A severe thunderstorm swept through northeast Dickinson, southeast Clay, northern Geary, and Riley County early Saturday morning. It brought heavy rain and gusty winds but no major problems have been reported by police dispatch in Riley or Geary Counties. The storm is moving east at 45 mile per hour.
Lighter rain has followed the main storm cell.
SHERMAN COUNTY- Four people were injured in an accident just before 11p.m. Friday in Sherman County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Cobalt driven by Jesus A. Flores-Villaman, Manhattan, was westbound on Interstate 70 at Goodland.
The Chevy rear-ended a 2017 Ford Expedition driven by Vineeth Vakeel, 27, Overland Park, that was stopped in the driving lane due to the severe weather conditions.
Flores-Villaman and passengers in the Chevy Leticia Flores, 49, Manhattan; Miguel A. Lechuga-Cruses, 48, and Rosa Ochoa-Rodriguez, 48, both of Mexico, were transported to Goodland Regional Medical Center.
Vakeel and five passengers in the Ford were not injured. The occupants in the Chevy were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.
Brad Roether has filed for election to the mayor’s post in Milford. Roether is currently serving as the mayor.
The filing information was provided by the Geary County Clerk’s Office.
Kiwanis was founded to help improve the lives of children in the world.
Jim Germann, Junction City Kiwanis South said they focus on a lot of local programs that involve youth.
“We do a Terrific Kids program, we sponsor the Key Club at the high school, Dolly Parton Imagination Library – anything dealing with kids and if we see a need we come out and raise money and try to help support it.”
Germann also noted several other programs including the Reading Program at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library.
The Kiwanis South group is currently focusing on Coronado Park in Junction City.
“We have a full size basketball court now, there’s a tennis court, playground equipment with slides and swings for the kids, a restroom facility and there is one pavilion there that you can rent from the City,” said Germann. “I think we need a second pavilion there so we are looking at that.”
In addition to the pavilion, updated restroom facilities are also on the wishlist.
“I don’t think they’ve been updated since maybe the 60s; the building is beautiful, the limestone building, but it’s inside that needs some work,” said Germann.
There are 24 members in the Kiwanis South Club, they meet at 6:30 pm on Monday evenings at Time Out in Junction City.
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Wichita reported the arrest of 38-year-old Steven Harris. He is wanted in connection with a shooting death in Manhattan.
On Thursday, Wichita Police Department (WPD) received information that a vehicle matching the description in connection with the crime was at a Motel 6 on E. Kellogg Dr. in Wichita, according to a media release.
WPD responded to the scene and were able to determine the vehicle was a match. WPD officers then made contact with Steven Harris. Harris and Cora Brown, who was also at the Motel 6, were arrested without incident.
Harris was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for 1st degree murder and attempted 1stdegree murder. Harris’ bond was set at $2,000,000.00. Harris remains confined in Wichita at this time.
WPD also arrested Cora Brown on a Riley County District Court warrant for possession of methamphetamine. Brown’s bond was set at $20,000.00. Brown also remains confined in Wichita at this time.
Both Harris and Brown will be transferred to the Riley County Jail.
There are no indications at this point in the investigation that Brown was in danger.
——–
——–
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Wichita reported the arrest of 38-year-old Steven Harris. He is wanted in connection with a shooting death in Manhattan.
Police took Harris and his girlfriend Cora Brown into custody Thursday evening at a motel in Wichita.
Just before 6p.m. on Sunday May 21, police received several 911 calls stating there had been a shooting on Nelson’s Landing in Manhattan, according to a media release.
When officers arrived on scene to the 2800 block of Nelson’s Landing, they found one male, identified as German Gonzalez-Garcia, 39, of Manhattan, dead from gunshot wounds.
A second man was found on scene, also suffering from gunshot wounds. He was lifeflighted to Stormont Vail in Topeka in critical condition.
On Monday, police issued a warrant for Harris in connection with the shooting.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today authored a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee requesting swift consideration of the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act of 2017 (S. 990/H.R. 2227), legislation to modernize government information technology (IT), eliminate wasteful spending and strengthen cybersecurity. The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.).
