By consensus the Junction City Commission Tuesday night decided not to lift the ban on pit bull dogs in the city. But proponents of lifting the ban are now working to get the issue on the Nov. 7 election ballot.

Emily Fawcett was disappointed in the Commission decision but plans to pursue the necessary steps to submit a petition with the required number of signatures for an election. “I want to go ahead and have this be open for public vote, and obviously I want to win in November.”

Friends of Animals President Linnea Alt said the next step is to get a petition together so we can get this on the ballot. ” Alt noted they have enough signatures on their current petitions but she still has to see if they have enough certified voters.

Alt said in order to put the issue on the ballot organizers must have 25% of the electors from the last city election. “When we have those we can put it on the ballot so that we can have the general public vote.” No formal action has been taken at this point.

 

Primary election results on Tuesday in Dickinson County saw Doug Lindahl win the Republican Party primary election in the 1st District County Commission race with 365 votes. David Shively had 325 and Larry Jantz 273. There were no Democratic Party candidates.

Dickinson County voters cast ballots in favor of a $13.5 million dollar bond issue to renovate the Dickinson County Courthouse. The vote was 1,851 in favor and 1,800 against. Provisional ballots must still be counted in that election.

In Clay County in the Republican primary in the 64th District House race Susan “Suzi” L. Carlson of Clay Center defeated Kathy Martin of Clay Center 972-812 votes. There were no Democratic candidates.

On the renewal of a one-half cent sales tax in Clay Center 772 voters said yes and 248 no.

By a consensus decision the Junction City Commission has decided to leave a ban on pit bull dogs in the city in place. That followed a second consecutive meeting where supporters of  lifting the ban urged the governing body to take that action.

Commissioner Tim Brown cited examples where people had been killed by pit bulls. He stated that he loved dogs, “but there are bad owners and bad dogs, and there’s just nothing you can do about it.” He said he could not support changing the pit bull ordinance, and noted that it’s the responsibility of the city commission to protect the citizens of the community by whatever means necessary, no matter how unpopular that decision.

Commissioner Nick Allbritton said officials needed to look at something, noting that there are pit bulls in the city. Commissioner Phyllis Fitzgerald said the elected officials received a lot of messages from people that wanted to see the ban lifted, but many others that wanted to see it stay in place. Fitzgerald told the story of her niece who was attacked by a pit bull when she was two years old and has scars on her face today as a result. She said the commissioners are responsible for the safety of the community and she was not in favor of lifting the ban.

Commissioner Jeff Underhill asked the question how do you regulate or manage bad dog owners and answered it by saying the City can’t manage everybody or dog owner. He favored keeping the ban in place. Mayor Pat Landes added not everyone is responsible and indicated there was no support on the governing body to lift the ban. He noted if it is going to occur it would have to be through a public vote.

ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — Two organizations have each donated $500,000 to renovation efforts for the Eisenhower Presidential Museum in Kansas.

The Salina Journal reports that the DeBruce Foundation and the Walter S. and Evan C. Jones Testamentary Trust have donated to a capital campaign to fund the renovation.

Eisenhower Foundation Executive Director Meredith Sleichter says the donations will help create new museum exhibits.

She says the funds will also help the foundation launch initiatives to promote the relevancy of the 34th president of the United States on a national scale. Efforts may include a series of national commemorative events, as well as education programs with museums and academic partners in other U.S. cities.

Sleichter says the foundation has raised more than $11 million and is at 95 percent of their overall campaign goal.

The Geary USD 475 Board of Education has approved classified staff and administrative salaries for the 2018-19 school year.

For classified employees there will be one year of movement on the salary schedule with a 4.25% increase on the base salary. For administrators there would be a 4.25% for administrators returning to their positions, and a 1.25% increasfor new administrators to keep their salaries at market level.

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The Board of Education also voted 6-0 to ratify the teaching contract for the upcoming 2018-19 school year.

The Junction City Police Department has reported that they are conducting a death investigation.

Police said that they responded to the 700 block of West 5th Street at 5:55 a.m. Monday. No other details have been released by authorities at this time. As details become available we will update the information on JC Post.

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect for alleged aggravated battery after an altercation with a teen.

On Sunday, the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office was notified of a 16-year-old from Onaga who had been the victim of a battery and had suffered a burn during an altercation with a man from Onaga, according to Sheriff Greg Riat.

During the investigation it was alleged the 34-year-old suspect identified as Ryan Hager had acted in a reckless and intentional manner that caused the teen to suffer a burn to his arm.

Hager was contacted by law enforcement at his residence, however was unwilling to leave the residence. A search warrant was issued for the residence of 501 High Street and Hager was taken into custody without incident around 3:30 a.m. Monday.

Hager is being held for Arson, Aggravated Battery, Endangering a Child, Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer and Illegal drug charges. In addition, also taken into custody from the home was 34-year-old Rachel Hager for Interference with a law enforcement officer, according to Riat.

Both remain in custody at the Pottawatomie County Jail.

Hager has previous convictions for DUI and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Details of the investigation will be forwarded to the Pottawatomie County Attorney for review.

A Geary County rural firefighter, Billy Crable, was presented with a plaque Monday at the county commission meeting recognizing him for his heroic actions on July 18th.

Crable saved the life of a motorist involved in a car accident and fire on U.S. 77 Highway south of Junction City on July 18th. Crable drove up on the scene after the accident and helped pull Micky Black, 23, Lost Springs, out of a burning vehicle.

Crable told JCPost.com, “Just pulled up. What I thought was a small grass fire ended up being a vehicle on fire. Anybody else would have done the same thing. Just a matter of timing, being in the right time at the right place I guess.”  Crable added, “I’m glad I was there. Glad he’s got another day to live, and just right time, right place.”

Crable has served as a volunteer firefighter for about nine years.