The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce has issued a release announcing that this past summer the Chamber Board of Directors voted to support the proposed new high school bond issue. The vote was to specifically support the bond issue only, not a specific location or details regarding the new high school.

They have also issued a letter to community leaders from the “Say Yes to JCHS Campaign Co-chairs Terrah Stroda and Jim Schmidt that includes talking points on the bond.

A new JCHS would bring grades 9 through 12 together again under one roof and would be a state of the art facility providing the space and amenities necessary to enable our children to be productive and competitive graduates prepared for life’s opportunities, including colleges and universities around the nation. In addition, the new school would be a community epicenter capable of attracting statewide sporting, music and scholastic events that will showcase JCHS students and benefit the local economy by bringing people to Junction City for such events.

Reasons for a “Yes” vote:

–Geary USD 475 spends approximately $500,000 each year to maintain the current Junction City High School. The current building has served as a facility for learning in Geary County for nearly 60 years. Not only has the school provided an educational commitment, but it has also become a training center for the community’s future.

–A new high school funded by leveraging state and heavy impact aid funds will give the district a unique opportunity to build a new high school that the community can be proud of without causing any direct or additional burden to the taxpayer.

–Heavy Impact Aid is money USD 475 receives for having a high military presence within their student population. The school district can only use that money for building improvement projects. $40,500,000 is the amount of Heavy Impact Aid that USD 475 currently has in the bank, saved and ready for this project.

–The current bond issue finance break down: 47% State Aid, obtained by a yes vote on November 7, 35.2% Heavy Impact Aid, 9.62% Current Mill Levy, 8.12% Interest Earnings on the Heavy Impact Aid currently in the bank.

–A new high school has the potential to bring with it additional economic impacts. Fort RIley is one entity that routinely brings families in and out of the area. Nearly 60% of the school district’s student population is military connected. Families moving to Fort Riley have a decision about where to live. Much of that decision is commonly based on educational opportunities.

–State and regional events could be held at a new facility, bringing with it revenue hotel, restaurants and retail expenditures. Construction of a new school would also bring in a work force who will need a place to stay and eat during the building process.

–Public schools are a critical component of the national and local economies, preparing young people for a wide range of careers, developing their ability to be lifelong learners, and provided the well-educated workforce essential to family prosperity, business advancement and economic success in the global marketplace.

Businesses are encouraged to hang business signs, wear a “Say Yes” button, and add the “Say Yes” on November 7 to electronic signage.

 

 

The Historical and Archaeological Society of Fort Riley will sponsor their Ghost tours this Sunday, Oct. 29 from 4 – 7 :30 p.m.

According to the HASFR newsletter a new route is planned this year that will feature some of the old favorites and share some new tales from buildings that have seen recent renovations.

Geary USD 475 officials have scheduled a press conference at 1 p.m. at the Devin Center in Junction City.

The district is currently in the midst of an information campaign regarding the proposed new high school bond issue. The press conference will discuss new information in the JCHS Way Forward project and proposed new high school bond.

Grant from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will advance Ventria’s capabilities for production of novel therapeutic proteins

Junction City, Kansas – October 23, 2017 – Ventria Bioscience Inc. today announced a $4.2 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fund development of efficient biomanufacturing for new therapeutics targeting Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (or ETEC), a leading bacterial cause of diarrhea in the developing world. ETEC accounts for an estimated 280 million to 400 million cases of diarrhea a year in children under five and an estimated 157,000 deaths per year. The bacterial infection also is implicated in travelers’ diarrhea.

Funding by the Gates Foundation will enable Ventria to develop its platform to produce potential ETEC treatments using Ventria’s cost-effective, scalable and safe ExpressTec technology.

“We are very pleased to receive this funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fight ETEC diarrheal disease, which causes widespread misery, especially among young children in lower-income countries. This initiative aims to develop a new kind of oral treatment that could be delivered economically on a large scale for use in children or adults,” said Scott E. Deeter, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ventria. “We have proven the effectiveness of our ExpressTec system for biomanufacturing synthetic colostrum proteins, such as lactoferrin and lysozyme. This new application in the global fight against ETEC adds to Ventria’s pipeline of projects with the potential to make a real difference in people’s health.”

