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High
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59° | Not as cool. Sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the southeast in the afternoon. |
Category: Local
Sundown Salute Roast Cancelled
The Sundown Salute Roast scheduled Saturday Past night, April 21st, has been cancelled.
The event involving a roast of Junction City Police Captain Trish Giordano was scheduled as a Sundown Salute fundraiser at the Municipal Building, but the spokesman for the committee coordinating the Fourth of July celebration, Terry Heldstab, confirmed it will not be held.
Heldstab noted, “We just could not get it put together, and I regret it. Trish Giordano was such a good sport and agreed to do this. Apparently our committee picked the wrong weekend. There’s too much going on. Ticket sales were not just what we wanted them to be to have a good event for Trish. She agreed to do this as a fundraiser for Sundown Salute and we didn’t want to do it part-way so we made the difficult decision to not do it.”
Heldstab feels there will be enough funding for the Sundown Salute celebration this year. He noted sponsorships are strong. He also indicated he roast would be a likely event in another year.
Luke’s Community Baby Shower
The JC Naz was the site for the 7th Luke’s Community Baby Shower on Saturday.
One of the coordinators, Jill Nelson, said there was a great turnout. “We had about 70 mothers in attendance. Everyone brings at least one support person with them if not two or three. I’ve seen several that had two or three.”
Those attending received information on safe sleep and about agencies in the community that provide help and support families. “We want to 
educate them around how to reduce the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. So that’s the ABC’s of safe sleep alone on their back and in a clutter free crib. So no bumper pads, no blankets, no stuffed animals, no pillows. We want them just laying flat on their back just in a nice cozy sleep slack, a wearable blanket and in the same room as mom and dad.” Nelson added they want the babies in the same room as their parents but in a separate sleeping environment with a pacifier.
The event is named after the late Luke David Nelson, who died from SIDS in 2006.
A goal is to educate the community as a whole and those who will be caring for babies on how to keep them as happy, healthy and safe as possible. The next Luke’s Community Baby Shower will be in November.
Snow on April 14th
The temperature went from the 70’s Friday down into the 30’s by early Saturday morning. Then as a cold front continued to move through the region there was rain and sleet. Then snow fell later in the day on Saturday.
All of this occurred in mid-April in Junction City.
A check with Junction City police dispatch just after 4 p.m. revealed there had been no accidents on roadways.
Home Away From Home
The Old Trooper Regiment in Junction City hosted an event on Friday for the participants in the Home Away from Home adopt a Soldier program for new soldiers that have arrived at Fort Riley.
The coordinator of the program, Phyllis Fitzgerald, was in attendance. She said host families engage with the new Soldiers. “They’re their mentor, they’re their friend, they get them outside the gates and engage them in our communities, introduce them to the events and things we have going on in our community, show them our community so that way they know where things are at. ”
Fitzgerald said a host family makes a commitment to that Soldier during the duration of the time they are at Fort Riley, and it can become a lifetime friendship.
Soldiers interested in participating in the program fill out a questionnaire during their in-processing, host families will fill out a questionnaire, and Fitzgerald will then start looking at common interests in making a match.
One Soldier, Tremond Burts, originally from Birmingham, Alabama, explained his interest in the program. “Just doing new things. When I got here to Kansas a whole bunch of my friends were doing it so I had to do it to.” Burt called the program a good idea.
Sundown Salute Act Announced for July 4th
Blues Guitarist Jonathon “Boogie” Long will be the headliner at Sundown Salute on July 4th. Long competed nationally against 4,000 guitarists and won the “Guitar Center King of the Blues.”
Long has performed in Junction City before as a headliner for the Jammin in JC festival.
All concerts at Sundown Salute are free to attend and will begin in the late afternoon / evening time. Each day at Sundown Salute will feature a different genre of music. On June 29th the concert stage will feature Red Dirt Country, June 30th is Country and Western, July 1st Christian, July 2nd Soul, July 3rd Rock and Roll and July 4th Rockin’ Blues.
