The Junction City Breakfast Optimist Club heard a presentation on Wednesday from Glenn Hawkins, Konza District Executive with the Boy Scouts. At the beginning of the school year  “Roundups” are held to recruit boys and girls in USD 475 schools.

Hawkins told club members that “there are about 1,000 boys and girls involved in scouting. ” This is recruitment time and the numbers will increase. It costs about $200 per scout to provide the programs and activities for the youth.

The Optimist Club donated $200 to the Coronado Area Council of the Boy Scouts.

One of the traditions of the Chapman Labor Day celebration is the Luck of the Irish Toy Show. This year it will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 2 in the Chapman High School multi-purpose room.

Other activities on Labor day in conjunction with the celebration will range from a quilt show to arts and crafts and food booths. The annual parade is scheduled at 2 p.m.

Landscape Structures worked with a local group on the installation of new playground equipment in the 5th Street Park earlier this year. There was a photo shoot of those improvements Tuesday evening.

Quality Play for All Committee spokesman Kendall Schoenrock said Landscape Structures wanted to showcase the new park improvements. “The alpha tower, the odyssey tower, the zip line, spinner climber, all of the bay swings. They were really excited about how this park turned out and wanted to showcase Junction City as a leader in what parks should look like for the region.”

The playground equipment was the first phase in a five-phase project to upgrade the park.

The Junction City – Geary County Animal Shelter is participating in a national “Clear the Shelters”program on Saturday.

Shelter Director Vanessa Gray said it involves either lowered or waived adoption fees. “Ours, we are doing either $10 for cats and $10 for dogs. So that will be Saturday.”

Miss Emily’s Music School in Manhattan is donating all the refreshments and is covering the adoption of 10 dogs.

The hours for this event on Saturday will be one to four p.m. at the shelter, which is located at 2424 North Jackson.

High

85°

Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Northeast winds up to 5 mph.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has announced nearly $400 million in funding to help combat the nation’s ongoing opioid epidemic. The funding will help community health centers work at the local level to assist people suffering from substance use and mental health disorders.

Congressman Roger Marshall has been a leader in the fight to end the rural opioid and addition epidemic. He stated addition has impacted individuals in Kansas communities both large and small. Rep. Marshall said. “Congress is working hard to provide funding that focuses on localized treatment and proven solutions to help people overcome the devastating impacts of substance abuse.”

Konza Prairie Community and Dental Center in Junction City was one of 17 community health centers in Kansas to receive funding through Health and Human Services Integrated Behavioral Health Services award. Seventeen health centers across the state will receive a total of $2.9 million, with each organization receiving $167,000 to establish and expand access to evidence-based integrated substance use disorder and mental health services.

The Geary County Sheriff Department said officers from that department and Junction City responded to the Grant Avenue boat ramp Monday at 9:49 p.m. for a 35-year old Kansas man who has having mechanical issues with his 14-foot john boat, and became stranded on an island of trees in the Republican River.

The subject was not wearing his life jacket until told to do so by first responders.

The Sheriff Department deployed  their flat bottom boat and were able to get the man and his boat safely to shore.