Great Plains Theatre is holding auditions for “November,” by David Mamet, the next production in their After Dark Reader’s Theatre Season on Saturday, September 29th at 2 p.m. at the Great Plains Theatre in Abilene.
The show will be performed October 18th at 7 p.m. Admission will be $5 for the public, free for season ticket holders.
November is billed as a comedy and has a cast of four men males and one female, and will be directed by Mark Warner. Those auditioning will do cold readings from the script. The Reader’s Theatre series only rehearses three times and the performers read from music stands the night of the performance.
During the week of October 15th through the 19th, United Way of Junction City – Geary County will conduct their annual “Business Blitz Week” for the 2018-19 campaign.
United Way board members and community volunteers will be contacting local businesses to pick up contributions toward the $140,000 campaign goal. Local businesses are asked to make a donation or pledge and challenge other businesses to alo contribute to United Way.
During the week 1420 KJCK AM will be reporting daily updates recognizing pledges or donations from those businesses. If a donor wishes to remain anonymous or if they wish to have a message displayed you can indicate that with your donation.
The purpose of the Business Blitz is to motivate the business community to make their contribution in the early stages of the campaign, and return receive some public recognition for their support. It also helps to encourage other businesses to become participants in this community wide effort to provide services.
United Way contributions will help fund specific programs within 14 agencies in the Junction City – Geary County area in 2018. They range from CASA of the 8th Judicial District to Delivering Change.
Contributions may be sent to United Way, P.O. Box 567, Junction City, KS 66441 or on the United Way website adt www.unitedwayjcgc.iorg.
A total of 28 employees were honored at the Geary County Office Building Monday for years of service milestones.
Topping the list was Public Works employee Rodney Christenson for 40 years in that department. Geary County Emergency Management Director Garry Berges was recognized for 35 years as was retired Sheriff’s Department employee Bertram Mathis. Recognized for 30 years of service from the Geary County Treasurer’s Office was Linda Caraballo amd retired Sheriff’s Department employee Rudy Goetsch Jr.
Twenty-five year recognition went to Teresa Mahieu in the Register of Deeds Office and Court Trustee Janet Lockwood was honored for 20 years of service.
Democratic candidates vying for statewide and local offices in the November 6th mid-term election will participate in a public forum on Saturday, October 6th, in Junction City.
According to spokesperson Ginger Hawks the forum is scheduled from 10 a.m. until noon on the 6th at the C.L. Hoover Opera House in the Walker Reception Hall.
The candidates will explain their platforms for improving Kansas public schools and the lives of Kansas citizens, and discuss other issues. They will also answer questions.
Geary County Public Works employee Rodney Christenson
Geary County Public Works employee Rodney Christenson was honored Monday for 40 years of service in that department. It was part of a county employee milestone recognition ceremony at the Geary County Office Building.
Christenson dedicated his award to Felix K. Flores, Manhattan, a Geary County Corrections Officer, who was killed last Saturday night in a shooting in Manhattan. He was off duty at the time of the incident.
Christenson told JCPost.com, “I would like to dedicate this award to Felix, the CO Officer that was killed over the weekend. I’ve had the opportunity to work with him. and he was a pretty good guy. I’d like to dedicate this to him.”
Riley County police responded to the 1400 block of Vista Lane in Manhattan where they found Flores suffering from a gunshot wound. He was first transported to Via Christi Hospital and then to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, but died. Flores had worked for the Geary County Sheriff’s Department for about one year.
Riley County police reported the arrest of Gregoria Elizabeth Baez, 21, on suspicion of Involuntary Manslaughter in the case.
MANHATTAN — The largest pumpkin on record grown in Kansas is on display at the Flint Hills Discovery Center for a short time this fall.
Photo courtesy Jacob Marintzer
The pumpkin officially weighed in on September 8, 2018 in Dewey, OK at 1,176 lbs., a record for any Kansas grown pumpkin, according to grower, owner Jacob Marintzer of Westmoreland, Kansas.
This pumpkin beat Marintzer own official record set in 2016 of 940lbs.
The pumpkin is on display at the Discovery Center Atrium until October 5, so there is no fee to see it.
The seeds, and not the pumpkin are where the real excitement is, according to Marintzer. While the giant pumpkin is a great spectacle to behold, it’s the price that a giant pumpkin seed fetches that really makes all the work worthwhile.
The price for a pumpkin seed that comes from a pumpkin this large can run between $15 to $600 per seed. More info can be found here: www.bigpumpkins.com
The family also has a Youtube channel where they have documented the progress of their pumpkin growing process.
Marintzer described the growing process, “There is a main organization called the GPC Giant Pumpkin Commonwealth. This is the main group which makes all of the rules and regulations. Under them are all of the clubs, some states have 1 club some states have many clubs. These clubs must pay their fees to be part of the GPC and they also must have a certified scale to weigh these pumpkins. I took my pumpkin to a weigh-off in Oklahoma. I took it there and not the State fair because the state fair isn’t part of the GPC and they don’t have a certified scale so any pumpkins weighed there don’t count as an official state record.
The largest ever weighed in Kansas unofficially was 1040 pounds. I had the official state record 2 years ago at 938 pounds that pumpkin was weight in Pawnee City, NE. The pumpkin I grew this year set the record at 1176 pounds. So right now it is the largest pumpkin ever grown in Kansas. Somebody could weigh one here in the upcoming weeks and beat it but I’m not aware of any bigger at the moment.”
TOPEKA —Preliminary estimates reported by the Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.3 percent in August. This was down from 3.4 percent in July and down from 3.6 percent in August 2017.
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The unemployment rate in Riley County fell to 3 percent in August from 3.6 percent in July.
Every county in region reported a drop in unemployment in August including a full 1 percent drop from from 6.3 – 5.3 percent in Geary County. Pottawatomie County also saw a dramatic drop by over .5 percent to 2.9 percent in August.
Greeley County in far western Kansas posted the state’s lowest jobless rate at 1.9 percent.
Seasonally adjusted job estimates indicate total Kansas nonfarm jobs increased by 3,600 from July. Private sector jobs, a subset of total nonfarm jobs, increased by 300 from the previous month.
“August estimates indicate a tightening labor market in Kansas. The number of private sector jobs continued to increase and employers reported over the year growth in average weekly earnings for both goods producing and service providing industries,” said Labor Economist, Emilie Doerksen. “The household survey also shows a tightening labor market, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.3 percent.”
Since August 2017, Kansas gained 26,600 seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs and 21,000 private sector jobs.
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to U.S. Highway 77 and Old Highway 77 for a roll over accident Saturday night.
Brady Osthoff, Wakefield, was north bound on U.S. 77 in a Chevrolet Silverado when an unknown car cut in front of Osthoff. Osthoff swerved to miss the other vehicle and went off the roadway causing the truck to overturn. All subjects with injuries were treated at the scene by Junction City Fire Department EMS and released.
The Junction City Public Works Department has announced that customers will experience low water pressure or no water in the 400 and 500 blocks of West 12th Street due to a water main break.
Repairs should take 4-6 hours into the 12:45 – 2:45 p.m. time frame.
Great Plains Theatre is holding auditions for “November,” by David Mamet, the next production in their After Dark Reader’s Theatre Season on Saturday, September 29th at 2 p.m. at the Great Plains Theatre in Abilene.
