The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to 1800 North Washington Street and Trooper Gate for a two-vehicle non-injury accident Friday night. Tyrone Huell, Fort Riley, was driving a Ford F-150 when Edward Crenshaw, Fort Riley, sideswiped each other’s vehicle. Both vehicles sustained minor damage.
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Deputies responded just after midnight Monday morning to a non-injury accident at US 77 mile marker 150. Ashleigh Allenbaugh of Milford was driving a Chevrolet Uplander when she struck an object in the highway. The vehicle was able to be driven away under its own power.
Kansas Department of Transportation crews are equipped and ready for the upcoming winter weather season.
KDOT has reported that they have stored 130,000 tons of salt and 60,000 tons of salt / sand mix in preparation for the season, and they have 1,200 operators who are trained and ready to plow and treat roads.
To make it easier for travelers to know before they go, KDOT’s traveler information website KanDrie has been enhanced. Last year the public asked for camera tours to be added to the site as well as a simplified legend for users. The camera tours option allows users to view multiple images of a highway corridor or region on one screen.
Those improvements, along with the addition of road closure alerts, a dedicated road condition map and a simpler map layout, make the tool easier to use.
In addition to visiting KanDrive, https://www.kandrive.org, drivers can obtain route specific road conditions and weather information by calling 5-1-1 within the state or ( 866 ) 511-5368 from out of state.
The Junction City Arts Council will hold their Winter Gallery Walk on Friday, December 16 from 5-7 p.m. in downtown Junction City.
Up to 15 merchants in the 100 and 200 blocks of West Seventh Street and the 600 to 900 blocks on North Washington will host regional artists and their artwork, and offer wine, coffee, or cider and hors d’oeuvres to the public as they visit each “gallery” location.
Gallery maps will be available inside the Opera House at 135 West Seventh. Then you can tour downtown merchants, meet the artists and find handmade gifts.
patrons will find paintings, photography, metal craft, repurposed wood craft, textured collage paintings, wood working, basket weaving, papier mache sculpture, youth art work from the Arts Council’s Saturday elementary classes and more.
The Talk of JC, 1420 KJCK, broadcast from the Brookside 4-H Club’s successful food drive for the Food Pantry of Geary County on Saturday at Dillons in Junction City.
A total of 738 pounds of food and $208.31 in cash donations were received for the Food Pantry.
Mountain lion photographed on trail cam – courtesy KDWPT
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two Kansas teens got a big surprise, and video, when the hound they were using to hunt raccoons treed a mountain lion last month in Wabaunsee County.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the Thanksgiving night sighting was one of three documented within 15 days in a 60-mile area.
Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism biologist Matt Peek doesn’t know whether that part of Kansas has multiple animals or one that has been getting around.
A motion-activated trail camera on Fort Riley got a good image of a mountain lion on Nov. 9, though the authenticity of the image has not yet been officially confirmed. A similar camera got a photo in Shawnee County on Nov. 20.
Sometimes a single animal is photographed multiple times in different locations.
When Saint Xavier School and Parish officials began a capital fundraising campaign this past fall they had a feasibility study that had been done that showed they could expect to raise between $700,000 and $850,000. Father Gale Hammerschmidt announced at the ‘Freezin for a Reason’ Celebration on Saturday that the pledges have exceeded $900,000.
“We’ve been receiving pledges now for about two-and-a-half weeks, and we’re up over $900,000. So we’re really excited about what that can do for our school, our church, just for our whole parish.”
The funds will primarily be used to upgrade facilities. “There are some things that we need to just improve. We need to be more handicapped accessible, we have a new roof that we need to put on, a lot of those kind of things. We’re excited that now we’re going to have the capacity to do that.”
Capital Campaign Co-Chair Kurt Leistner stated it was outstanding. ” We exceeded our expectations pretty much there.” Leistner stated. “Everybody stepped up to the plate, and we worked really hard.” On the Saint Xavier parish he said, “It’s just a great parish. It just keeps getting better and better here. And Father Gale, he’s an inspiration to us, he kept us motivated.”
Leistner added the funds will be collected over a three year period, meaning the projects that will fund can be done over a three to four year period.