“In the time that has passed since we first introduced this legislation, the threats of hacking, espionage and cybercrime have only grown more real,” said Sen. Moran. “This month we saw a worldwide ransomware attack that impacted hundreds of thousands of computers in more than 150 countries. Protecting our data has never been more important. By bringing government IT systems into the 21st century, not only can we strengthen the security of our data, we can save billions of taxpayer dollars by reducing long-term wasteful spending.”
“Senators from both sides of the aisle recognize the urgency of this issue: as we have seen just this month with the ‘WannaCry’ attack, global cyberattacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and pose a complex and serious threat to our national security,” said Sen. Udall. “But the federal government continues to rely on grossly outdated IT systems that make us vulnerable to such damaging cyberattacks. I welcome House passage of this bipartisan legislation, which will help federal agencies to retire old systems and invest in new and critical technologies. Maintaining old IT systems is a security risk and costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year. Now it’s time for the Senate to pass this bipartisan bill and see it signed into law, to ensure that our government is getting better service at a better value for American taxpayers.”
“Having spent twelve years in the technology sector, I know firsthand the threats cyber criminals pose and the need for modernized equipment to protect against attacks,” said Sen. Daines. “We have seen in recent years attacks on private business and governments that have crippling effects. It is more important now than ever to pass this important bipartisan legislation and bring the government into the modern era.”
“Ensuring that government agencies have the resources to invest in current technology is just smart management: Up-to-date systems means better service delivery and improved cyber security,” said Sen. Warner. “Our bipartisan legislation is a commonsense step to enable federal agencies to make these critical investments.”
In the House, which passed the MGT Act with bipartisan support on May 17, the bill was led by U.S. Representatives Will Hurd (R-Texas) and Gerry Connolly (D-Va.).
The bill is supported by a number of IT industry stakeholders and trade associations including the IT Alliance for the Public Sector (ITAPS), Professional Services Council (PSC), TechNet, Amazon Web Service, Cisco, Adobe, BMC, Brocade, Intel, Microsoft, Business Roundtable, CA Technologie, Compuware, CSRA, Level 3 and Unisys.
Full text of the letter can be found here.
Douglus Kneisl has filed for a seat on the Milford City Council. The filing was confirmed by the Geary County Clerk’s office.
Three candidates have now filed for the Milford City Council. The others are Joey King and Mike Overbay. Three seats on the council are up for election.
MANHATTAN — Self-driving cars, robotic vacuum cleaners and thermostats exemplify the kind of autonomous systems research that played a role in a Kansas State University faculty member receiving a Young Investigator Award from the Office of Naval Research’s Science of Autonomy Program.
The approximately $500,000 award will allow Pavithra Prabhakar, associate professor of computer science, to design software for small vehicles — under 3 feet tall — that have varying levels of autonomy. Some will rely completely on their own sensors and programming to make decisions, while others will incorporate human intervention for direction, speed and responses to environmental factors.
Prabhakar’s project will focus on two challenges: robustness, which is measured by the vehicle’s ability to adjust to changes in the environment, and optimality, measured by the vehicle’s ability to conduct its tasks with as little fuel and time as possible.
“Robustness is important when vehicles are being sent into potentially changing landscapes and seascapes, especially if there is a current in the water where aquatic vehicles are operating,” Prabhakar said. “Optimality is necessary not only for efficiency but also for safety because speed in dangerous areas can make the difference of whether the vehicle is able to complete its mission.”
Prabhakar said her research may be important to the U.S. Navy because autonomous underwater vehicles can explore and photograph areas of the ocean floor where the Navy may not want to send humans. Other branches of the military may use autonomously driven unmanned aerial vehicles to fly over dangerous disaster areas and send information back to human decision-makers.
“In military applications, autonomy is especially crucial when human intervention could put people at risk,” Prabhakar said. “On the consumer side, there will certainly be more and more autonomous systems, and the challenge is how can these systems be made more affordable so they are more widely available.”
