Community members and Geary County Schools stakeholders are invited to participate in a Community Focus Group to assist in the search for a new USD 475 Superintendent of Schools.
The focus group will be on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Junction City Middle School Auditorium.
Junction City Middle School is located at 700 Wildcat Lane.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Manhattan officials say flood waters that inundated the college town over the Labor Day holiday weekend damaged 106 buildings and 381 homes and apartment units.
Local entities haven’t yet determined the total cost of the damage, but they expect to have those numbers next week.
Officials say development along Wildcat Creek contributed to the severity of the flooding. Nearly 9 inches of rain (23 centimeters) caused the creek to burst its banks, forcing more than 300 people to evacuate their homes.
The city’s community development assistant director, Chad Bunger, says Manhattan sits at the confluence of two rivers — the Kansas River and the Big Blue River. He says homes and businesses are situated near the drain of the bathtub for Wildcat Creek watershed.
WICHITA, KAN. – A Mexican man who was arrested in Kansas with 4.5 pounds of heroin was sentenced Monday to 41 months in federal prison, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister
Elesvan Garcia-Matinez, 26, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute heroin.
In his plea, he admitted the Geary County Sheriff’s Office stopped his car on I-70 in Geary County.
In the trunk, they found a modified fire extinguisher containing about 4.5 pounds of heroin.
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TOPEKA — Signe A. Cook, a fifth-grade teacher at Park Elementary School (Great Bend Unified School District 428), and Jennifer S. Brown, a first-grade teacher at Sheridan Elementary School (Geary County USD 475), were named Region 1 finalists for the 2019 Kansas Teacher of the Year award during a ceremony Saturday, Sept. 8, in Salina. This award recognizes excellent teaching in the elementary and secondary classrooms of the state.
As finalists for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction, Cook and Brown each received a $2,000 cash award from Security Benefit, the major corporate partner for the Kansas Teacher of the Year program. In addition, they are each now eligible to be named Kansas Teacher of the Year, which will be announced during ceremonies in Wichita on Nov. 17.
Cook teaches mathematics, science, English language arts interventions, keyboarding and social-emotional classes in Great Bend.
Brown was nominated while teaching seventh-grade English language arts at Junction City Middle School. She now teaches first grade at Sheridan Elementary School, which also is in Geary County USD 475.
Cook and Brown were among six Teacher of the Year semifinalists from Region 1, which covers the first U.S. congressional district.
Other semifinalists were Myron Tedford, a fifth-grade teacher at North Elementary School (Goodland USD 352); Lisa M. Simmelink, a music teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School (McPherson USD 418); Alyssa M. Dawson, a language arts and theater teacher at Ellis Jr.-Sr. High School (Ellis USD 388); and Tina M. McIver, a creative writing teacher at Council Grove Jr.-Sr. High School (Morris County USD 417).
Each of the semifinalists received a red marble apple with a wooden base, compliments of The Master Teacher in Manhattan.
This year, 114 educators across the state were nominated for the Kansas Teacher of the Year distinction.
Nominations are made in each of four regions in the state. The Kansas State Department of Education, sponsor of the Kansas Teacher of the Year program, appoints regional selection panels comprised of teachers, education administrators and higher education representatives to select semifinalists and finalists from each region.
Each panel selects six semifinalists — three elementary teachers and three secondary teachers. From those semifinalists, the panel in each region then selects one elementary finalist and one secondary finalist. The Kansas Teacher of the Year is selected from among the state’s eight regional finalists.
The mission of the Kansas Teacher of the Year program is to build and utilize a network of exemplary teachers who are leaders in the improvement of schools, student performance and the teaching profession.
The Kansas Teacher of the Year team, comprised of the Teacher of the Year and state finalists, serve as ambassadors for education in Kansas, making public appearances across the state promoting education and the teaching profession.
The individual selected as the Kansas Teacher of the Year is eligible for national distinction as National Teacher of the Year.
The National Teacher of the Year program is a project of the Council of Chief State School Officers in partnership with the Voya Foundation.
Posted by USD 475
The monthly Milford Lake bird walk will be Saturday, September 15th at 8 a.m. Participants will meet at the parking lot on the south end of Milford Lake Dam, just across the highway from the Corps of Engineers Office, 5203 North K-57 Junction City, Kansas.
This month愀 walk will focus on fall migrants migrants and lingering summer resident species. The walks usually
last about two to three hours and involve moderate walking. If you have binoculars or a bird book please bring them. The October walk is scheduled for October 20, 2018. For more information contact Chuck Otte at 238-4161 or 238-8800.
The current Milford Lake Elevation is 1150.63, which is 6.23′ above conservation pool.
