April is Month of the Military Child and Fort Riley kicked off the
month-long celebration with a parade March 30 and a proclamation signing
April 3.  Many family-friendly events are planned throughout the month at
Fort Riley, including:

.       April 6, Midnight Sports from 8 to 10:30 p.m.; call 785-239-9222
.       April 7, Family Movie at Barlow Theater at 11 a.m.
.       April 8, Kids-fest at Riley’s Conference Center from noon to 3 p.m.
.       April 14, Family Pool Party at Eyster Pool from 5 to 8 p.m.
.       April 21, Family Bowling at Custer Hill Bowling Center from 11 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
.       April 27-28, Operation Megaphone Lock-In from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.; call
785-239-9885
.       April 28, Family Field Trip to Spin City from 9 a.m. to noon

The weather is expected to turn cold with snow possible on Friday.

Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte noted forecasters are talking about possible temperatures in the 11 to 12 degree range, and that will do some damage. “We’ve got plants that are starting to come out of dormancy. We’ve got ornamental trees that are blooming. It’s really going to turn a lot of pretty white trees brown here before long.”

Otte surveyed the wheat and alfalfa crops Thursday morning.  “Temperatures that low, depending on how long it stays cold could cause a little bit of damage. The wheat is not very far along. That’s the good news.” Otte added the wheat is just starting to grow. “There’ll be a little bit of freeze damage but I don’t think it will be too bad. If we can get a little bit of snow on top of it that would help a lot.”

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to a non-injury rollover accident Wednesday afternoon.

Justin Niehaus, Junction City, was driving his 1996 Jeep Cherokee west bound on Liberty Hall Road when he turned south onto Taylor Road and lost control of his vehicle, causing it to go into the ditch and roll over.

The accident was reported at 1:30 p.m.

Geary Community Hospital has announced Tarra Egger R.T. (R) ARDMS, Radiology Department, as the Geary Community Hospital Employee of the Quarter, first quarter 2018.

According to her co-workers, Tarra is a phenomenal employee, caregiver, co-worker, teacher, and friend to GCH.

She is dedicated to her profession as it shows with her continuous work with our Washburn Radiology students as their clinical instructor.

Tarra wants to insure that the students are competent to perform the work of Radiographer and holds the students to a high standard. She is not only a good role model for the GCH but also her profession as a Radiographer and Sonographer.

Posted by USD 475

JUNCTION CITY, KAN. – During its April 2, 2018 meeting the USD 475 Board of Education approved the selection of Hutton Construction as its Construction Manager At Risk for construction of the new Junction City High School as well as performance against the District Master Plan for facilities and maintenance repairs and construction through 2023.

Construction of the new high school and associated facilities was approved by voters during a November 2017 special bond election and is valued at $105 million dollars. The District Master Plan for facilities is valued at an additional $17 million through 2023.

Hutton Construction scored higher than four other competitors during the source selection process conducted by the District in accordance with the State of Kansas Construction Procurement Act.

David Wild, Chief Operations Officer for USD 475, explained that the Act limits competition to no more than five offerors. “The Board approved issuance of Request for Proposals to five qualified firms during its early March meeting. Proposals were received on March 20th and interviews held on the 27th,” Wild added.

The Procurement Act requires that offerors submit price proposals to the Kansas Department of Administration with quality proposals sent to the District for independent evaluation. Upon receipt of District evaluations, the State released its pricing evaluations which identified the best value CMAR selection.

The Board of Education appointed seven personnel, including three board members, to serve on the selection committee. Members conducted reviews of written proposals as well as independently scored proposals and offeror interviews. Wild stated that the panel acknowledged the high quality represented by each offeror and, during deliberations, came to consensus on a competitive range consisting of three offerors.

“There were three points separating the top three offers,” Wild explained. “The panel agreed to accept any of the top three firms and submitted its evaluations to the State with the understanding that the State analyses of fee structures would be the final determinant of which firm was to be selected.”

The results of the selection process were presented to the Board on Monday evening. Wild concluded the discussion noting that the Hutton proposal came in four-tenths of a percent above the next best value offer but with a price $1.1 million lower than its competitor.