Junction City officials have announced that City Hall will be closed from 3-4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7th due to a scheduled power outage for an electrical repair. Utility payments can still be made via the City website: www.junctioncity-ks.gov, the payment box outside City Hall entrance, or by telephone by calling 888-730-7163.
City Hall will resume normal business hours at 4 p.m. on Nov. 7th. All City departments outside City Hall will maintain normal operation times.
This is election day for city commission, city council and board of education races plus a pair of sales tax questions in Geary County.
Voter turnout about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday at the polling places in Geary County was relatively light.
A check with the Geary County Clerk’s Office revealed that at the Immanuel Lutheran Church 113 voters or five percent of the registered voters had gone to the polls on Tuesday. The percentages at other locations included four percent at the 4-H / Senior Center, to percent at the 12th Street Community Center and six percent at the Grandview Plaza Community Center.
There are a combined total of 15,089 registered voters in the county.
The Geary County Senior Center will hold their Thanksgiving Dinner at noon on Thursday, Nov. 21st at the 4-H / Senior Citizens Center on Spring Valley Road.
Call the Senior Center at 238-4015 by Dec. 14th to reserve a meal.
There will be no trash or garbage pick-up by the City of Junction City on Monday, Nov. 11th due to the Veteran Day holiday. The Public Works Department said it will be picked up the following day.
For example Monday’s pick-up day will be Tuesday, Nov. 12th and Tuesday’s pick-up day will be on Wednesday, Nov. 13th. The regular collection of trash or garbage next week will be moved back one day.
In order to ensure pick-up your trash should be set out by 6 a.m. the morning of your scheduled day. Carts should be removed from the curb or alley by the following day of the scheduled pick-up.
Additional items that are set out may requirement making arrangements for a special pick-up.
One member of the public spoke to the Geary USD 475 Board of Education Monday evening concerning recent alleged racial comments endured by some JCHS students at the Junction City – Manhattan football game on Oct. 11.
Mari Edwards noted that she was a concerned parent of a youth attending Junction City High School. ” I would like to know what the status is of the racial harassment incident that occurred Oct. 11, 2019 at the football game in Manhattan. ” Edwards added she would like to know why the JCHS administration has not kept the parents informed or even informed the parents of the incident.
Edwards stated the Board is in charge of the policies and creating the curriculum for the district. “So I first ask that you either create or update a policy that provides instruction for the high school administration and school staff to follow if and when another incident occurs.”
Edwards wants to see the schools required to provide diversity and inclusion training for school administration, staff and students. “Also require training for staff administrators on best practices, on how to respond to racial harassment as well as training for the students on what they need to do when they encounter these situations.”
Both the Geary County and Manhattan – Ogden school districts have previously issued statements indicating that they are working together to investigate the events and deal with the racial behavior as they move forward.
There was no response from the Board to Edwards Monday evening, but that is normal practice during the public comment period. Those sessions are intended to allow members of the public to give input to the school board and administration.
The City of Junction City has begun their annual Fall Leaf Collection / Drop-off Program. The program began Monday and continues, as weather permits through the end of Friday, Dec. 20th.
Junction City residents may bring bags of leaves, grass clippings and bulk leaves to be dropped off at one of two locations. They include the Playground Park in the 1000 block of West 5th Street near the City Pool area or the Public Works Center at 2324 North Jackson Street near the City / County Animal Shelter.
Residents are asked to only drop off leafs or grass clippings, and no trash or tree limbs are allowed. The drop-off centers will be on the honor system relying on the public not to place trash or tree limbs in the collection bin areas. The drop-off center bins will be constructed of concrete barriers and signed accordingly at the two locations.
If trash and other non-biodegradable materials become an issue the drop-off collection system will stop and the program will be restructured.
The process to upgrade the parking lot on the north and east sides of the Geary County Office Building is complete.
The north sides have been open in recent days, and members of the county commission have confirmed that the lot area used by the Office Building employees on the east side of the structure opens Tuesday.
Geary County officials have taken a step toward holding a delinquent property tax sale.
County Commission Chair Charles Stimatze explained there has been a filing in District Court for a tax sale for 96 properties. “As of two weeks ago when they’ve filed the county counselor has collected $822, 954.42 ( in delinquent taxes ).
It is unknown when the actual tax sale will occur.
Voters will go to the polls Tuesday, Nov. 5th to cast ballots in city commission, city council and school board races.
In the Junction City Commission election there are four candidates vying for three seats on the governing body. They include Pat Landes, Holly Voelcker, Ronna Larson and Nathan Butler. Two will be elected to four-year terms and one candidate to a two year term on the commission.
In the USD 475 Board of Education race five candidates are vying for four seats. They include Jim Schmidt, Kristy Haden, Tom Brungardt, Anwar Khoury and Ron Johnson. All four seats are for four year terms.
There are no candidates on the ballot for Milford City Council or Grandview Plaza City Council ballots. Geary County Clerk Rebecca Nordyke said there are three positions in each of those cities, but no one filed. “So there are three write-in spaces on those ballots so voters can write in three different people’snames, or if they don’t want to vote for three they can vote for one or two and we will compile those results on election night.”
The election results will be unofficial on Tuesday night. A new statutory requirement will require an audit of the votes and then as in the past a canvass of the votes, which will be done in Geary County on Nov. 15th after the audit is completed. Any provisional ballots would have to be tabulated at the canvass and could change the final vote totals, or in a close race an election outcome.
Geary USD 475 will join forces with the community’s Martin Luther King Jr. Committee to host a Diversity Day on Saturday, Jan. 18th. The event will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the Shenk Gymnasium at Junction City High School.
The school district sponsored a community-wide multicultural fair last April, but this time will partner with the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee to make this a diversity fair.
If you are interested in representing your culture contact Susan Pender at 785-717-4045 or susanpender@usd475.org
