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Veterans Parking Spaces to be unveiled Thursday

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photo courtesy Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Columbia, MO (sample of potential sign)
photo courtesy Howard County Chamber of Commerce, Columbia, MO (sample of potential sign)

New Veterans parking spaces will be unveiled this week in Junction City.

Mayor Phyllis Fitzgerald said there will be four signs placed in City-owned parking lots.

“We’re going to put two of them in the parking lot that’s at the corner of 6th and Washington – as a reference point, the Little Caesar’s parking lot area – and then one north of our Municipal building here in our City parking lot, and also one out at Rathert Field,” said Fitzgerald.

A small ceremony for the unveiling of the signs will take place on Thursday.

“We’re expecting the Garrison Commander from Fort Riley to be attendance; I’ve invited the VFW, the Legion, and really all community members that want to come out and be a part of that small token of our appreciation for our Veterans,” said Fitzgerald.

The ceremony will begin at 1:00 at the City lot on the corner of 6th St. and Washington St. in Junction City.

The public is invited to attend.

Abilene Named One of the 20 Best Small Towns to Visit

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abileneThe Abilene Convention and Visitor’s Bureau has announced that Abilene, Kansas was recently named one of the “20 Best Small Towns to Visit in 2017” by Smithsonian Magazine.

“Abilene has a vibrant and diverse tourism economy and we’re excited for our community, businesses and attractions to be recognized on the national level,” Julie Roller, Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau Director, said.

Abilene’s Trails, Rails & Tales, Dickinson County Heritage Center, Old Abilene Town, Central Kansas Free Fair, Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum & Boyhood Home, Seelye Mansion, Greyhound Hall of Fame, Three One One, Mr. K’s Farmhouse and Brookville Hotel were all mentioned in the article.

However, it’s important to note this is not Abilene’s first time on this special list.
Abilene was also recognized in 2013.

“Abilene has a long-standing reputation as a tourism community. This recognition validates the ongoing work of Abilene’s tourism industry partners and leaders,” Roller said.

Click here to view the full article from Smithsonian Magazine.

The Burning Numbers

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ben bennett twoThousands of grassland acres in Geary County were burned during the recent spring burns.

Geary County Commission Chairman Ben Bennett said in the month of April there were 264 burn permits issued. “81,598 acres were torched by prescribed burning to continue to preserve the Flint Hills.

The annual burning of grassland helps prevent the growth of cedar trees in the tallgrass prairie.

Commissioners received an update on fire numbers on Monday.

Bennett also reported that a year ago at this time the Rural Fire Department had been called out on 74 fires. This year the total is 57.

Small plane headed to Manhattan crashed in a rural Kansas field

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Small plan crash in rural northeast Kansas -photo courtesy KCTV

OLATHE, Kan.— Authorities say a small plane has crashed near a Kansas City suburb but only one of the four people aboard was hurt.

Officials indicated the flight was headed to Manhattan.

The crash happened Tuesday in a farm field near the New Century Airport in Johnson County, Kansas. The injured person suffered a head laceration.

 

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol the plane, a 1964 Mooney, was piloted by Larry Simpson, 71, Stuart Florida. Three passengers on board identified as Sunantha Simpson, 59, Jill Simpson, 62, and Richard Simpson, 67, were all from Stuart, Florida as well. KHP reported that Richard Simpson went to Overland Park Regional Hospital.

After climbing to a height of 1,000 feet the plane experienced engine failure, the pilot found a safe place and landed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

Celebrity basketball game and block party to bring big names to Junction City

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MWRTerrell Owens, Allen Iverson, Sam Riddle, Travis Kelce – these are just a few of the big name celebrities that will be on Fort Riley this June.

They are all coming as part of a My Mil Deals fundraiser for the Fort Riley MWR – which includes a celebrity basketball game to feature the All Army basketball team and block party event in Junction City.

My Mil Deals representative Chris Dorm attended the City Commission meeting, where commissioners ultimately gave approval to Coyote’s Saloon to host a 7th Street block party in conjunction with the event. The event required City approval in the form of a Special Event Permit to sell alcoholic beverages at beer tents within the block party.

