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79° | Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Northwest winds up to 5 mph shifting to the east around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
Category: Local
Groundbreaking Set for New Love’s Travel Plaza Near Abilene
The Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce, Dickinson County Economic Development Corporation and the City of Abilene Community Development Department will host a groundbreaking ceremony for a new Love’s Travel Plaza at 5:15 p.m. Monday. This new facility will be located along I-70 at Exit 272 ( Fair Road ).
Once completed the travel plaza will feature 11,000 square feet, a Hardee’s restaurant, five showers, 74 parking spaces for professional truck drivers, 55 parking spaces for motorists, eight diesel fuel pumps for professional drivers, 12 gasoline pumps for motorists and Love’s Truck Tire Care Center for professional drivers, which will offer oil changes, tire services and light mechanical work.
The announcement on the groundbreaking was made by the Abilene Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.
Two Geary USD 475 Schools Honored as 2017 National Blue Ribbon Schools
Two Geary USD 475 elementary schools are among five in Kansas that have been designated National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy Devos announced on Thursday.
They are Eisenhower Elementary School and Sheridan Elementary School. The others in Kansas include Gardner Elementary School in Gardner Edgerton USD 231, Ruth Clark Elementary School, Haysville USD 261 and Wineteer Elementary School, Derby USD 260.
The award is based on the school’s overall academic excellence or their progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups.
“These five schools represent the great quality of education taking place throughout Kansas,” said Kansas Commissioner of Education Dr. Randy Watson.
The Blue Ribbon program recognizes public and private elementary, middle and high schools in one of two performance categories, Exemplary High Performing and Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing. All five Kansas schools were in the Exemplary High Performing category.
The Blue Ribbon program is in its 35th year and has bestowed the award on more than 8,500 schools. The U.S. Department of Education will formally recognize the schools at an awards ceremony Nov. 6-7 in Washington D.C.
This year a total of 342 schools nationally were recognized as National Blue Ribbon Schools for 2017.
Junction City – Geary County United Way Serves the Local Community
The 2017-18 fundraising campaign for United Way of Junction City has begun but the executive director of the organization, Nichole Mahder, said as several local businesses were called for support they have heard one comment repeated over and over again. We only support local organizations.
Mahder said that tells the United Way office that the community may not be familiar with United Way, which is an error on the part of the organization, and an error that the staff, board and volunteers need to correct.
Ninety-nine percent of the donations received by the local United Way remain in Junction City and Geary County. Mahder said they go to support local organizations ranging from Big Brothers / Big Sisters, Girl Scouts, Kansas Legal Services, Delivering Change, YMCA, The Open Door and Food Pantry to JC Pacesetters, CASA, Crisis Center, Salvation Army, Housing and Credit Counseling. If United Way of Junction City – Geary County were to no longer provide funding, several of those organizations would not be able to operate any more. Those that did remain open would have to apply more time and resources on raising more money to make up for the missing United Way funding. That could mean a cut in programs or a loss in aid provided to the community.
Mahder noted the local United Way provides direct services within their three events including help with the VITA program, which is a tax-free service to the members of Geary County. Trained volunteers come in and prepare taxes free, and that has led to the savings of dollars for the community. United Way of Junction City – Geary County holds an annual Stuff the Bus event in July and August for the students of USD 475 and Saint Xavier schools. One hundred percent of donations go directly to the schools for the students. That has provided school supplies for those who may not have had them otherwise.
One other event is the Day of Caring when volunteers provide basic yard maintenance to the elderly and disabled in Geary County.
Mahder said donating to United Way of Junction City – Geary County is not donating to an outside organization, it is donating to your community.
Breci Family Law Enforcement Careers Span Two Generations
Dan Breci is the police chief in Junction City.
Speaking to the Military Affairs Council breakfast Thursday, he talked about his law enforcement roots that go back to his late father, Sam Breci, in Omaha, Nebraska.
Dan said at about the age of eight his dad and other siblings lived in a house in Omaha, Nebraska. “The mafia required you pay protection and things like that, and his dad refused and they burned down his house. The four kids became orphaned, and my dad ended up living on the streets of Omaha selling newspapers.” At the age of 10 he was taken by police to Boys Town, Nebraska where he lived for the next 10 years.
Dan stated, “Up until that time I don’t think that he had any formal education, but he became the mayor, which is a boy-council type run government. And they invited J. Edgar Hoover to be their guest speaker.” It was a life changing event for Sam Breci. The next day he was taken to Washington D.C. and became a fingerprint technician for the FBI. He would earn a degree at Georgetown, and then a law degree at Creighton University, and in 1951 became an FBI agent where he served for 28 years.
