The Open Door homeless shelter in Junction City is in danger of closing its’ doors.

According to Administrative Assistant Joanne French they have received some donations but are looking at possibly having to close soon. “We’re struggling financially because we had the change in director. ”

The former director retired and French said in the period between switching directors the State didn’t get what they wanted on paper and so they pulled funding of approximately $40,000. “They won’t reconsider until February of next year.”

The Open Door applied for a Kansas emergency solutions grant but that application was denied.

French said the cost of operating the Open Door is $16,000 per month. In the past state funding, donations, grants and a $12,000 annual contribution from Geary County have helped support the operation. French said the biggest help the public can provide would be financial donations. ”

The average number of residents at the Open Door are about 30 people in the winter and 15 per month in the summer. To make a donation call 785-238-3599 or email the director, Mickey Davies at opendoor.kscoxmail.com. The address for the Open Door is 136 West 3rd Street in Junction City

Pawnee Mental Health Services will seek to expand their building at 814 Caroline Avenue in Junction City.

The Executive Director for Pawnee Mental Health Services, Robbin Cole, said the plan is to expand it by 7,000 square feet. “We’re talking to people about ways to generate community support to help us enhance that facility for the use of the Junction City, Geary County community.”

Cole said they need to make enhancements to improve handicapped accessibility and security to the building. “We need to also expand it. it’s a very cozy waiting room and front entry.”

The cost estimate for the project will be more than one million dollars.

The County will not be asked to help provide funding for the project, so private fundraising will be necessary. Pawnee serves multiple counties including Geary County.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 58 years and two months in prison for a deadly Manhattan shooting.

Steven Harris was sentenced Monday for second-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old German Gonzalez-Garcia, of Manhattan and attempted second-degree murder in the wounding of a second victim.

Prosecutors say Harris shot the two victims in May 2017. Gonzalez-Garcia died at the scene.

Harris was arrested along with his girlfriend in Wichita four days after the shooting when they tried to check into a Wichita hotel.

Harris had previously been convicted of attempted second-degree murder in Franklin County and was released from prison in 2015. In the 2017 shooting, Harris also was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The Junction City Arts Council will be coordinating with local businesses and artists to provide a Christmas market in the Municipal Building and Heritage Park on November 23rd. The hours will be 1 p.m. 7 p.m.

Activities at the Market will include crafts displays, food and snack vendors, school orchestra and local bands, and singers.

The intent of the Christmas Market is to promote arts, craftspeople and artists in Junction City and the surrounding areas, garner visitors and interest from outside the city and county, increase visibility of the arts and local artists, to raise funds for the Arts Council and local businesses and to provide a family-friendly event that will help promote a unique cultural identity for Junction City.

The primary location for the Market will be in the Municipal Building, and the Arts Council will be seeking a permit to sell alcohol ( Gluhewein ) in Heritage Park at a specified location.

The annual Lighting Ceremony is also scheduled in Heritage Park at 6:45 p.m. on November 23rd.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to the 400 block of Houston Road for a single vehicle non-injury accident Monday afternoon. Kelli Bartlett, Milford, was traveling south in a 1994 GMC Sierra when she failed to navigate a turn. The vehicle entered a ditch, causing it to roll.

The accident was reported at 12:58 p.m. Monday.

CAMDEN, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are blaming excessive speed for a boat crash that killed three people from Kansas at Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol released its crash reconstruction report more than three months after a 1991 Regal Runabout slammed into a rock bluff in the early morning hours of May 19. The report also said the “nighttime conditions” played a role, and noted that the boat lacked navigation aids, such as a chart plotter or GPS unit.

The crash killed 23-year-old Joseph LeMark, 24-year-old Daniel Lewis, and 21-year-old Hailey Hochanadel. LeMark and Lewis were from Overland Park, Kansas; and Hochanadel was from Olathe, Kansas. Two others including Ashley Lamb, 22, a senior at Kansas State University were injured.

Toxicology and autopsy reports have not yet been released.

GEARY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident just before 6:30p.m. Monday in Geardy County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2018 Chevy Silverado driven by Matthew H. Soderstrom, 33, Pasco, WA, was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of the Manhattan exit.

The pickup was traveling in the right lane, came upon slower traffic and rear ended a 1993 Toyota Corolla driven by Joyce C. Lovin, 79, Manhattan. The collision pushed the Toyota into north ditch and it overturned.

Lovin was transported to the hospital in Manhattan. Soderstrom was not injured.  Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.