“The event would start at 7:00 pm, Sam Riddle would go on at 10:00 pm and we’d have a couple of other things going on,” said Dorm.

The 7th Street block party would serve as the official after party concert of the celebrity basketball game. Some of the celebrities participating in the game include Sam Riddle, Allen Iverson and Terrell Owens, as well as a former Lady Vol basketball player turned Victoria’s Secret model. The Kansas City Chiefs are also sending a group of players to include Travis Kelce, to support the celebrity basketball game and attend the after party festivities, according to Dorm.

Other details for the block party event are still being worked out.

“We’re looking at the event being here, to keep soldiers here,” said Dorm. “[One thing] we are actually looking to do, with [Junction City] being so close to the base is hire some type of shuttle service…for young soldiers, if we made it easier with a shuttle bus that’s running on a constant basis getting them on and off post – it would get more people coming out and it can cut down on the possible DUIs.”

According to Dorm, the block party will be billed as a full concert with tickets to go on sale for $10. The basketball game will be held in Manhattan.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the game, block party and other festivities will be donated to the MWR.

An official announcement on the block party, celebrity basketball game and other activities planned for the weekend of June 2nd is scheduled for Thursday, June 4th.

Check back with JC Post for updates.

VIDEO: Chairman Moran Convenes Hearing on Preventing Veteran Suicide

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flagWASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans’ Affairs and Related Agencies – convened the subcommittee’s second hearing of the 115th Congress last week to address how Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs and community partners can work together to meet the needs of veterans in crisis.

“We must make certain no veteran feels abandoned by the country they served when they make the brave decision to seek mental healthcare services,” Chairman Moran said. “Congress must better understand how to support the Department, the Department should seek assistance from community partners and embrace the helpful findings of outside experts, and veterans’ support groups must be vocal about the needs of in-crisis veterans and their families. I hope this hearing helps bring us together to end veteran suicide – even one suicide is too many.”

Witnesses included:

  • Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D.
    Veterans Health Administration Deputy Undersecretary for Health for Organizational Excellence
  • Dr. Harold S. Kudler, M.D.
    Veterans Health Administration Chief Consultant for Mental Health Services
  • Stephanie A. Davis, Ph.D.
    Veterans Health Administration VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System
    Suicide Prevention Coordinator and Staff Psychologist
  • Melissa D. Jarboe
    Military Veteran Project Chief Executive Officer
  • The Honorable Michael L. Missal
    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Inspector General
  • Rajeev Ramchand, Ph.D.
    Rand Corporation Senior Behavioral Scientist

Click here to watch the hearing.

https://https://youtu.be/gE2U6lBkIWU

Healthcare Foundation Announces New Board of Directors

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gchfNEWS RELEASE

The Geary Community Healthcare Foundation has announced the election of four new members to the Board of Directors.

New members who were elected at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors on April 17th are: Terry Heldstab, Sue Kollhoff, Leon Osbourn, and Sam Steiner.

New Officers of the Corporation for 2017-2018 are: Chairman: John D. Kovac, MD; Vice-Chairman: Mary Kay Stauffer; Secretary:  Cecil Aska; Treasurer: Allen Dinkel; Past-Chairman: Willie Thornberg and Geary Community Hospital CEO Joseph Stratton, DBA.

The remaining members of the Board of Directors are:  Victor Davis, Bryan Locke, Teran Naccarato MD, Richard Rook, Kendall Schoenrock and Rhonda Sharp.

The purpose of the Healthcare Foundation is to raise funds to support healthcare needs in the community, and particularly at Geary Community Hospital.

Commencement for Kansas State University’s 150th Graduating Class

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ksu sealMANHATTAN — Nearly 3,000 Kansas State University students are earning degrees in May. Commencement ceremonies start at Kansas State University Polytechnic Campus in Salina on Saturday, May 6, followed by ceremonies Friday, May 12, and Saturday, May 13, on the Manhattan campus.

