RILEY COUNTY — A Manhattan man was injured in an accident just after 1p.m. Wednesday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Kaitlin Elizabeth Vaughn, 25, Wellington, was on Walters Drive and stopped at the stop sign at U.S. 24. The driver failed to yield and proceeded to cross the westbound lane of U24.

A 1989 Acura driven by Richard A. Smith, 47, Manhattan, was traveling in the westbound lane and struck the Jeep.

Smith was transported to Via Christi.  Vaughn was not injured. Smith was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University officials say they are developing a plan to cut $12 million because of a drop in enrollment.

Fall enrollment at the university fell by nearly 1,000 students — or 4.1 percent — compared to last fall. It was the first time in 15 years Kansas State enrollment fell below 23,000 students.

University officials said Wednesday the $12 million budget reduction would come from administrative and academic units.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Kansas State President Richard Myers said an enrollment management consultant will be hired to review current operations and make recommendations to increase enrollment.

Pat Bosco, the school’s dean of students, said aggressive recruiting of out-of-state students didn’t compensate this fall for fewer international students. And he said the in-state pool of potential students had declined.

 

MANHATTAN — Kansas State University is strengthening its reputation as the Silicon Valley for biodefense.

The university is featured in several sections of the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense’s special bipartisan report released on Wednesday, Oct. 18. The report, titled “Defense of Animal Agriculture,” is based on a January 2017 series of agrodefense discussions conducted at Kansas State University.

“There’s no question that Kansas State University is a national leader in animal health, agriculture and food safety research,” said Kansas State University President Richard Myers. “Our expertise, facilities and research programs show how we are contributing the national discussion surrounding agrodefense and biodefense. We appreciate the recognition of our efforts from the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense.”

The Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense — chaired by former Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge — recommends changes to U.S. national policy and law to strengthen biodefense. The panel will share the report with the Trump administration, Congress and the public.

The report highlights threats to agriculture through emerging zoonotic diseases and describes the importance of agrodefense as a matter of national security. It delves into U.S. agrodefense today — including challenges and solutions — and analyzes real-world events, such as the 2014-2015 outbreak of a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza.

“The Panel views protection of agriculture — the cultivation and breeding of animals and plants for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain human life — as a critical part of the overall biodefense mission space,” the report states in its executive summary. The report also points out that “three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases are, in fact, zoonotic in nature,” which means they have the potential to be transmitted to people. The protection of human health is directly tied to animal health, which is too often overlooked.

The report’s appendix B provides an overview of the January 2017 series of Kansas State University discussions, titled”Agrodefense: Challenges and Solutions.” Two panel members — former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and Honorable Kenneth Wainstein, former homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush — chaired the hearing. The panel visited the university to learn from legislators, scientists, academic leaders and industry representatives about better ways to protect the country’s food supply and fight bioterrorism.

During the January 2017 discussions, Daschle praised Kansas State University for its leadership and collaboration to address national challenges.

“K-State has really become the Silicon Valley for biodefense,” Daschle said at the discussions. “Its Biosecurity Research Institute, links to the Kansas Intelligence Fusion Center and the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility are all illustrative of the extraordinary effort that is now underway in Manhattan. It’s an amazing demonstration of innovation, of collaboration and of engagement.”

During the panel, Kansas State University researchers discussed their work on emerging diseases — Zika virus, West Nile virus, avian influenza and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, known as PEDv — as well as efforts to fight biological terrorism, such as the anthrax events of 2001, which affected Daschle. They also discussed pursuing biodefense through partnerships with government, industry and other universities. Those discussions formed the foundation for the panel’s report on defending animal agriculture.

If you talk on your handheld cell phone while you are driving that can result in a ticket in Junction City.

During the Tuesday night city commission meeting, a member of the governing body, Mick McCallister asked if there is still a lot of cell phone usage. He noted he was at an intersection where a car went right through the intersection while the driver was texting on the phone as she went through a stop sign. “I don’t know if we have seen an uptick in tickets for cell phones. ”

McCallister added if authorities can,  police need to do what they did earlier where officers visibly checked people and pulled drivers over if they were talking on their hand held cell phones. “And I heard from a lot of people when they were visibly checking folks and pulling them over if they were on their phone. ” McCallister said he would like to see an emphasis on slowing down cell phone use while people are driving.

Police Chief Dan Breci said he would report back at the next city commission meeting on the number of citations written by police “because that’s the only way it will curtail behavior.”

 

High

79°

Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Southwest winds 5 to 15 mph.

RILEY COUNTY — A Manhattan woman was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Tuesday in Riley County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Nissan Frontier driver by Sterling W. Johnson, 23, Manhattan, was east bound on U.S. 24.

The driver attempted to turn north bound onto Kansas 13 and pulled out in front of a 2007 Ford Escape driven by Kathleen M. Garvin, 68, Manhattan.

Garvin was transported to a hospital in Topeka. Johnson was not injured. Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

The Ben Markley Quartet featuring Greg Osby will perform Saturday evening at the C. L. Hoover Opera House in Junction City. Show time is 7:30 p.m.

Local native, pianist and composer, Ben Markley is the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Wyoming. Compositions from his first two albums have earned him ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Awards. Markley was selected to participate in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program held at the Kennedy Center.

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, saxophonist Greg Osby studied at Howard University and the Berklee College of Music before relocating to New York City. He established himself as a notable and in-demand sideman for such artists as Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Jack DeJohnette, Andrew Hill, Muhal Richard Abrams. Jim Hall and jaki Byard.

Markley and Osby will premier tunes Saturday night from their upcoming album.

Their performance is sponsored by the Hoover-Koken Foundation, the Jellison Foundation, Sunflower Bank and Upland Mutual Insurance.

Tickets are $21 for adults, $19 for military and seniors 65 and older, $9 for students 18 and under.