shorman. “As an employee owned company, we build for the long term. Terry’s strong leadership and knowledge of the market make him the right choice for this new role.”