Prabhakar was one of six College of Engineering faculty members to be named as a Michelle Munson-Serban Simu Keystone Research Faculty Scholar in January. She also has received the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a Summer Faculty Fellowship from the Air Force Research Lab and the Marie Curie Career Integration Grant from the European Union.
MANHATTAN — Organizers with the Kansas State University College of Education are expecting a capacity crowd for this year’s two-day professional development workshop featuring premier national, regional and statewide speakers on topics of most concern to school counselors.
The “Counselors Hit It Out of the Park in the Little Apple” camp will be June 1-2 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 410 S. Third St., Manhattan. Approximately 350 school counselors from across Kansas are expected to attend. This is the fourth year for this event.
Keynote presenters include Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson; 2015 National School Counselor of the Year Cory Notestine, Colorado Springs, Colorado; and retired school counselor and advocate Shari Sevier. Watson’s presentation is titled “A New Vision for Kansas — More School Counselors to Do the Critical Role of the School Counselor”; Notestine’s is “Serendipity is Not Serendipitous: A Reflection of Career and College Readiness”; andSevier’s is “Trauma-Informed School Counselors: Pedagogy and Practice.” Tim de Noble, dean of the Kansas State University College of Architecture, Planning & Design, is presenting the opening address, “Why Design? The Potency of Design Education While Dispelling Myths and Misconceptions! Counselors and the Changing World of Work.”
The camp is hosted by the special education, counseling and student affairs department in the College of Education, and it is organized by Ken Hughey, professor of special education, counseling and student affairs and department chair, and Judy Hughey, associate professor of special education, counseling and student affairs and the 2016 Kansas Counseling Association Counselor of the Year.
“The school counseling camp provides an environment of professional development in areas including trauma-informed counseling practices, strategies to prevent death by suicide, individual plans of study, college and career readiness, enhancing academic achievement, and many others,” Judy Hughey said. “The camp also provides counselors the opportunity to collaborate and engage with colleagues from across the state on innovative strategies to personalize learning with the goal of creating success for every student in Kansas.”
Watson began his education career as a high school social studies teacher in Tescott. He served as a principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent before assuming his role as Kansas commissioner of education in July 2015. As the state’s chief education officer, Watson provides leadership to the Kansas State Department of Education in carrying out the policies and programs prescribed by the State Board of Education to ensure the necessary oversight and support are provided to assist Kansas schools, educators and students in achieving their goals.
Notestine currently serves as the counseling and postsecondary coordinator in Colorado Springs School District 11 where he shares his passion for creating systemic change. His work with students has been honored by the North Carolina School Counselor Association as its 2011 Secondary School Counselor of the Year and the Colorado School Counselor Association’s 2013 Secondary School Counselor of the Year. The American School Counselor Association, along with the White House, recognized him as the 2015 National School Counselor of the Year.
Sevier was a school counselor for 31 years in Missouri, working at all levels, including district director of school counseling and adjunct counselor educator. She currently presents workshops to school counselors across the country on a variety of topics relevant to the profession. Sevier served on the American School Counselor Association board of directors for two terms, which included being elected twice as the board’s chair. She continues her support of students in many ways, including writing for Student Health 101 and serving on its editorial board, and serving as an expert for the NBC News Parent Toolkit.
For more information about the camp, visit coe.k-state.edu/events/school-
The Corps of Engineers notified JCPost.com on Friday morning that they have increased the outflow from Milford Lake from 6,000 to 7,500 cubic feet per second.
A check with the Corps revealed the high lake level, about six feet above normal, and the approaching Memorial Day weekend are reasons for increasing the outflow. The lake level will be brought down gradually over the next few days to an elevation of 1,143 feet, about one foot below normal conservation pool level.
There has been high water on a lot of boat docks, water splashing at tires in the Clay County Park in Wakefield, and there was some water at two Corps campsites near breaker boxes. Increasing the lake outflow possibly could help some with those issues as the Memorial Day weekend nears. The lake is normally busy with visitors over the holiday weekend.
