A building tour with multiple stops will be part of the Open House at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library on Wednesday, April 5th.

Susan Moyer, Library Director, said that one of the stops during the tour will be a table where there will be a large scale view of a renovated and expanded library.

“It’s so people can see what we’re talking about; it’s kind of one of those drawings that a lot of the interior lines really aren’t very well carved in stone yet – what we’re trying to figure out is how to nail down our best option to expand our building,” said Moyer.

A representative from the architectural firm and from the company doing the feasibility study for the library will be in attendance.

The event is Wednesday, April 5th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm.

The friends of the library will also be on hand to talk about the organization and the support it provides to the library. At 6:30 p.m. the friends group will begin its annual meeting including review of the activities of the past year and the membership’s vote on a proposal to revise the group’s current dues structure.

The open house will also see the launch of the friends’ annual Gift Basket Drawing. Attendees will be able to purchase drawing tickets and add them to the baskets they hope to win when the drawing is held in mid-May.

To prepare for the event, the library will close for the day to regular business at 4:00 p.m. It will re-open to the public at 5:30 p.m. for the activities of the open house only. The open house is scheduled to end at 7:30 p.m. Regular services will resume on Thursday when the library opens at 9:00 a.m.

For more information about the open house or the building project, please call Library Director Susan Moyer at 785-238-4311.

The new exhibit “Answering the Call: Soldiers of Geary County” is being prepared for an April 8th unveiling at the Geary County Historical Museum.

Museum Curator Heather Hagedorn gave JCPost.com an early preview on Thursday. “We’ve got a wall of soldiers that show the uniforms of the Army soldiers from the Indian wars when the county was first settled all the way to our modern day soldiers. ”

There are displays featuring items ranging from equipment used by the troops to spoils of war. “Spoils of war, we have some Japanese bayonets, we have shoes from Iran, we have flags, a little of everything. ” Items range from a German Army helmet a Buffalo Soldier helmet.

Hagedorn is looking forward to audio interviews with veterans from both World War II and Vietnam. “And we are working to get clips of those available so that you can click on them and listen to different stories from different local veterans.”

The exhibit will open Saturday, April 8th, from 1-4 p.m. and at 2 p.m. that day there will be a performance by members of the 1st Infantry Division Band.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – When Wade Weber takes his place as the leader of the state’s premier youth-development organization, he’ll be walking familiar ground.

Monday will be Weber’s first day as Kansas State University’s 4-H Youth Development department head and state program leader.

With a master’s degree in counseling and student development from Kansas State University, Weber’s new job marks a return to Manhattan for him after leading 4-H youth development programs with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach for the last seven years.

He also holds a graduate certificate from K-State in academic advising and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Central College in Pella, Iowa.

Rooted in the Cooperative Extension System, 4‑H is the nation’s largest youth development organization. It serves every county and parish in the U.S. through a network of 110 public universities, including Kansas State University. Young people learn by doing in 4-H. They complete hands-on projects in areas such as health, science, agriculture and civic engagement, in a positive environment where they receive guidance from adult mentors and are encouraged to become leaders.

Nearly 78,000 young people participated in such activities across Kansas last year, aided by 10,999 adult and youth volunteers in partnership with local extension agents who, collectively, work in all 105 Kansas counties.

At Iowa State, Weber’s innovative approach grew six county programs to a 10-year high in 4-H youth engagement, club membership and volunteerism. During the last five years, he provided increasing administrative leadership, supervision and mentoring at the state level in addition to providing programmatic leadership to 30 county 4-H programs and agents in northern Iowa.

Weber has more than 20 years of supervisory, development and volunteer coaching experience. He served as the state president of the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents in Iowa in 2014 and was recognized nationally and across Iowa with innovation awards in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and agriculture. Since 2011 he has served on the Northwest Iowa STEM Advisory Council, leading efforts to increase STEM awareness and coordination to benefit youths. In 2011, he launched a now-thriving FIRST LEGO League robotics program in northwest Iowa and pioneered day-long STEM festivals with several other Iowa colleges. Each festival reached hundreds of youths.

Launching Precision Agriculture and Animal Science Days at the Northwest and Northeast Iowa Research farms helped engage hundreds of high school students in career exploration and innovative problem solving. Weber’s leadership increased offerings in Special Interest (SPIN) areas such as creative arts, communication, filmmaking, animal agriculture and STEM.
He also started a new 4-H robotics club in Spirit Lake, Iowa, and served as a 4-H volunteer in that capacity from 2011-2016.

Weber served previously in Manhattan as a local and multi-state director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA prior to his time at Iowa State.

His wife Caryn, their three sons and one daughter will move back to Manhattan in June, after the school year ends.

