Fort Riley will host its annual hiring and education fair at Riley’s Conference Center, 446 Seitz Ave., Thursday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
This year’s event will feature schools from around the United States, regional employers, Fort Riley Directorate of Emergency Services (security guards), Fort Riley Utility Services, KANSASWORKS, education counselors, financial aid advisors, Soldier For Life transition assistance program counselors and many other organizations. In total, over 140 exhibitors will be on-site.
It is recommended that attendees dress for success and bring copies of their resumes, as employers may interview or hire on the spot.
This event is open to all Soldiers, their family members, veterans, retirees and community members.
The barnstorming days of the Kansas City Monarchs baseball team and their visits to Junction City will be the topic for the annual meeting of the Geary County Historical Society on Nov. 12. Award-winning author and co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Phil Dixon, will explore the barnstorming days of the Monarchs and talk about significant players in history, including Buck O’Neil, Jackie Robinson and George Giles.
The annual dinner will be catered by the Pilot Club. The cost of the dinner is $14, and you should RSVP for the dinner by Friday, Nov. 9. Call 785-238-1666.
Geary County Clerk Rebecca Nordyke has announced that the “In Person” advance voting deadline for the Nov. 6 election is approaching, and her office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Monday, Nov. 5. The election is Tuesday.
This event is an opportunity for junior and senior students to gather information about public and private colleges, universities and technical schools in Kansas and the region. Representatives will be available from over 50 institutions to answer questions about academic programs, financial assistance opportunities, student life and athletics. Also, included in this event are the Military Service Recruiters from various branches of service.
Students must register at www.gotocollegefairs.com and obtain a bar-code for admittance. Parents are welcome to attend.
The 34th annual edition of Operation Santa Claus will begin with a ribbon cutting at 3 p.m. Monday at 1828 1st Street, Camp Funston, Fort Riley.
The Fort Riley community, along with the help of Santa Claus, helps needy children and their families by providing gifts for local children of active-duty service members during the holiday season. Operation Santa Claus assists junior-enlisted service member families with financial difficulties during the holidays.
Operation Santa Claus is accepting donations of new, unwrapped toys in the $15-$20 price range for children ages birth to 18 years. Donation boxes are located throughout businesses in Junction City, Ogden and Manhattan.
The 44th annual Ymca Auction & Benefit Meal will be Thursday, November 15th at Brown Auction Service, 2323 North Jackson in Junction City. That event will also serve as the location for the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Business After hours, which is being co-hosted by Smithfield Foods.
There will be a silent auction from 2-6 p.m. and a live auction begins at 6 p.m. Meals serving begins at 5 p.m. Tickets are $6 for adults, $3 for children 6-10 and 5 and under eat free. Click Here to Learn More
Republican unity was the theme for candidates on the #RemainRed GOP bus tour that stopped in Junction City Thursday at Coach’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar.
Those on the tour, including Republican gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach, called for Republican unity in the upcoming Nov. 6 elections. Kobach stated, “In a race like this it’s all get out the vote. The question is can we get our people to vote or are the Democrats going to get their people to vote? Whichever side does the better job of getting their people out they’re going to win.”
Kobach compared his views on issues to his Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Laura Kelly. One focus was on taxation. “You name it from taxes where I and Laura Kelly are on opposite ends of the spectrum. She’s voted for tax increase after tax increase. I’m wanting to cut taxes. We’re the highest taxed state in a five-state area, it’s really damaging our business, just hurting people’s pocketbooks.”
Kelly will campaign in Junction City on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Ike’s Place Neighborhood Grill and Bar.
Other Republican candidates who made the Junction City stop Thursday ranged from Kobach’s Lieutenant Governor running mate Wink Hartman to Attorney General Derek Schmidt and 1st District Congressman Roger Marshall.
Secretary Perdue’s speech, “Leave It Better Than You Found It: Lessons in Public Service I Learned on the Farm.” Perdue is the 179th LandonLecturer.
“Secretary Perdue joins a long list of secretaries of agriculture who have participated in the Landon Lecture Series and shared their vision on issues facing an industry that is vital to this university, Kansas, the nation and the world.”
The secretary’s life was shaped and fashioned growing up on his family’s farm. His lecture will focus on the lessons that he learned from family, school, church, sports and caring for the land and animals that formed a foundation of serving others. He has applied the lessons he learned while growing up on the farm to transform the culture of public service to focus on serving the citizens.
Nominated by President Trump, Perdue has been serving as the nation’s 31st secretary of agriculture since April 25, 2017, and brings a strong background in agriculture, public service and agribusiness to the post. He grew up on a dairy and diversified row crop farm in rural Georgia. As a young man, he served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain. After his military service, he went on to earn his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Georgia and worked in private practice in North Carolina.
Perdue pursued a political career next and served as a Georgia state senator for 11 years. He also was elected president pro tempore by his senate colleagues. As a state senator, he was recognized as a leading authority on issues including energy and utilities, agriculture, transportation, emerging technologies and economic development, and for his ability to grasp the nuances of complex problems.
Elected to two terms as governor of Georgia, from 2003-2011, Perdue was credited with transforming a budget deficit into a surplus, dramatically increasing student performance in public schools, and fostering an economic environment that allowed employers to flourish and manufacturers and agricultural producers to achieve record levels of exports. He was named Public Official of the Year in 2010 by Governing magazine.