Seymour Fein, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Ventria, added: “The burden of gastrointestinal and diarrheal diseases in the developing world is devastating, causing hundreds of millions of people to suffer, taking the lives of the least fortunate, and draining the resources of caregivers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. ETEC infection cries out for an effective treatment that can be delivered on a large scale in areas struggling with poverty, and the Gates Foundation initiative brings hope to patients and societies afflicted by this disease. Ventria’s expertise in producing safe, high-quality proteins adds an important component to this global public health effort.”

About Ventria Bioscience Inc.

Ventria Bioscience is a biopharmaceutical company with a product pipeline targeting unmet medical needs. Ventria Bioscience’s proprietary ExpressTec biomanufacturing technology enables the development of new, safe and effective biologic products to treat gastrointestinal, autoimmune and infectious disease. For more information, visit www.Ventria.com.

High

70°

Breezy, sunny. Highs around 70. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon.

RILEY COUNTY — One person was injured in an accident during a pursuit with law enforcement just after 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2006 Suzuki RK6 driven by Dallas Tyre Wilson, 21, Raleigh, NC., was eastbound on Kansas 18 just south of Stackhill Road in an active pursuit with Law Enforcement.

The vehicle exited onto the ramp toward Scenic Drive. The driver failed to negotiate the curve, struck the curve and was ejected off the vehicle. The vehicle and rider came to rest on the roundabout.

Wilson was transported to Irwin Army Community Hospital at Fort Riley.

He was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.   Authorities did not release details on what prompted the initial pursuit by law enforcement.

Riley County Police are searching for information about a reported altercation at the Blue Hills Shopping Center early Saturday morning in Manhattan.

The RCPD issued a news release indicating that they the Department has received a report about the altercation. Officers responded to the location at 2301 Tuttle Creek Boulevard. When officers arrived on scene, they received reports that during the altercation someone discharged a firearm.

The Riley County Police Department is asking anyone with information to call the RCPD at 785-537-2112 or Crime Stoppers in Riley County at 785-539-7777. Anyone with information may also contact the department through social media by using Facebook or Twitter. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

The Corps of Engineers has reduced the outflow at Milford Reservoir from 1,500 cubic feet per second to 25 cubic feet per second ( lowflow.).

The Corps reported that the current lake elevation is 1145.27, or 87-hundredths of a foot high.

The current Water Level Management Plan for the lake indicates that the Corps will maintain the lake elevation at least one foot over conservation pool from Oct. 1 to Jan 1. The goal of the fall and winter rise is to keep the lake elevation up as long as possible for waterfowl habitat but at the same time realizing that the lake elevation needs to be drawn down prior to the lake freeze up.

 

FORT RILEY, Kan. – More than 400 Soldiers with the 1st Heavy Attack Reconnaissance Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, are set to return soon from a nine-month deployment to South Korea.

The “Fighting Sixth” deployed to South Korea in February 2017 as part of a
regular rotation of forces in support of the South Korea – U.S. alliance
under the 2nd Infantry Division. While deployed, the squadron trained
closely with their South Korean counterparts in order to deter North Korean
aggression and provide security to the Korean peninsula.

During the deployment, 1st Sqdn., 6th Cav. Regt., conducted multiple training exercises just miles from the demilitarized zone. The exercises included Scout Weapons Team live-fire exercises, AH-64D Apache attack helicopter and RQ-7b Shadow unmanned aircraft system gunnery qualification tables, joint live-fire exercises with other 2nd Inf. Div. elements and the U.S. Air Force. Most notably, the Fighting Sixth participated in the Republic of Korea Live Fire Exercise, a live-fire demonstration of every weapons platform in the U.S. and South Korean inventory on the Korean Peninsula.

As part of a bilateral agreement between the U.S. and South Korea, the Fighting Sixth established a footprint across three locations: Suwon Air Base, Camp Mobile and Camp Humphreys. As the deployment draws down, the Soldiers will close operations at Suwon Air Base and consolidate at Camp Humphreys near Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

All members of the squadron are expected to return by the end of October.