The Corps of Engineers have announced that they are now releasing 1,000 cubic feet per second and may increase releases Tuesday, depending on downstream gauges. They plan to bring the lake elevation back to 1145.4.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University’s football team may have lost the game Saturday, but fans at the stadium still erupted in cheers as one of the school’s drum majors proposed to a graduate student during halftime.
💜 #Family pic.twitter.com/OVDaaVCszy
— The Pride of Wildcat Land (@KStatePride) September 9, 2018
Carly Tracz said that she couldn’t say “yes” fast enough after boyfriend and Kansas State Marching Band drum major Blake Moris got down on one knee while fans watched on the big screens at Bill Snyder Family Stadium.
Moris says Tracz “loves halftime proposals.” He knew he wanted to propose in front of the university’s band of more than 400 people. The couple began dating just days after meeting during a 2016 football game, with band and football an integral part of their relationship.
Moris says the proposal “worked so perfectly.”
The 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley host a 9/11 commemoration ceremony Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 10 a.m. at the Global War on Terrorism monument, which is located on the east side of Cavalry Parade Field.
The monument is a small replica of the World Trade Center Twin Towers on a Pentagon-shaped base. It bears the names of Fort Riley Soldiers who have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Col. Stephen Shrader, Fort Riley Garrison Commander, will speak at the event, which includes a wreath-laying, a three-round salute fired by an honor guard and “Taps” and other musical selections performed by the 1st Infantry Division Band. First responders from Junction City and Manhattan will join Fort Riley Directorate of Emergency Services professionals in the commemoration.
The public is welcome to attend this ceremony. Visitors who don’t have a Department of Defense ID card should go to https://www.riley.army.mil and click on the yellow “Accessing Fort Riley” tab at the bottom of the page for
installation entry requirements. Active-duty military, their family members 18 years of age and older, military retirees and Federal civilian employees may vouch for up to seven of their passengers under the recently-announced Trusted Traveler Pilot Program.
MANHATTAN — Philanthropic gifts and commitments to Kansas State University given through the Kansas State University Foundation totaled $174.2 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30. This marks the second most successful year in the university’s fundraising history.
“2018 was an incredible year as generous K-State alumni and friends, university faculty and staff, and campus partners stepped up to boldly advance the university and move K-State closer to becoming a Top 50 public research university,” said Greg Willems, president and CEO of KSU Foundation. “The K-State family can be proud of what we have achieved together to support students, faculty, facilities and programs in fiscal year 2018.”
Of the $174.2 million raised in fiscal year 2018, donors gave 61 percent — or $106 million — through endowed gifts, pledges and deferred gifts, which ensures the long-term prosperity of the university. In addition, the value of the university’s long-term investment pool grew to $539 million as of June 30. Endowment growth is key to becoming a Top 50 public research university by the year 2025 as it directly correlates to the university’s capacity to serve future generations of K-Staters.
“K-State is an education, innovation and service leader because of the commitment that generous alumni and friends make toward the university,” said Richard B. Myers, university president. “Every day, K-Staters demonstrate their confidence in the future of the university and its ability to achieve its mission as a land-grant institution to make quality education accessible to all.”
Other key philanthropic achievements for the 2018 fiscal year:
• Private funds of $92.2 million were made directly available to campus for students, faculty, facilities and programs.
• One hundred seventy new scholarships were created, up from 124 in fiscal year 2017, and $37 million total gifts and commitments for scholarships and student success raised.
• Twenty-eight gifts and commitments of $1 million or more were made, totaling nearly $100 million.
• Gift commitments through estate planning, including wills, trusts and annuities, reached an all-time high of $61.2 million, up from $57 million in fiscal year 2017.
• Endowed gifts and commitments totaled $106 million, up from $61.8 million in fiscal year 2017. Endowed gifts create a legacy for the donor by providing long-term funding for the purpose they support, such as student scholarships, faculty chairs and professorships.
• Forty-three thousand alumni and friends gave to advance Kansas State University, and over 20 percent of alumni gave to support the university, exceeding the national average of 5 percent of alumni who give to their alma maters.
• Cash, pledges and commitments of $1.2 billion had been raised as of June 30 toward the $1.4 billion Innovation and Inspiration Campaign goal.
“It’s been a great year for K-State philanthropy,” said Steve Lacy, chairman of the KSU Foundation board of directors. “The K-State family has acted with tremendous generosity in fiscal year 2018, and we are grateful that our donors and strategic collaborators are focused on making the university even more successful to meet the needs of a changing and global economy. Thanks to the hard work of so many, we are on the right track with the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign and K-State’s 2025 vision.”
Susan Berhow, KSU Foundation