“We have tremendous affinity for the area, great friends across Kansas and have many significant family memories and milestones in Kansas,” Weber said. “At the end of the day, I’m part of the K-State family – always have been and always will be.” As much as he enjoyed and excelled in his work at Iowa State, “to serve the Kansas 4-H and K-State family in this capacity was just an opportunity I did not want to pass up.”

Daryl Buchholz, associate director of Extension and Applied Research at K-State, said, “Wade impressed us all with his vision, leadership capacity and true passion for furthering and expanding the 4-H Youth Development experiences for youth. He also brings a wealth of energy, skills, and commitment to ‘make the best better’ for Kansas youth and families through K-State Research and Extension’s 4-H programs.”

Weber said his intent is for Kansas 4-H Youth Development to be known as an organization that does four things exceptionally well: engaging young people, empowering volunteers, equipping professionals and expanding partnerships.

“I believe youth development is boiled down to growing two primary characteristics and skills: Being a problem solver and getting along with people,” he said. “If you can do those two things you’ll be guaranteed a job – and if you can’t do either of those two things well, it may be very difficult for you to retain any job.”

Weber stressed the importance of creating learning opportunities for young people where adults showcase their own passions but also model learning about new subjects. By going beyond their own experiences and truly engaging with young people in theirs, adults become positive role models for critical thinking and expanding exploration.

“One of the most powerful experiences I have seen in 4-H youth development is when a young person says, ‘You’re really for me and my learning, instead of just trying to make me for you and what you love,’” Weber said. “In that moment, that young person knows you’re going to learn with them about the things that they are interested in instead of only being interested in things that our volunteers already know.

“When that happens, confidence, trust and persistence in those interest areas expands exponentially.”

Such deeper-level mentorship and exploration helps young people expand or refine their interests as they get older, “which is why community partnership development and specifically our partnership with Kansas State University is so vital and critical,” Weber said. “Partnerships allow a youth’s learning journey to persist and grow beyond what that initial 4-H experience can provide.”

Weber said he is eager to visit Kansas communities and local 4-H programs to listen for what Kansas 4-H youths and volunteers are most proud of and what they see as opportunities and challenges.

“4-H lives at the local level,” he said, “and I am passionate about connecting with community leaders to collaborate in helping 4-H prepare today’s youth for the leadership challenge of tomorrow,” he said.

Learn more about Kansas 4-H at www.ksre.k-state.edu/4h-youth/ and national 4‑H at www.4‑H.org.

The Weathertap Radar forecast for Friday for Junction City and Geary County calls for a daytime high of 55 degrees. It will be cloudy with patchy fog in the morning. You can expect northeast winds five to ten miles per hour.

WASHINGTON – 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 first hearing of the 115th Congress yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. Witnesses included Arlington National Cemetery Superintendent Ms. Katharine Kelley and Army National Military Cemeteries Executive Director Ms. Karen Durham-Aguilera.

Click here to listen to an audio recording of the hearing. Click here to read Chairman Moran’s opening statement.

Stars and Stripes: Army: Arlington National Cemetery is at a ‘critical point’ for space

 

“I know there are issues: land issues, budget issues, space issues to work through,” said Moran, chairman of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Subcommittee. “I welcome the great responsibility of helping preserve and protect Arlington, and ensuring – for as long as possible – this ground is open and active for the burial and inurnment of those who have served us all.”

Arlington leaders indicated the cemetery would need large injections of funding in the future to expand its space and maintain its current footprint. The continuing resolution that funds Arlington, as well as most other federal agencies and programs, expires April 28, and lawmakers are racing to piece together spending bills and avoid a government shutdown.

Moran said Wednesday that he was hopeful Congress would “be able to avoid a continuing resolution and get out of the business of simply flat-lining and failing to prioritize appropriations requests.”

 Independent Journal Review: Arlington Cemetery Is Running Out of Space. Two Senators from Opposite Parties Are Trying to Fix That

With the cemetery conducting nearly 30 burials a day, space is at a premium. In its current state, the cemetery won’t be able to conduct first internments by 2041, explained Karen Durham-Aguilera, executive director of Army National Military Cemeteries.

“The Army recognizes that the nation is at a critical point in the cemetery’s history,” Durham-Aguilera said. “Current projections show Arlington National Cemetery will reach maximum capacity in the early 2040s. This means that a veteran from the 1991 Gulf War who lives to his or her normal life expectancy will not have the choice to be interred at Arlington.”

While the two senators present on Wednesday may come from opposing political parties — and vastly different states — it was clear from their statements that they both intend to do everything in their power to do right by America’s fallen.

“This is a place for families and friends, for mourning and grieving, and remembrance. It is sacred space,” explained Sen. Moran.