The 2017 graduates are part of the 150th class to graduate from Kansas State University since the first class graduated in 1867.

Commencement speakers will include a National Medal of Science recipient, a Cerner Corp. executive and some longtime faculty members who are retiring at the end of the school year.

A live webcast of the ceremonies will be available at k-state.edu/graduation/. A virtual commencement ceremony for distance students is available at dce.k-state.edu/students/commencement/.

To be awarded will be nearly 2,300 bachelor’s, 570 master’s, about 80 doctorates, 109 Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and four associate degrees. More than 330 students are earning degrees through K-State Global campus distance degree programs.

Ceremonies start at Kansas State Polytechnic at 10 a.m. May 6 in the Student Life Center. Stephen Lieber, founder of Helicopters Inc., based in St. Louis, will be the speaker.

Graduate degrees will be awarded May 12 on the Manhattan campus. The Graduate School ceremony will be at1 p.m. in Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas State University alumna Geraldine “Geri” Richmond will receive an honorary doctorate — one of the highest honors the university gives — at the ceremony and serve as commencement speaker. Richmond is presidential chair in science and professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon. She is a 2016 recipient of the National Medal of Science for her work to better understand the chemistry that occurs at a complex surface like liquid water. The research has relevance to environmental remediation, biomolecular assembly, atmospheric chemistry and alternative energy sources. Richmond earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Kansas State University.

Kansas Board of Regents member Dave Murfin, Wichita, will represent the board at commencement for the Graduate School and at the College of Veterinary Medicine ceremony, which will be at 3:30 p.m. May 12 in McCain Auditorium. The college’s speaker will be Kenneth Harkin, professor of clinical sciences.

On May 13, undergraduate colleges on the Manhattan campus will award degrees. The following is the schedule of ceremonies and speakers:

• College of Arts and Sciences, 8:30 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum. The speaker will be Anne K. Phillips, professor and associate department head of English.

• College of Architecture, Planning & Design, 10 a.m., McCain Auditorium. The speaker is Sue E. Yoakum, attorney and owner of Yoakum Law LLC, Kansas City, Missouri. The law practice specializes in legal services for architects and engineers. Yoakum earned a Bachelor of Architecture from Kansas State University before attending law school.
• College of Education, 11 a.m., Bramlage Coliseum. Commencement speaker is Linda P. Thurston, associate dean, who is retiring after 34 years of service to the college and university. Also at the ceremony, state Sen. Tom Hawk, Manhattan, will receive the college’s Dan and Cheryl Yunk Excellence in Educational Administration Award. Hawk spent 33 years with USD 383 Manhattan-Ogden, including as superintendent from 2000-2001, before transitioning to state government service.
• College of Business Administration, 12:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum. Kansas State University alumnus Randy Simms, senior vice president, chief legal officer and secretary of Cerner Corp., headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, will be the commencement speaker. Simms earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kansas State University.

• College of Agriculture, 2:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum. Darryl Buchholz, the college’s associate director for extension and applied research, will be the commencement speaker. Buchholz earned his doctorate in 1980 from Kansas State University, returning in 1992 as a professor of agronomy and assistant director of agriculture and natural resources for K-State Research and Extension. He will retire at the end of the month.

• College of Human Ecology, 4:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum. Commencement speaker is Patrick Pesci, emeritus director of the college’s hotel and restaurant management program.

• College of Engineering, 6:30 p.m., Bramlage Coliseum. Charles “Chuck” Grier, president and CEO of UCI, will be the commencement speaker. UCI, Wichita, provides industrial construction services. Grier’s bachelor’s degree in construction science is from Kansas State University.
DVDs of the ceremonies may be ordered through the K-State Campus Store at 800-KSU-CATS or 785-532-6583.

Commissioning ceremonies for the university’s graduating Air Force and Army ROTC cadets will both be May 12in the K-State Student Union. The Air Force ROTC ceremony will be at 9 a.m. in Forum Hall, while the Army ROTC ceremony will be at 10 a.m. in the Grand Ballroom.

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