State Senator Jeff Longbine standing, addressing a legislative coffee audience.
The Kansas Supreme Court issued a ruling this past week that will require the Kansas legislature to write a new formula for funding public schools by June 30. State Senator Jeff Longbine told a legislative coffee audience in Junction City on Saturday that was already on the drawing board and the intention of the legislature anyway.
The ruling requires the state to continue to meet the equity portion of the school finance formula and adequacy standards, and there must be attention to the bottom 25% of performing students statewide.”Those students in that group are severely under performing, particularly on math and reading. The Court tells us that we need to develop a formula that will address that.”
A specific amount was not specified by the Supreme Court, or how the formula should be addressed. “But they did indicate it needs to be addressed. That’s going to be a real challenge.”
The new Lt. Gen.Richard J. Seitz VA Clinic in Junction City will open for business on Monday. The clinic is located at 1169 Southwind Drive on the south side of Junction City.
This will be a soft opening, with the grand opening and ribbon cutting for the facility, scheduled on April 14.
VA Eastern Kansas Healthcare System Public Affairs spokesman Joseph Burks confirmed the Monday opening. “What we’ll be doing is seeing the patients. Everyone’s scheduled and ready to go.” Burks added there will be a normal flow of patients. “We’ve tailored back just a bit, but we’ll have all of our providers, all of our nurses and folks there. ”
The new clinic facility will serve veterans in the Junction City – Manhattan area.
ansas State makes $6 million budget reduction
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State officials say the university will reduce its budget by $6 million.
President Richard Myers said Friday the cuts to the current fiscal year budget are in response to a drop in enrollment and uncertain state funding.
The Manhattan Mercury reports (https://bit.ly/2mntkTS ) the cuts represent a 2.21 percent across-the-board reduction. Department heads will be responsible for determining how the reductions will be implemented.
Myers says the cuts will allow the university to continue to provide scholarships and respond to a deficit in its central scholarship account.
He said the university’s future funding remains uncertain because the Kansas Legislature is still putting a budget together and hasn’t chosen to raise taxes to respond to a budget deficit.
An informational guide to understanding the JCHS Way Forward project has been produced to explain key facts on the proposed new Junction City High School effort.
Some of the facts include:
–In order to leverage state financing for 48% of the project a bond issue must be approved by the community
–Over the next four years USD 475 expects to receive $39 million in federal heavy impact aid. That will account for 35.6% of the total project cost, and allow for the building of a new high school with no local property tax levy increase.
–A new building would create more opportunity and make current main campus programs available to the freshman class. The new building would serve ninth through twelfth grade students.
–Following a resolution from the Board of Education, an application was filed with the state for approval of the bond election. If that is approved the community will have a chance to pass the bond issue on May 9th. If the bond is approved a nine-month design phase will begin.
–Future hotel, restaurant and sales tax revenue could increase as more patrons visit Junction City for activities held at the new high school venue. Interest rates are at a 20-year old; construction costs are rising 4-6% per year making now a cost effective time to build a new school.
The Manhattan Fire Department has issued a release confirming that the fire that occurred in an Aggieville building at 700 North Manhattan Avenue has been ruled accidental by fire investigators due to self-heating of floor finishing materials. Fire investigators from the Manhattan Fire Department and Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal conducted the origin and cause investigation, with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Damage estimates for the building, which formerly housed the Dusty Bookshelf business, has been listed at $550,000 for the structure and $123,000 for the contents. The damage estimate for nearby Varsity Donuts at 704 North Manhattan Avenue has been listed at $10,000 to the structure and $75,000 to the contents, and to Thread at 1224 Moro Street at $4,000 for the building and $60,000 to the contents. The total loss for all three structures and the contents was estimated at $822,000.
The former Dusty Bookshelf building was vacant at the time of the blaze, and was being renovated for another store.
A national retailer located in Manhattan has declared bankruptcy and will be going out of business.
North Dakota-based Vanity announced Thursday it has filed a voluntary petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of North Dakota.
The apparel and accessory chain has been in operation since the late 1950s, the company said in a news release.
“The commitment and adaptability of Vanity and its employees has been a key to Vanity’s success throughout its many years,” said James Bennett, Vanity’s chairman of the board. “We would like to thank our employees for their service and loyalty. We also sincerely appreciate all of our customers — both past and present.”
Vanity’s plan is to conduct store closing sales at all of its retail locations during the month of March and possibly into April. Vanity anticipates it will continue to honor Vanity gift cards during the store closing process.
Vanity also operates Kansas stores in Hays, Salina, Garden City and Topeka. Vanity operates 140 stores in 27 states.
The ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court for the state to increase spending on public schools was released in Topeka on Thursday.
