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Category: Local
Four from JCFD receive full Firefighter status
Four men from the Junction City Fire Department were honored at the City Commission meeting Tuesday night for completing their one year probationary period to full firefighter status.
Jarrett Hanson, Paul Rabek, and Caleb Johnson are now Firefighters and EMTs. Adam Powers is a full Firefighter and Paramedic.
Tim Brown Receives Most Votes in City Commission Primary Election
Tim Brown received 691 votes in the primary election on Tuesday to lead all candidates in the Junction City Commission race.
The top six advance to the November general election. Following Brown were Jeff Underhill with 587, Nicholas Allbritton 407, Bob Henderson 317, Heinrich Biggs 101 and Michael Gray with 94 votes.
Brown told JCPost he was honored. “Very, very honored. I’m very humbled also. I so very much appreciate the confidence that the folks have put in me, and I’m just looking forward to the general election November 7th. I’d like to congratulate all the other candidates and look forward to the general election. But I’m just very humbled and very honored.”
Eight percent of the registered voters in Geary County went to the polls during the primary election. Provisional ballots still have to be counted next Monday when the votes from the election are canvassed.
The candidates who will not advance to the general election include Michael Morris, Lawrence Ruiz, Jarrod Toothman and John-Charles Silva.
Dwight Summerfest this weekend
Every five years the city of Dwight hosts a major celebration – to mark over 125 years of existence as a city.
Celebrations this year for the Dwight Summerfest begin on Friday, August 4th with a setup of the Historic Encampment at the Dwight City Park.
Lacy Autry, part of the Celebration committee, said that Saturday’s events begin at 7:00 am with a 5K run.
“The Manhattan Running Company is actually putting the race event together for us,” said Autry. “With the registration [of the race] you actually get a t-shirt for the Dwight Summerfest.”
Masonic Lodge No. 357 will host free cancer screenings at the Dwight Library.
“They will be setting up pretty early in the morning, they bring an elaborate mobile station,” said Autry. “You can go from 9:00 am until noon and set your appointment; and they will start filling those appointments after noon and keep going until everybody has been seen.”
The screenings are for skin and prostate cancer, colon cancer home screening kits, BMI tests, and facial sun damage assessments.
Dwight is located about 20 miles south of Junction City in Morris County.
A complete schedule of events can be found below:
Saturday, August 5th
- 7:00 am: 5k pre-registration by the Dwight Ball Field (online registration available now at: https://register.chronotrack.com/r/29615)
- 8:00 am: 5K run/walk start time
- 9:00 am until noon: Registration for Cancer Screenings at Dwight Library
- Noon to 6:00 pm: Cancer Screenings
- 10:00 am: parade with the Fort Riley Mounted Color Guard and 1st Infantry Division band in the lead
- 11:00 am to 3:00 pm: Show and See Car Show with a Retro Girl Contest at the Ball Field
- 11:00 am: Tractor show at the west side of the Dwight Elevator
- 11:00 am to 3:00 pm: Mini-train rides, hop on at Main St. near library
- 11:15 am and noon: History in a Trunk – Coming to Kansas Trunk & Children’s Chores Trunk at the Dwight United Methodist Church Sanctuary
- 12:30 pm: Wildlife Exhibit at the Dwight United Methodist Church Sanctuary
- 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm: Fine Art show at the Grocery Store on Main St.
- 12:30 to 3:00 pm: hands on art activities for all ages at the Grocery Store on Main St.
- 2:00 pm: Antique Tractor Auction, east side of Dwight Elevator
- Noon to 6:00 pm: Music in the Dwight City Park
- noon: 1ID Band
- 12:30: Arnie and Jean Boyd
- 1:00: Tallgrass Express Band
- 1:45: JC Naz Praise Band
- 2:30: Tallgrass Express Band
- 3:15: Morgan Poole
- 3:45: makenzie Ochoa
- 4:00: Darin Whitson
- 5:30: Hanna Stillwell
- 5:45: Jeremy Harmison
- 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm: DJ Dance with Nick Morgan as the DJ, Dwight City Park
Other activities throughout the day include bounce tents at the Ball Field, a horseshoe tournament at the Dwight City Park, kids games east of the Dwight United Methodist Church, and bingo at the Dwight United Methodist Church. Food and drinks vendors will also be for sale and various merchandise sales will be located in the Community Building.
