Pawnee Mental Health will celebrate 60 years with a Grand Finale Celebration in Junction City.

Executive Director Robin Cole said that Pawnee Mental Health services a 10 county area. “Geary County is one of the counties within the 10 counties that we serve, and so we started our celebrations in Concordia, the next week then moved to Manhattan and had a celebration last week and then Junction City and Geary County get the Grand Finale of celebrations.”

Cole said that in the last fiscal year, Pawnee Mental Health service over 7600 people in the ten county area – one of the highest numbers in the ten years Cole has been Executive Director.

“There have been periods of time in the last 60  years where the public has been more or less open to the idea of reaching out for mental health help…and being close to Fort Riley, that adds another element that other community mental health centers in other parts of the state might not see as clearly as we see here in Geary and Riley counties,” said Cole.

Cole adds that with increased stress and anxiety amongst other things, “community mental health [is being seen] as a viable resource for people who are experiencing emotional distress or psychological distress.”

The 60th Anniversary Grand Finale Celebrations will be Thursday, November 16th from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm at Pawnee Mental Health located at 814 Caroline Avenue in Junction City.

MANHATTAN — The Johnson Cancer Research Center at Kansas State University has selected 47 students to participate in its undergraduate research mentoring and award program.

The center’s Cancer Research Award program promotes student participation in laboratory research. It encourages undergraduate students to consider careers in cancer research and medicine early on while they are still deciding what academic and professional paths to take.

“This opportunity gets students engaged, a critical factor in their success,” said Stephen K. Chapes, the center’s interim director and a professor of biology. “Many of these future cancer researchers and medical workers will undoubtedly go on to be some of the top professionals in their fields.”

The award program, which is open to Kansas State University undergraduate students interested in doing cancer-relevant research, provides $1,000 awards to up to 50 students a year, and $1,000 per student for research expenses.

Students applied for the awards by co-writing research proposals with faculty mentors affiliated with the center. The awardees conduct their research in the mentors’ laboratories during the spring semester.

“These are some of the university’s — and the state’s — most outstanding science students, working closely with excellent faculty on real research projects,” Chapes said.

The students will be recognized in the spring at a banquet attended by their families and faculty mentors, cancer research center supporters and university administrators.

The Johnson Cancer Research Center supports the research and training of affiliated faculty, postdoctoral fellows and undergraduate and graduate students. All of these programs are funded through private gifts.

The following local students received Cancer Research Awards; included is each student’s faculty mentor:  Sarah Pendell, Fort Riley, senior in microbiology, faculty mentor Rollie Clem, professor of biology; From Manhattan: Anna Brokesh, senior, faculty mentor Richard Todd, associate professor of plant pathology; Kseniya Chumachenko, senior in biology, faculty mentor Annelise Nguyen, associate professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology; Tran Le, freshman in biology, faculty mentor Masaaki Tamura, associate professor of anatomy and physiology; Damilola Ogun, freshman in biology, faculty mentor Masaaki Tamura, professor of anatomy and physiology; Kayla Shore, senior in nutritional sciences, faculty mentor Saurav Misra, research associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics; and Vaithish Velazhahan, junior in microbiology, faculty mentor Kathrin Schrick, associate professor of biology.

 

 

Angie Summers and her husband began hosting Thanksgiving Day breakfasts three years ago, after her very personal experience with loneliness during the Holiday Days.

“When I came to Junction City I was actually living in a hotel and I didn’t have family here, and when the holidays came around you’re not always able to travel back and be with your family; I spent quite a few lonely days in the hotel, especially around the holidays,” said Summers.

After meeting and marrying her husband here in Junction City, Summers expressed the desire to serve the public – and that’s what she did.

Serving as a volunteer for The Caring Place, a Board member for The Open Door in Junction City, an active member of her church Living Word International Ministry – Summers and her husband founded the non-profit organization Community Servants.

“We decided that we would welcome people who did not have anywhere to go – they weren’t necessarily homeless – but it’s something that we recognize that there are people in our midst that our in our churches, our neighbors..but they’re still lonely, and sometimes around the holiday that increases,” said Summers.

Initially, the Thanksgiving Day Breakfast was held in the Summers’ home – this year it will be in the Municipal Building at 700 N. Jefferson in Junction City.

Doors open at 8:00 am for Seniors and Veterans; all community members are welcome at 9:00 am. The breakfast will end at 11:30 am.

Volunteers are still needed, specifically to provide entertainment. Summers is asking for singers, musicians, choirs, karaoke singers, and even storytellers to provide entertainment while guests are being served.

For more information, or to volunteer call 579-5277 or email communityservants@yahoo.com.

 

 

Anansi the Spider will premiere at the C.L. Hoover Opera House on Friday, November 18th at 7:30 pm.

A lively telling by Kansas City’s Mesner Puppet Theater of four classic folk tales from Africa and the Caribbean. These humorous fables feature Anansi, a trickster spider who sometimes get tricked himself. In How the Stories Came to the World, Tiger Becomes a Riding Horse, The Magic of Five and Dinner for Two, Anansi the Spider offers universal lessons of wit and cleverness.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students 18 and under.

For tickets call the Box Office at 238-3906 or click here to purchase online.

Geary County officials are reporting that the telephone system in the Geary County Office Building is being upgraded. As part of that process on Thursday, November 17th there will be intermittent or no telephone service from approximately 10:30 a.m. until noon.

The following departments will be impacted: County Commission, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Treasurer, Appraiser, GIS and Human Resources.

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today voted in favor of the Gold Star Families Voice Act (H.R. 4511), which expands the Library of Congress’ Veteran History Project (VHP) by including servicemembers who died during their service or are missing in action. Sen. Moran led the Senate version of this legislation with U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to expand the Veteran History Project to include Gold Star Families. The legislation, which was passed by the House in September 2016, now heads to the president’s desk for his signature.

“The Library of Congress’ Veteran History Project collects stories that remind us of the courage and heroism of our veterans,” said Sen. Moran. “Incorporating the stories of servicemembers who went missing in action or died as a result of their service is essential to making certain the project reflects the efforts of generations of Americans. For our Gold Star Families who now get to share their stories, this legislation helps us honor the sacrifice of their loved ones.”

The VHP was established by Congress in 2000 and has collected the records of more than 100,000 veterans serving since WWI. Through oral storytelling, it collects and catalogues detailed accounts of the lives of those who have defended our nation at home and abroad.