The Supreme Court held the K-12 public education financing system does not meet the adequacy requirements of the people’s constitution. The Court stayed the enforcement of its decision until June 30th to give the legislature time to respond.
State Representative Lonnie Clark, Junction City, was not surprised by the ruling. “Well I don’t think it’s any big surprise. The only person that I can think of in the state of Kansas that’s going to be shocked is Governor Brownback. We’ve known for quite some time, at least I have and a number of the other legislators that education needed more funding.”
Clark confirmed the Court is expecting the Legislature to find a substantial amount of funding for public schools. “Absolutely, that’s exactly what it is. We’ve got two tax bills Monday when I get back in session. This is just going to just probably throw a wrench into everything in terms of tax that is on the issue right now.”
The Supreme Court justices issued their ruling in a lawsuit filed by four school districts in 2010. They argued legislators were violating the state constitution by failing to finance a suitable education for each of the state’s 458,000 students.
If by June 30th the state has not satisfactorily demonstrated to the Supreme Court that any K-12 public education financing enacted by the Legislature is adequate, then a lifting of the state will mean that Kansas will be without a legally valid system.
Large fire in Aggieville -Photo Manhattan Fire Dept.
UPDATE:
The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 700 North Manhattan Avenue at 3:45 a.m. for a structure fire in the building that formerly housed the Dusty Bookshelf.
The Fire Department reported that when crews arrived on scene they found heavy smoke showing from the east end of the two-story commercial building. Crews initiated an interior attack but multiple attempts were unsuccessful at putting out the blaze. With conditions worsening, the decision was made to transition to a defensive attack fighting the fire from outside the building. The fire reached a second alarm before it was contained in approximately three hours. A total of 30 firefighters responded on seven fire trucks. No injuries were reported.
The building was under a building permit, with the name of the new business being Co-op. The building is considered a total loss. The owner is listed as Sherilyn and Roger Bender of Sunrise Beach, Missouri. There is also smoke damage to Varsity Donuts, 704 North Manhattan, and Thread, 1224 Moro Street. Both businesses are currently closed. The intersection of North Manhattan and Moro is also closed until further notice.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The Manhattan Fire Department, Riley County Police Department, Kansas Office of the State Fire Marshal, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will be conducting a joint investigation.
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MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Crews have extinguished a fire that heavily damaged one building and caused smoke damage to two others in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.
Deputy Manhattan Fire Chief Ryan Almes says the fire was reported around 3:45 a.m. Thursday in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf and was being renovated. Almes says dangerous conditions inside the building forced firefighters to exit the building. He says 30 firefighters then fought the blaze from outside the building before extinguishing it around 8 a.m. No one was hurt.
The fire also caused smoke damage to adjoining businesses that sell doughnuts and T-shirts. A cat was rescued from one of the businesses.
The state fire marshal’s office will help investigate the fire’s cause.
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MANHATTAN – The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s office is helping investigate the cause of Thursday’s fire in the Aggieville bar and shopping district near the Kansas State University campus.
The Manhattan Fire Department said in a post early Thursday on its Facebook page that the fire was in a building that had housed a bookstore called the Dusty Bookshelf. The building was vacant and being renovated. .
No information was immediately available about what started the fire.
Riley County police are urging people to avoid the popular area.
Firefighting units from Dickinson County Rural Fire District one, Geary County, Woodbine, Hope – Navarre, Herington, and Fort Riley responded to a location in Dickinson County approximately 12 miles southwest of Junction City on Wednesday. Authorities estimated approximately 200 acres of CRP land burned. There were no injuries, and no damage to structures, although the fire did burn quite a few fence posts.
The Fire Chief for Dickinson County Rural Fire District One, Paul Froelich, reported that a local farmer was installing a corner fence post and bracing, and had a welder. “And he had this welder welding right adjacent to a CRP field, and with the high winds that we were experience yesterday it immediately took off. ” An emergency 911 center was called and area firefighters responded.
According to Froelich the fire began on land owned by Ken Smith, traveled over an area owned by a private hunting lodge and then onto land owned by Jeff Shippy.
A rural Geary County resident Glenn Blanken, was airlifted by Lifestar to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka for treatment of injuries following a one-vehicle accident Wednesday evening.
According to Sheriff Tony Wolf the Ford F-150 pickup driven by Blanken left the road and hit a tree. The accident occurred in the 9000 block of Clarks Creek Road.
The cause of the accident is under investigation.
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Just after 7:30 p.m. Wednesday one person was airlifted by Lifestar to a hospital following a one vehicle accident south of Junction City on Clarks Creek Road in Geary County.
More details are not available, but Sheriff Tony Wolf confirmed the accident occurred.
As more information becomes available we will report it on JC Post.com.