There will also be a Community Worship at 10:00 am on Sunday, August 6th at the Dwight Community Building. A potluck meal will follow the worship service.
For more information visit the Dwight Summerfest 2017 Facebook page.
“Green on top, stop – move to clear portion of the lake”, Dykstra continues to advocate for Milford Lake
by: DeAngela McDougald
It’s one of the oldest forms of microorganisms on the planet – blue green algae.
The prevalence of blue green algae in the state’s lakes, and more specifically in Milford Lake has caused some concern among many.
One of those people is outdoor enthusiast Rick Dykstra. “What you don’t hear a lot about is what is within the blue green algae, which are microcystins – those are the deadly little boogers.”
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) microcystins are toxins produced by cyanobacteria, i.e. blue green algae. The liver is the “favored target” of the microcystins, but the skin, eyes, and throats can suffer as well.
While there are a number of factors that can contribute to blue green algae, Dykstra said that lake goers shouldn’t let it deter them from having a good time.
“If you see ‘scum’ or floating green stuff, gunk – I wouldn’t swim there,” said Dykstra. “I would find another place at the same lake [to swim]; you could probably go 100 yards and find clear water.”
Blue green algae is also known to suddenly appear or disappear and move as the wind changes, making the process for determining watches and warnings at Milford Lake difficult. Testing samples are taken on Monday and results are prepared on Thursday – a significant window for lake conditions to change.
“There’s been more than a few times where it wasn’t good on Monday, but because of rain/storms on Tuesday and Wednesday that by Thursday, it looks wonderful,” said Dykstra. “We need – and it’s being researched – what’s called Instant Test Kits that they can go down on Thursday or Friday and instantly test.”
Officials are working on ways to address blue green algae concerns without limiting tourism to lakes.
JC Commission 2017 Primary Election Results
FINAL RESULTS_Top 6 advance to the November General Election
- Tim Brown – 691
- Jeff Underhill – 587
- Nicholas Albritton – 407
- Bob Henderson – 317
- Heinrich Biggs – 101
- Michael Gray – 94
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Vote totals with all 23 of 23 precincts counted
Nicholas Allbritton 407
Heinrich Biggs 94
Tim Brown 691
Michael Gray 94
Bob Henderson 317
Michael A. Morris 77
Lawrence M. Ruiz 71
John-Charles Silva 58
Jarrod Toothman 65
Jeff Underhill 587
Tri-County Emergency Mobile Trailer project in the works
Efforts are underway on a three county project to prepare an emergency mobile trailer.
It would be a Geary, Riley and Pottawatomie counties collaboration.
Ben Bennett, Geary County Commission Chairman, provided information on the effort following an update from the County’s Health Department Director Tammy Von Busch.
“[There will be] things in that need to be used in case of a natural disaster or emergency situation like a tornado or a flood.”
Bennett did offer one suggestion on the project. “They may want to include our Emergency Management Director Garry Berges in that because they’re talking about retrofitting a trailer with equipment and things like bandage and gauzes and stuff that would be on hand just in case they have to throw all that together.”
Bennett updated JC Post on the initiative during the weekly County Commission press conference.
Two from Colorado stopped along I-70 with over $50,000 cash
Junction City Police arrested two people Monday in a stop near mile marker 295 on the Southwest side of the City.
Police Chief Dan Breci reported that the two people arrested had a large amount of cash.
“An officer was working on the interstate and saw a vehicle headed eastbound on I-70 with a registration violation; he stopped the vehicle and the two occupants of the vehicle acted very suspicious,” said Breci. “He later found somewhere in the area of $53,000 in U.S. currency.”