The secretary followed his public service with a successful career in agribusiness, focusing on commodities and transportation in enterprises that have spanned the southeastern U.S. He also has served as a board member for the National Grain & Feed Association and as president of both the Georgia Feed and Grain Association and the Southeastern Feed and Grain Association. Perdue has long-standing, close relationships with the leadership of the American Farm Bureau and has been recognized by the Georgia 4-H and FFA programs, among others, for his leadership in agriculture.
One of the most prestigious lecture series offered at a U.S. college or university, the Alfred M. Landon Lecture Series was instituted in 1966 by former Kansas State University President James A. McCain. The series is a tribute to Alfred M. Landon, who served as governor of Kansas from 1933-1937 and delivered the first lecture in the series, “New Challenges in International Relations,” on Dec. 13, 1966. Perdue will be the 179th speaker and 11th secretary of agriculture to take part in the lecture series.
TOPEKA, Kan. – Nov. 1, 2018 – As we prepare to turn our clocks back an hour at 2 a.m. this Sunday, with the end of Daylight Saving Time, many may rejoice for the extra hour of sleep. However, AAA Kansas is reminding drivers to be prepared for potential challenges, such as changes in sleep patterns, that may increase chances of drowsy driving.
“Shorter days starting next week means many of us will be driving home from work in the dark,” said Shawn Steward, AAA Kansas spokesman. “The risk of drowsy driving also increases with the time change, so drivers should begin taking proper precautions now to ensure they get adequate rest.”
Sleep-deprived drivers cause more than 6,400 deaths and 50,000 debilitating injuries on American roadways each year (1). Kansas Department of Transportation data from last year reveals that drivers being fatigued or falling asleep was cited as a contributing factor in 1,045 traffic crashes in the state. Symptoms of drowsy driving can include having trouble keeping eyes open, drifting from lanes or not remembering the last few miles driven. However, more than half of drivers involved in fatigue-related crashes experienced no symptoms before falling asleep behind the wheel.
“Drivers should not rely solely on their bodies to provide warning signs of fatigue and should instead prioritize getting plenty of sleep in their daily schedules and simply be aware that the shorter days this time of year can create more drowsiness behind the wheel,” continued Steward of AAA Kansas.
AAA Kansas offers the following tips to help drivers avoid potential crashes:
Rest Up: Get plenty of rest before getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. If you do begin to feel drowsy while driving, pull over immediately and rest or call a family member or friend for assistance.
Be prepared for morning/afternoon sun glare: Sun glare in the morning or late afternoon can cause temporary blindness. To reduce the glare, AAA Kansas recommends wearing high-quality sunglasses and adjusting the car’s sun visors as needed. Use of the night setting on rearview mirrors can reduce glare from headlights approaching from the rear.
Car Care Maintenance: Keep headlights, tail lights, signal lights, and windows (inside and out) clean.
Ensure headlights are properly aimed: Misaimed headlights blind other drivers and reduce visibility.
Keep headlights on low beams when following another vehicle, so other drivers are not blinded.
Reduce your speed and increase your following distances. It is more difficult to judge other vehicles’ speeds and distances at night.
Be mindful of pedestrians and crosswalks: Yield the right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks and do not pass vehicles stopped at crosswalks.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two employees were killed when an elevator filled with superheated, “flesh-boiling” steam at a Westar Energy plant in Kansas this summer, according to a federal lawsuit.
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The lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of the children of Damien Burchett, who died June 3 alongside Jesse Henson at a plant near Topeka. The family is suing three companies that manufactured and maintained the turbine and valve. Westar is not named in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also challenges a $250,000 state limit on compensation for survivors of people who die in on-the-job accidents.
After a three-month shutdown for routine maintenance, two of three steam turbines went back online without incident, but a third turbine didn’t have full power, according to the lawsuit.
Burchett, of Overbrook, and Henson, of Manhattan, took an elevator to investigate a loss of steam at a safety relief valve, which is supposed to vent steam outside the plant if the pressure gets too high.
“Upon the elevator door opening on the 14th floor, (the men were) engulfed in flesh-boiling steam that had filled the room,” the lawsuit said. “(Burchett) was exposed to the steam release and suffered severe burns that caused him to endure a horrific death.”
Investigators determined the steam relief valve had either been ripped apart or failed altogether, allowing the steam to fill the room, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit names Team Industrial Services, which did the maintenance work; Emerson Electric Co., the manufacturer of the steam valve; and Siemens, which built the turbines. Representatives for Siemens and Emerson said they do not comment on pending litigation. Team Industrial did not immediately return requests for comment on Thursday.
Kansas law exempts employers from legal action, leaving workers’ compensation insurance as the sole remedy, said John Carmichael, an attorney and member of the state House Judiciary Committee. That immunity doesn’t extend to subcontractors or the manufacturers of equipment, Carmichael said.
State law also prohibits state courts from awarding more than $250,000 for damages such as suffering and loss of companionship, which are not easily quantifiable.
The lawsuit contends that law violates constitutional guarantees of equal protection, separation of powers, right to jury trials, taking private property without just compensation, due process and free and open access to the courts.
Fort Riley will host its annual hiring and education fair at Riley’s Conference Center, 446 Seitz Ave., Thursday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Shorter days starting next week means many of us will be driving home from work in the dark,” said Shawn Steward, AAA Kansas spokesman. “The risk of drowsy driving also increases with the time change, so drivers should begin taking proper precautions now to ensure they get adequate rest.”
