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Category: Local

Security Will be Present for Sundown Salute, as Always

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The Junction City Police Department will provide security for Sundown Salute June 29 – July 4 in the downtown area.

Police Chief Dan Breci stated it’s a time when no police officers go on vacation. “Everybody’s hands-on for Sundown Salute, and so after 15-plus years we’re used to that. I think it’s a good p-r opportunity for the community. We seldom have any problems at Sundown Salute. ” The celebration has been held in downtown Junction City since the early 2000’s.

Breci provided some reminders for those planning to attend. “There’s no bicycles, no skate boards in the park during that time, they don’t want you to bring coolers with alcohol or beer because that’s where they make their money.  Breci added they’re hopeful everyone comes to park to have a good time, and hopefully not get intoxicated and cause a problem.

Sundown Salute Opens This Week

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Sundown Salute ferris wheel from a previous year celebration.

The Sundown Salute celebration in Junction City opens Friday and continues through July 4th.

The Friday night entertainment lineup includes red dirt music. There will be a Journey Tribute Band performing on the stage downtown adjacent to Heritage Park from 4-5 p.m. The time period from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. has been set aside for the finals of the JC Has Singing Talent, 8-9 p.m. the Jason Callahan Band, and 9:30 – 10:45 p.m. the Aaron Woods Band will perform.

Country and western music is scheduled Saturday evening with the Adam Capp Band performing from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m., Jaron Bell from 8-9 p.m. and 9:30 – 10:45 p.m. Ty Herndon.

Christian Music is on the agenda on Sunday with Nichole Nordeman performing from 6:30 – 7:30 and Aaron Shust from 8:15 – 9:15 p.m.

The Old Abilene Town Gun Fighters show will be held in Heritage Park on Saturday at noon, 1 and 4 p.m. and again on July 4th at 1, 3 and 5 p.m.

The Car, Truck and Bike Show is scheduled Saturday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the area of 5th and Washington Street. Trophies will be awarded at 2 p.m.

The Sundown Salute Joint Church Service is on Sunday from 9:30 – 11 a.m. in Heritage Park.

Musical entertainment will continue Monday – Wednesday July 2nd, 3rd and fourth.  There will be a fireworks display on the evening of July 4th at 10 p.m.

The Ottaway Amusement Carnival will operate downtown from Friday evening through July 4th.

 

Big Brothers Big Sister Double Up Match

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Big Brothers / Big Sisters has received a double up match.

The Area Three Manager for the organization, Tara Claussen reported that she has learned about a matching gift challenge issued through Kansas to benefit local programs.

Any new gift of $250 or greater will be one to one. It is a first come, first serve opportunity until the donation limit is achieved.

Gifts need to be deposited by July 13.

Online donations can be made through the web link https://www.4kidsake.org/One-Time-Gift/Donate. The designation should be “Geary”

Baker Responds to Internet Sales Tax Ruling

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photo courtesy: https://www.davebaker4kansas.com/

States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a U.S. Supreme Court decisiion this past week.

One attorney involved in the case said consumers can expect to see sales tax charged on more online purchases — likely over the next year and potentially before the Christmas shopping season — as states and retailers react to the court’s decision.

In Kansas, 68th District State Representative Dave Baker, Council Grove, said nobody knows how big the impact will be. “I will tell you those in the rural areas, the more rural an area is the more they shop on the internet.” Baker stated, “It has been an extremely unfair situation for a long time. It has cost the state of Kansas billions of dollars, local governments have suffered immensely from this.”

The Supreme Court’s 5-4 opinion overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases, and more than 40 states had asked the high court for action.

Baker feels the ruling help retail development throughout the nation. “The problem is going to be we’ve let it fall down so far I’m not sure we’ll bring it back to the level we once had. Internet shopping is here to stay, delivery systems are getting faster and faster. It will never be as it was.” Baker added is hopeful this decision will provide a way to level the playing field.

City Wants to Extend Sidewalk Improvement in the Future

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Junction City officials want to extend the new sidewalk that will run west along K-18 Highway to Spring Valley Road.