The occupants allegedly claim to have been transporting the cash to a bank for someone in Colorado.
Carlton M. Cornish, 56, of Englewood, Colorado, was arrested on suspicion of transporting drug proceeds, and 54 year old Brian C. Schmitt, of Centennial, Colorado, was arrested for allegedly driving while suspended and registration violations.
No drugs were found in the vehicle.
GCH to host a Sports Physical Clinic – Saturday
Geary Community Hospital will host a Sports Physical Clinic for middle and high school students on Saturday, August 5th.
The clinic will be held at Junction City High School inside the Shenk gym for all middle and high school students needing a sports physical.
The cost of the physicals are $35, payable by cash or check.
The clinic is from 9:00 am until noon on Saturday.
Biology professor helping military fight skin cancer
MANHATTAN — One in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer, and military personnel and their families are affected at a greater rate, according to a Kansas State University researcher who aims to understand whether a vaccine could prevent one type of skin cancer.
Nicholas Wallace, assistant professor of biology, has received a $510,231 Career Development Award from the U.S. Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, which support collaborative research to deliver health care solutions for service members, veterans and the public. The grant will help Wallace investigate the role of human papillomavirus, or HPV, in skin cancer. HPV is best known as a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer in women, but the HPV family includes viruses that infect the skin of a vast majority of people.
Wallace is studying how HPV binds to a particular cellular protein, p300, that then affects the pathways and mechanisms through which cells respond to damage from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Wallace will also investigate p300-independent factors that inhibit the body’s ability to repair damaged DNA.
“Eighty-five to 95 percent of the general population shows evidence of current or past HPV skin infections,” Wallace said. “It’s a common virus, and there are millions of non-melanoma cancers. Lots of people get both the virus and the cancer.”
When we go out into the sun, our skin sustains damage that our bodies try to repair, Wallace said. If the repair process doesn’t work, normal cells can become cancer cells, sometimes decades after the initial sun damage. Wallace said skin HPVs hinder the repair process, thus making skin cancer more likely.
Because the technology to make a vaccine to protect against any HPV already exists, Wallace has high hopes of expanding that vaccine to protect against HPV-caused skin cancers. Another outcome could be additives to sunscreen that kill the virus.
“HPVs in the skin do a good job of stopping your body from repairing damage from sunlight,” Wallace said. “We have an excellent opportunity to take a direct preventative approach.”
Wallace hopes his work will help prevent the health problems and stress associated with skin cancer for veterans and their families. He said he reveres military service and is sensitive to the lifelong health challenges members of the armed services face.
“Skin cancers are a major concern for nearly all service members,” Wallace said. “Advancements in the lab often take decades or lifetimes to become new treatment options, but what excites me about this project is its potential to prevent skin cancers much sooner.”
The grant will allow the hire of two graduate students in Wallace’s lab, which is part of the Division of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences. It will also facilitate mentoring for Wallace by Lou Laimins, chair of the department of microbiology-immunology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a renowned HPV expert. Chou-Zen Giam, a professor at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, will serve as Wallace’s military advisor for the grant.
Beth Montelone, senior associate vice president for research at Kansas State University, said the university is working to encourage faculty to consider funding opportunities from the Department of Defense.
“This award is a great example of how basic research in a field that is not, at first glance, related to defense can still be very relevant to Department of Defense’s mission and be eligible for its funding,” Montelone said. “The K-State Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is actively working to make more faculty aware of funding opportunities from DoD and to help them understand how to pursue such opportunities.”
The following Kansas State University students are current members of Wallace’s lab:
Andrew Kahn, sophomore in microbiology, and Dalton Dacus, doctoral student in microbiology, both from Junction City; Tristan McCallister, junior in biological systems engineering and pre-medicine, Liberal; Jazmine Snow, junior in microbiology and modern languages, Olathe; and Jayden McCall, sophomore in microbiology and pre-veterinary medicine, Valley Center.
Monica Gamez serves as a research assistant in the lab.