In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the nation’s Fighting First, the Big Red One the 1st Infantry Division will host its annual Victory Week August 16th through 25th on Fort Riley. The public is invited to witness events of camaraderie and remembrance throughout the week.

One of the featured events for Victory Week 2017 is the Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony.

On August 23rd, the 1st Infantry Division will host the third Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Ceremony in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. 

Veterans will be joined by active-duty Big Red One soldiers returning from deployments.

The ceremony is open to all veterans and the public is encouraged to attend. Veterans are asked to RSVP to 1st Lieutenant Stephanie Preekett at 240-3866 or by email at rileywelcomehome@gmail.com.

 

Another highly anticipated event is the Victory Fest musical festival.

August 19th will be the all day Victory Fest event at Marshall Army Airfield on Fort Riley.

Eli Young Band and the All-American Rejects are amongst the headline performers; other acts on the main stage include The Charlie Daniels Band and Lit. Local artists and the USO Troupe will perform on a secondary stage.

Tickets for DOD ID card holders, students and Veterans are $25 in advance and $35 at the gate; non-Affiliated civilians are $35 in advance, $45 at the gate. Children 5 to 12 are $10 with an adult ticket purchase, children under 4 are free.

There is a family and friends rate for 4 tickets via advanced purchase only for $80 for DOD ID card holders, students and Veterans; the same package is available for civilians for $120.

Volunteers, sponsors and additional vendors are needed; for more information contact:

• Volunteers: 239-4920
• Corporate Sponsors: 239-3733
• Vendors: 239-5771

There will be several other events throughout Victory Week 2017 including the Division Review.

For more information about the Big Red One’s 100th anniversary and Victory
Week, see https://www.riley.army.mil/100thAnniversary.

 

The Corps of Engineers at Milford Lake have announced that the Kansas Department of Health & Environment (KDHE) results from lake samples taken Wednesday, July 5th have been received. Due to high blue green algae cell counts all zones of the reservoir, including Zones A, B and C are in a “Warning” status.

A “Warning” indicates that blue green algae is present at a level considered unsafe for people and animals.  Contact with lake water should be avoided.

The designated swim beaches at the Corps of Engineers and Milford State Park will be closed until next week’s test results are known.

Bill Whitworth, Corps of Engineers Project Manager, said that this does not mean swimming is prohibited at Milford Lake.

“It does not prevent people from swimming at other locations,” said Whitworth. “They need to use their discretion – blue green algae will migrate from here to there and one day it may be clear and the next day it may not….as a general guideline, swimming is not prohibited, swimming on the designated beaches will be [prohibited] until we get results next week.”

Lake users are reminded that blue green algae may appear or disappear suddenly and move as the wind shifts; boaters should use caution and move to a clear portion of the lake.

 

The annual United Way of Junction City – Geary County stuff the bus campaign begins on July 17th.

Donations will be accepted for USD 475 students to help those children in the district whose families who may struggle to provide the necessary items to start the school year.

Drop off locations to donate school supplies include:  Millennium Bank, KS State Bank, Central National Bank, Intrust Bank, Sunflower Bank, Exchange Bank, Landmark National Bank, Walmart on Chestnut St., and Dillon’s.

Donations can also be dropped off at the United Way Office, 139 East 8th Street, Monday through Friday.

For those who do not wish to shop for school supplies, financial contributions can be made. All funds generated will be spent on the purchase of additional school supplies. Checks should be made out to the United Way with “Stuff the Bus” written on the memo line. Please mail checks to United Way, P.O. Box 567, Junction City, KS 66441.

Please consider the following items when making donations:

• 3 ring binders – 2 inch
• 3×3 sticky notes
• gallon ziploc freezer bags
• black dry erase markers
• glue sticks
• clorox wipes
• hand sanitizer, 8 ounces
• quart ziploc freezer bags
• white glue, 8 ounces
• wide ruled notebook paper
• composition books
• crayola crayons, 24 pack
• #2 pencils
• kleenex, large box
• large pink erasers
• plain pocket folders
• wide ruled spiral notebooks
• yellow highlighters
• mechanical pencils

For more information on Stuff the Bus or to volunteer please contact the United Way at 238-2117.

 

Freedom Park has been reopened to the public.

According to Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf the site with the large atomic cannon on the south side of I-70 overlooking Marshall Army Airfield is now open to the public. He noted some time ago that an individual tried to get explosives onto Fort Riley to blow up a bomb. That was in April of 2015. Wolf stated, “In the investigation portion of that they found that he had visited Freedom Park at some point, and as a precaution from that point forward they wanted to kind of close that off over there, they being the military.”

The site was closed, but Wolf added the military now feels it can be reopened.  The barricades have been removed and the park has been reopened.

According to the U.S.Attorney’s Office 22-year old John T. Booker Jr. was arrested April 10, 2015 and later pleaded guilty to one count each of Attempted Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction and one count of Attempted Destruction of Government Property.