The City’s Public Works Director Ray Ibarra explained they want to extend the sidewalk farther west to the new high school which will be built on the west side of the city and on the north side of K-18. They looking at trying to obtain a KDOT transportation alternative grant for this project. “That’s what they handle, is the sidewalks, those type of things. We’re looking to put in for the grant for KDOT. That ( application ) is due September 10th, so we’ll be looking to do that. That would be out for 2020.”

Sunday Weather Forecast

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High
 85° Mostly cloudy. Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms in the morning, then showers with thunderstorms likely in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 90 percent.

Manhattan teen held on $160,000 Bond on drug, rape allegations

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RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a teen suspect on drug, sex and burglary allegations.

Just before 11:30p.m. Friday, officers arrested Tommie Baggett, 18, Manhattan, at a residence in the 1400 Block of Hartman Place, according to the Riley County Police Department booking report.

Baggett is being held on a Bond of $150,000 on requested charges that include rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, aggravated battery that included a weapon, and aggravated burglary.

He is also accused of marijuana distribution that included a Bond of $10,000, according to the RCPD.

No additional details were released early Saturday.

In April, police arrested Baggett on requested charges of rape, aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated burglary involving a weapon, according to the Riley County Police Department booking report.

In January, police arrested Baggett for the alleged sale of depressants, contributing to a child’s misconduct and felony possession of paraphernalia with intent to manufacture a controlled substance.

Kansas State Polytechnic receives FAA’s first waiver to a university to fly UAS beyond line of sight

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SALINA — Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus has received a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration to fly unmanned aircraft systems beyond the line of sight. It’s the first such waiver granted to a university by the FAA.

The FAA certificate to Kansas State Polytechnic’s Applied Aviation Research Center waives the rules regarding visual sight of aircraft operations by the pilot and visual observers. This allows Kansas State Polytechnic to conduct research and operations where pilots and observers can no longer see their aircraft.

“These operations and research will provide valuable insight into regulation and safety measures for UAS in the national airspace,” said Travis Balthazor, Kansas State Polytechnic’s UAS flight operations manager. “At the time of notification to us, the FAA’s website showed only 20 waivers to this regulation, and only half are waived to allow small UAS operations where the remote pilot in command and the visual observers may not be able to see the aircraft.”

Balthazor called the waiver a significant first step in Kansas State Polytechnic’s efforts to further develop the safety case for longer range small UAS operations.

“We have been working deliberately over the last two years to demonstrate our ability to safely adhere to the standards set forth in our waiver,” Balthazor said.

Kurt Carraway, the Applied Aviation Research Center’s UAS executive director, emphasized the importance of this waiver to K-State Polytechnic’s research and partnership with the FAA in integrating UAS into the national airspace system.

“This is a significant step in meeting our strategic goals of incorporating sound research and a safety-centric approach to UAS operations to help the industry and the FAA continue to integrate UAS into the national airspace system,” Carraway said. “We are pleased to have been a partner with PrecisionHawk in their Pathfinder II project, which gave us some of the baseline experience we needed to make the safety case.”

Kansas State University is a member of the Kansas UAS Joint Task Force and a key partner with the Kansas Department of Transportation, which was recently named one of 10 entities nationwide to be part of the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program.

“This waiver is an initial component of the ‘crawl, walk, run’ aspect of our approach to larger-scale beyond-the-line-of-sight operations,” Carraway said. “In addition to our efforts affiliated with the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Integration Pilot Program, we will offer flight operations training and consulting to help other entities gain similar waivers. This is consistent with the Kansas State University land-grant mission of transferring our knowledge to promote the greater good of the industry.”

Kansas State Polytechnic was recently named third-place winner in the training and education category of the 2018 XCELLENCE Awards by the Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International. This award recognizes the valuable training offered and effect K-State Polytechnic has on the UAS industry. Kansas State Polytechnic offers a variety of UAS training courses, including a law enforcement specific flight training course. Learn more about K-State Polytechnic’s UAS training courses at ksu-uas.com/fly-with-the-experts/training.

K-State News and Communications Services
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