Father Gale Hammerschmidt after a polar plunge into Milford Lake at the St. Xavier Freezin for a Reason Celebration
Parish and community members gathered Saturday at the Flagstop Resort and RV Park for the Freezin for a Reason Celebration, which celebrated Saint Francis Xavier Day, and kicked off the celebration of the 150th year of existence for the parish. That included a two-mile fun run, a polar plunge into the cold waters of Milford Lake, and lunch from Cox Brothers Barbecue. Saint Xavier School Principal Shawn Augustine confirmed that the event raised approximately $10,000.
Father Hammerschmidt said the group that made the polar plunge into the lake included in addition to himself and Shawn Augustine, some teachers, two other priests, and Coach Randall Zimmerman. Father Hammerschmidt led the group into the lake, but they played a joke on him. After getting into the water he turned around and saw the rest of them standing on the shore and applauding him. No one else ran into the lake. But…..finally….the rest of them entered the water.
Saint Xavier School Principal Shawn Augustine before the Polar Plunge
It’s was a tough year for farm income and the commodity outlook for 2017 is pessimistic as well. Operating loans for this past season are coming due soon, and experts say many growers can’t make the payments.
A series of workshops that aim to help farmers navigate the downtown are planned across the state, starting next week and continuing into February.
The university has also expanded its farm analyst program to provide one-on-one assistance.
Its agricultural economics department says the goal is to help producers avoid bankruptcy and make adjustments in their operations while they still can.
Geary County USD 475 is working to stay competitive by providing professional development to help teachers become more effective in the classroom as well better engage students in this new technological age.
On Monday, December 5th the District will host its annual Learning Fair at Junction City Middle School.
The opening session is from 8:00 am until 9:15 am and features keynote speaker AJ Juliani. Juliani will speak on LAUNCH into Design Thinking: How to Bring Out the Maker in Every Student.
“Creative work can be hard. It can be challenging. It can sometimes be overwhelming to try and plan and incorporate into the classroom. Yet, we know our students are going to have to be more creative than ever to successfully thrive in today’s world. This talk shares how design thinking can provide a structure for creative teaching and learning, and how this process can empower our students to do remarkable work inside our schools right now,” states AJ.
After the opening session there will be a breakout session from 9:30 until 10:20 am where participants can choose one course to attend such as Supporting Literacy Skills with Adobe Spark Tools, Digital Literacy for the 21st Century Classroom or Mental Health 101.
A second Keynote speak, Mark Reardon, will speak from 10:30 to 11:30 am on When Beliefs Meet Reality.
After lunch participants will partake in more educational sessions and classes including the option of a “hands on” session.
Learning opportunities will continue until 4:00 pm.
The Milford Lions Club will host a Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, December 3rd. The breakfast will begin at 7:00 am and conclude at 10:30 am in the Milford City Building.
Milford Lions Club requests a $5 donation or $2.50 for those under the age of 12 – proceeds will benefit Robotics at Milford Elementary, local youth and the community.
Stacy Rohr from Walmart will attend the feed to clean eyeglasses and offer suggestions.
There will also be a free vision screening for children aged 6 months and older. The screening will be from 8:00 am until 10:00 am.
In honor of the Patron Saint, Saint Francis Xavier Catholic School and Parish will celebrate the Saint Francis’ Feast Day on December 3rd.
The celebration of Saints isn’t an uncommon practice in many communities, like the celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, or St. Nicholas (actual Feast Day is December 6th).
‘Freezin for a Reason’ will take place on Saturday, December 3rd – the feast day for St. Francis Xavier – and begin with 8:00 am mass at Saint Xavier’s Church located at 218 N Washington Street in Junction City.
Following mass, community members will meet at the Flag Stop Resort and RV Park in Milford for the 10:00 am Two Mile Fun Run. Registration for the Fun Run begins at 9:00 am. The top three male and female finishes will receive a trophy, and an additional 20 participants will receive medals that playfully read, “I beat Father Gale”. Father Gale Hammerschmidt has challenged students at St. Xavier’s Catholic School that he is the fastest man in the county.
Immediately following the run will be the Frozen Plunge – a frosty dive into Milford Lake at 11:00 am. Lunch catered by Cox Brothers Barbecue will be served afterward.
This event is open to the community, and serves as a fundraiser for Saint Xavier’s Catholic School.
The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to 1800 North Washington Street and Trooper Gate for a two-vehicle non-injury accident Friday night. Tyrone Huell, Fort Riley, was driving a Ford F-150 when Edward Crenshaw, Fort Riley, sideswiped each other’s vehicle. Both vehicles sustained minor damage.
