The drawing for the Geary County Historical Society Quilt raffle will occur Sunday during  their annual Ice Cream Social. Proceeds from the raffle will support the Historical Society and the restoration of the St. Joseph’s Historic Church.

Tickets are $5 per chance or three for $10.

The Ice Cream Social is scheduled from 3 – 6 p.m. Sunday on the Museum grounds at 530 North Adams.

The JC Breakfast Optimist Club will hold a fundraiser at JC’s BBQ and Grill on East Chestnut Street in Junction City on Sept. 17.

Ten percent of the purchases will go to the club and donations will also be welcome.

Different organizations and activities sponsored by the club range from the Hugh O’Brien Leadership Camp to I.C.A.R.E. and the JCHS JROTC. Others include the Girl and Boy Scouts, JCHS Band and Vocal Music Department, Geary County Girls Softball, Geary County Historical Society’s Hands-On-History Program, JC Community Band, Junction City Little Theater Summer Program the Bramlage Library Summer Reading program, Fort Riley Special Needs Rodeo, Big Brothers / Sisters, C.A.S.A., Shop With A Cop, Stuff the Bus and St Francis Christmas is for Kids.

Approximately 100 educators in several Kansas school district plus eight educators in  the Osage Nation in Pawhuska,Oklahoma, are strengthening their local schools by participating in master’s degree level academies hosted by the Kansas State University College of Education.

The academies build and enhance local leadership capacity by merging theory and practice within the context of the mission, goals, priorities and challenges of the school districts where the educators – now graduate students at K-State – work, said Jerry Johnson, professor and chair of the college’s educational leadership department.

Currently, six academies and one cohort are in operation and are headed by faculty from the educational leadership department. Among them is the Geary USD 475 academy and the Manhattan-Ogden USD 383-Wamego USD 320 academy are led by Mary Devin, professor. Devin is a former superintendent of schools in USD 475.

MANHATTAN — With fall approaching, a Kansas State University veterinarian says homeowners and pet owners need to be cautious of bats, which are a leading transmitter of rabies.

“Bats are more active this time of year, which means there is an increased chance of exposure to them,” said Susan Nelson, clinical professor and veterinarian at the Kansas State University Veterinary Health Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Case in point, Nelson said a bat recently found in a Manhattan residence tested positive for rabies.

“While bats are essential for our ecosystem and most bats are harmless, we need to remember that in some situations, bats can be a threat to our health,” Nelson said. “Any possible contact with bats by people or pets needs to be taken seriously.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, bats are responsible for roughly 7 in 10 rabies deaths among people who are infected with the rabies virus in the U.S. The CDCsays that many people do not realize that bats can transmit rabies and don’t seek treatment when exposed to one. They often also don’t know that they have been bitten or scratched by a bat because of the small wounds that they leave.

Bats are a problem for animals as well, accounting for one-third of the 5,000 rabid animals that are reported in the U.S. each year.

If a bat is found in your residence, Nelson recommends having the mammal tested for rabies in the following situations:

• When you are scratched or bitten by a bat.

• When you handled a bat with your bare hands.

• When you woke up and found a bat in your room.

• When unattended young children are found in the same room with a bat.

• When mentally disabled or intoxicated people are found in a room with a bat.

It is important to take these situations seriously as rabies is almost always fatal after symptoms appear, despite treatment efforts, Nelson said.

“The bottom line is if an individual who cannot communicate that they had contact with a bat, or doesn’t remember or know if they could have had contact, is found in a room with a bat, they are considered exposed,” Nelson said. “And because pets can’t communicate this to their owners either, they are also considered exposed if found in a room with a bat.”

If you find a bat in your residence, Nelson said the best thing is to carefully catch the bat without touching it and take it to your local veterinarian for rabies testing submission.

“We are fortunate enough to have the Kansas State University Rabies Laboratory in our own backyard, as it is only one of a handful of labs that do this type of testing,” Nelson said.

Possible exposure to rabies is an urgent event, but not an emergency in most situations. This means that one can typically wait to receive post-exposure treatment until after the testing results are in, Nelson said, but there are some situations where it will be started right away.

Typically, it takes only a few days or less to receive test results. But if the bat is unavailable or unsuitable for testing, post-exposure treatment will likely be recommended in the situations listed above. Nelson said that your personal physician and/or local health authorities will ultimately determine if and when post-exposure treatment is needed.

The best way to protect pets from bat exposure is to keep their rabies vaccinations current, Nelson said, adding this is also important for indoor-only pets as bats are often found in the house.

If there’s a possibility a pet was exposed to a bat, it should be taken to a veterinarian within 96 hours and get a rabies booster if the bat was unavailable for testing, Nelson said.

“If the bat is available for testing, there’s time to wait and see if a booster is needed,” Nelson said. “But if your pet is not vaccinated against rabies or not current on its rabies vaccine, your veterinarian will discuss options for vaccination and/or quarantine based on its current vaccination status.”

Nelson said that some quarantine situations can last up to six months.

“Respect bats and what they do for our environment, but do take any possible exposure seriously,” Nelson said. “And if you happen to overhear someone talking about any situations that could be considered as possible exposure to a rabid bat to themselves or a pet, do them a favor and recommend they submit the bat for testing or seek the advice of their physician or veterinarian if it is not available for testing. You may just save a life.”

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RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a report of shots fired Thursday in Manhattan,

Just before 7p.m., police received multiple reports of shots fired in the area of Westwood and Oak Street in Manhattan, according to Riley County Police Captain Josh Kyle.

Upon arrival officers discovered several spent shell casings in a parking lot off of Oak Street which is south of the Manhattan High School West Campus.

Information on scene indicates that two vehicles met in the parking lot. The occupants of the vehicles interacted for a while before shots were fired. Both vehicles then fled the area. A house in the 200 Block of Ridge was struck by a bullet, according to Kyle.

A witness on scene provided a tag number for one of the vehicles. Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers from the Kansas Turnpike Authority were able to locate this vehicle eastbound on I-70.

A pursuit ensued which involved at least one other agency (Contact the KHP-KTA for further information.) The vehicle was eventually stopped and four people were taken into custody (The driver was arrested by the KHP-KTA for the offenses in their presence.) The occupants were interviewed by Riley County Police detectives.

Currently the RCPD is following up on investigative leads as to the identity of the other vehicle and its occupants.

There is no indication that the individuals involved are affiliated with Manhattan High School, the parking lot happened to be a meeting location. There have been no reports of injuries.

The RCPD have not made an arrest.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old woman has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of her boyfriend in Kansas.

Gregoria Elizabeth Baez, who was convicted Thursday. She was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Felix Florez of Manhattan, who was a Geary County correctional officer, but the jury convicted her of the lesser charge.

Florez was shot in September 2018 at a home he shared with Baez. She claimed they were joking around and pulled guns on each other when she accidentally shot Florez.

She will be sentenced Nov. 12.

Junction City police responded to the Bluffs Apartments at 1810 Caroline Avenue at 12:42 a.m. Thursday to a report of shots fired. Detective Lieutenant Cory Odell noted that when they got on scene they found Amard Young, 20, Junction City, between Buildings I and H with a gunshot wound.

Young was taken to Geary Community Hospital and then moved to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka where as of Thursday evening Junction City police confirmed that he was in stable condition with a non-life threatening injury.

There have been no arrests. Police do not believe the general public is in any danger.