The seventh annual Float Your Boat event at Milford Lake Saturday drew 26 boat team entries and a large turnout of onlookers on the beach at the Gathering Pond below the Dam. The entries were spread between four divisions including Family, Teen, Open and Extreme.

The event capped off a full day of activities at the lake that included the 50-year re-dedication of the Milford Lake Dam, a brand new JC Challenge Bicycle Ride and a 5K Run / Walk.

Dennis Beson, Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce CEO, said bicyclers were ecstatic about their course and looking forward to coming back next year. “Ten mile course. The highest level participants did five laps, so 50-mile race.” He estimated there about 100 riders. The 5K had 34 entries, split between the run and walk.

The Sheriff’s Department team captured first place in the Extreme Division.  Adam Cook, Correctional Officer for the Department, said six people built the boat over a two-week time period. “It’s taken after a john boat. It’s about 13-feet, nine inches long, about four-foot wide.” The boats are built out of duct tape and cardboard. Cook calculated there were about 50 rolls of duct tape used on the project.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department entered the top boat in the Extreme Division.

 

The Geary County Fish & Game Association will hold their annual Fish Fry and meeting on Monday, August 14th, at 6 p.m. at Sportsmen’s Acres on the K-244 Spur near the Milford Lake Dam.

The main course of various kinds of fish will be provided. Members and guests should bring their choice of side dishes and desserts.

The program for the evening will be presented by Bryan Pinick from Whiskers Guided Fishing, a local fishing guide service on Milford Lake. He will be talking about fishing techniques and equipment used for various types of fishing in Milford and other lakes.

Three-hundred surveys were recently submitted to Junction City residents to obtain demographic details  about the community. The information will be used to help qualify and apply for a community development block grant for a project involving improvements to the Fifth Street Playground Park.

The plans for the park includes new park equipment.

So far, of the 300 surveys that were mailed out only about 90 have been returned.

For those who have received surveys organizers for the project need you to return them in the stamped envelope that was submitted with the survey.

Darren Alexander wants a conditional use permit to establish a vehicle dealership license in the suburban residential district at 7302 East Lyons Creek Road in Geary County.

He wants to sell a small number of vehicles, up to a maximum of five per year. But area residents and landowners oppose the idea. They testified at the Metropolitan Planning Commission meeting this week. Their concerns ranged from increased traffic and safety and decreased property values to environmental issues such as the potential impact on water wells.

Alexander told the MPC he is a water well contractor so he knows about groundwater. “I do have a well also. I do know about leeching and everything else. I will not have that problem. Just planning on making some extra money for my family. I’ve got to have a dealer’s license so I can go the dealer’s auctions.”  The planning and zoning staff has recommended approval on the conditional use permit request.

The Planning Board, absent some of their members at the meeting, voted 2-2 on a motion to allow the conditional use with the stipulation limiting the sale or repair of vehicles to five per year. The matter now goes to the Geary County Commission for a final decision in September.

NEWS RELEASE, MANHATTAN — Another national publication is recognizing Kansas State University as the best university in Kansas.

For the second year in a row, Money magazine has determined Kansas State University delivers the best tuition value in the Sunflower State. The magazine’s list is determined by enrollment data and student outcomes. Money ranks the best schools in each state because of survey data that shows 53 percent of freshmen at four-year colleges go to school within 100 miles of their home, and more than 80 percent attend a college within 500 miles.

“With our state-leading rates in progress toward degree and starting salaries upon graduation, along with our more than 250 degree programs and options, award-winning faculty and staff, first-year success programs and student services focused on providing the tools needed to succeed, it’s no wonder Money magazine, the Princeton Review, Business Insider and SmartAsset, just to name a few, all rate K-State as Kansas’ best,” said Pat Bosco, vice president for student life and dean of students.

K-State students enjoy a 94 percent job placement/continuing education rate upon graduation, and have access to more than 475 student organizations, undergraduate research programs and education abroad offerings, all providing academic, leadership and volunteer opportunities that can translate into career success. In addition, the university awards more than $230 million in financial assistance annually, including more than $36 million in scholarships.
The Money magazine ranking is the latest accolade for the university. The newly released “The Best 382 Colleges” by the Princeton Review ranks K-State as No. 1 in the nation for town-gown relations, and gives the university Top 10 marks for quality of life, happy students, students who love their colleges, best-run colleges, best health services and intramural sports participation. The publication also rates K-State’s career services and residence halls as among the best in the nation.

Along with the Princeton Review rankings, for the third year in a row, SmartAsset has ranked K-State as providing the best educational value for the buck in Kansas.

FORT RILEY, Kansas – In celebration of the 100th birthday of the “Big Red One,” the 1st Infantry Division will host its annual Victory Week Aug. 16-25.

The public is invited to witness events of camaraderie and remembrance throughout the week.

Members of the public are encouraged to attend Victory Week unit sporting events, which will begin on Aug. 16 with basketball, flag football, combatives, tug of war, a biathlon, volleyball and the Warrior Competition. Other sporting events include softball, soccer, water polo, a 10-mile race, arm wrestling, mission essential fitness, the Danger Dash, bowling and weightlifting. Finals for those sports will be held Aug. 21, 22 and 24.

The Victory Park 100th Year Monument will be unveiled in a ceremony at 3 p.m. Aug. 18. After that, the Victory Fest concert and fireworks display will take place Aug. 19 on Marshall Army Airfield. Victory Fest will begin  at 11 a.m. with local bands on the second stage – including the 1st Infantry Division Band – followed by headliners Lit, The Charlie Daniels Band, The All-American Rejects and Eli Young Band on the main stage. This event is open to all. For tickets and more information, see victoryfest2017.com.

While Victory Week is a time for celebration, it is also a time to honor the sacrifices made by men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving with the division. Traditionally, the names of troops who died in the previous year while serving with the division are etched into stones that are unveiled in Victory Park. This year, reflecting an updated and retroactively standardized policy, 85 new memorial stones honoring Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation while serving with or attached to the “Big Red One” during the Global War on Terrorism will be unveiled during the Victory Park Memorial Ceremony at 10 a.m. Aug. 22.

The 1st Inf. Div. and Fort Riley will honor all veterans of the Vietnam War with a welcome-home ceremony at 3 p.m. Aug. 23. Veterans of the war are invited to attend and receive the well-earned welcome home and thank you they may not have received decades ago. Veterans wishing to participate should arrive by 2:30 p.m. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the ceremony on Marshall Army Airfield to extend their gratitude to these brave individuals. For more information, see https://www.riley.army.mil/vietnamveteranswelcome.

Victory Week will conclude Aug. 25 with a division review and Victory Cup Ceremony, where the unit that earned the most points competing in qualifying sporting events throughout Victory Week is named the winner.

Please note that visitors to Fort Riley who do not have Department of Defense ID cards will need to obtain a Fort Riley Access Pass or badge at the Visitor Control Center, building 885, located just outside the Henry Gate Access Control Point. As wait times for passes can increase during periods of higher traffic, Fort Riley encourages visitors to apply for a temporary pass or badge early by stopping by the Visitor Control Center, calling (785) 239-2982 or emailing usarmy.riley.imcom-central.mbx.des-vcc@mail.mil.