Legendary Rock and Roll band Head East will be the headliner on July 3rd and Hypnosismagic performer Ron Diamond will be on stage July 3rd and 4th.
Saturday Weather Forecast
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High
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39° | Windy. Much colder. Cloudy. Chance of rain in the morning, then rain likely, possibly mixed with snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation up to 1 inch. Highs in the upper 30s. Northwest winds 15 to 30 mph. Chance of precipitation 70 percent. |
Earth Day Clean Up in Junction City
Posted by USD 475
Earth Day Clean Up
April 21, 2018
Volunteer for “Operation Clean Sweep”
April 21, 2018 Annual City Clean Up
Report to: Spin City, 915 South Washington, Junction City, Kansas
- 8:00 AM Report to Spin City
- 8:30 AM Drive to pickup locations
- 11:30 AM Return to Spin City for lunch provided by: Papa Murphy’s and City of Junction City
- What to bring – gloves and drinking water
RSVP: Junction City Police Department, Lieutenant Scott Popovich, 210 East 9th Street, Junction City, Kansas (785) 762-5912 ext 3635 Email: scott.popovich@jcks.com
The Problem Must be Confronted Head On
Major General Joseph Martin told a suicide prevention summit in Junction City Friday that there must be an effort to confront head-on the problem of suicidal thought and behavior.
The commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley, stated the goal is to eliminate suicide from the active duty ranks and veteran’s community.
There have been a number of soldier suicides in the Fort Riley region in recent months, and many across the nation.
Martin noted suicide is difficult to predict. “Only trend I see is someone becomes so hopeless at what they’re facing in life that they no longer value their life.” He stated each of us is different with different sensors, and that trends can stem from relationships, financial or work stressor issues.
The commanding general added that the culture in the military is not always open to discuss this topic. To help meet the challenge there must be trust, mutual respect and empathy between the leaders and those that they lead. Data on suicide attempts have been studied to try and develop counter methods to deal with it, but sometimes the problem comes out of nowhere.
Martin reported that leader development is a critical aspect of the 1st Infantry Division and that has been reviewed. They want young NCO’s to be able to help identify stressors in a Soldier’s life, and there are visits to Soldiers they lead at their quarters both on and off post. He added that the best prevention is engaged leaders and peers.
During his comments Martin called for a need to change the perception within the community on the value of our lives. “We want to work to solve whatever issues that may exist.” He said they tell Soldiers they are not alone and asking for help is not a weakness, but in his opinion, a sign of courage.
Martin encouraged those attending the summit that together they can achieve the goal of eliminating suicide in our active and veteran’s ranks.
KSU will host 25th annual Boy Scouts Merit Badge Conference
MANHATTAN—The 25th annual Boy Scouts of America, Coronado Council, Konza District Merit Badge Conference and Target First Class Program will be hosted at Kansas State University on Saturday, April 28.
This year is special because it is the Silver Anniversary of the K-State Merit Badge Conference. We plan on having record attendance of over 1,050 Scouts and adult leaders from 118 Troops throughout Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri.
52 merit badge classes will be taught by 75 faculty members at K-State and experts from the Manhattan community. Merit badge classes will take place at Colbert Hills Golf Course, Manhattan Airport, Manhattan Arts Center, Manhattan Area Technical College, Manhattan Dental, Manhattan Fire Station, Riley County Historical Museum, and throughout the campus of Kansas State University.
Keynote speakers for the past 3 years have been Dr. Kirk Schulz (an Eagle Scout and 13th president of Kansas State University), Jerry Moran (Coronado Area Council Executive Committee member and US Senator for Kansas), and Richard Myers (a Star Scout, retired four-star general in the US Air Force, 15th Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and 14th president of Kansas State University).
This year, Dr. Peter Dorhout (an Eagle Scout, award-winning Chemistry professor, and K-State’s Vice President for Research) will be the keynote speaker.
For more information, please visit Coronadoscout.org
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