Dan Breci’s mother was the third secretary to J. Edgar Hoover at the FBI building, two sisters and a brother have worked for the FBI, and another brother is a police officer. Breci graduated from the FBI National Academy in 2016 himself, when he became the first JCPD officer to attend the academy since 1983.
Breci is the 32nd police chief in the history of Junction City, and he reported that Wild Bill Hickok was the first. Hickok served as the city marshall.
2018 Kicker Country Stampede Lineup Announcement
Kicker Country Stampede is excited to announce even more performers added to the already stellar line-up. In 
addition to previously-announced headliner Florida Georgia Line, Alabama, Cole Swindell, Charlie Daniels Band, Brett Young, Kane Brown, Ryan Griffin, Randy Rogers Band, Marshall Tucker Band and Cody Johnson will hit the Cenex® Mainstage June 21-23, 2018, in Manhattan, Kansas.
Tickets and general campsites are on sale now. Preferred camping, and Premier camping is SOLD OUT!! For a limited time, 3-day tickets are $120. Complete ticket and camping package information can be accessed by calling 800-795-8091 or online at www.countrystampede.com.
Three Arrested by Police During I-70 Stop
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported the arrest of three people on drug related allegations on I-70.
Todd Lubbers, Hamilton, Ohio was arrested on suspicion of Possession of Stolen Property, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Chelsea Chamberlin, Hamilton, Ohio on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Elizabeth Swetland, Port Richey, Florida on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
The arrests occurred just after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday near mile marker 299 on the interstate east of Junction City.
Police: Riley Co. teen held for rape, blackmail; need information on sexual battery case
MANHATTAN – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a case of rape and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 11a.m. Wednesday police arrested Kelli Abernathy Graham, 18, in rural Leonardville, according to the daily arrest report from Riley County Police.
He is being held on a $25,000 bond on requested charges of rape and blackmail; statements for public ridicule, according to the arrest report.
In a separate report, Riley County Police on Tuesday are asked the for the public help in a sexual battery case that was filed on the weekend of September 23.
A 20-year-old woman was sleeping in her home when an unknown suspect came in without permission and sexually assaulted her.
The suspect in this case is described as a white male in his early 20s, average build. He was wearing a dark colored shirt, jeans, tennis shoes and dark rimmed glasses.
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Police said that while the description is vague, they hope that someone may have witnessed a suspicious person or activity related to this crime and can report it.
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Senator Moran Takes 2017 Kansas Conservation Tour
I spent time in Riley, Wabunsee, Geary and Pottawatomie Counties this past week meeting with farmers, ranchers and many representatives of some of our state’s agricultural and natural resource associations during my Conservation Tour, an event I have held frequently since beginning my time in Congress.
Conservation Tour gives me the opportunity to learn more about ongoing conservation efforts across the state, including water and soil conservation, grassland prairie preservation and river sustainability, and a variety of practices important to the Kansas agriculture industry.
This was my 12th Conservation Tour and this year we highlighted conservation efforts supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters as well as private landowner stewardship practices. I was lucky to have USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service Acting Chief Leonard Jordan join me — my thanks to all who participated in sharing their best practices and learning from one another.
We began the day with a discussion of the conservation efforts of Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, where landscape maintenance and preservation are essential to their success, and learned more about how golf courses throughout the country prioritize environmentally-conscious land management.
Our group then journeyed to Tuttle Creek, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy in Kansas briefed us on their ongoing efforts to improve reservoir management through the Sustainable Rivers Program, which is utilized nationwide.
From Tuttle Creek we moved on to Dibben Farms in Junction City, where father-son owners Craig and Brandon Dibben talked us through how their usage of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) has allowed them to install a sub-surface drip irrigation system, increasing crop yields and improving water conservation.
Over the lunch hour, we visited Moyer Ranch in the Flint Hills, where owner Rod Moyer and his wife Dara shared their efforts to secure a conservation easement for the 6,700 acre ranch, making certain it will remain a working cattle ranch, protecting the native species living on the property and even helping to lessen the chances that the important work being done at Fort Riley nearby is inhibited by the concerns of private landowners during training exercises. We also discussed the importance of seasonal burning to prevent the spread of sericea lespedeza, which has become a growing threat for many Kansas landowers.
We concluded our tour at Downey Ranch in Alma, where Joe Downey and his wife Barb gave us an up-close look at their controlled burning practices to preserve the Flint Hills ecosystem from the sericea lespedeza.
I appreciate the opportunity Kansas Conservation Tour gives me to hear firsthand from Kansas farmers and ranchers about the challenges they face, hard work they do, and innovative ideas they implement. The future of Kansas agriculture is bright.
Sunny Skies Forecast for Thursday
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High
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75° | Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. West winds up to 5 mph shifting to the north around 5 mph in the afternoon. |