ABILENE, Kan. – The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home will honor and thank our country’s veterans for their service by offering free admission and a 20% discount in the gift shop on Friday Nov. 11 to all veterans and their families.

A ceremony hosted by the local VFW and American Legion will be held at the Eisenhower Presidential Library on Friday, Nov. 11. The Veterans Day Homage to Veterans of all Wars will begin at 9:35 a.m. near the Pylons at the east end of the campus.

Remarks during the ceremony will be given by Todd Hokanson, Commander of General Dwight D. Eisenhower VFW Post #3279 and Eddie Avinger, Commander of the James R. Cutler American Legion Post #39. The ceremony includes a wreath laying, rifle salute, and bugler.

As of 10:45 a.m. Thursday 1,355 people had participated in early ( advanced ) voting in Geary County ahead of next Tuesday’s general election.

The advance voting period ends at noon on Monday. To help accomodate those wishing to vote early the Geary County Clerk’s Office will be open until 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday evenings, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. The Office is also open Monday morning.

In the 2012 presidential election year Geary County recorded 1,605 early voters.

St.Francis Xavier Catholic School and Parish are hosting Freezin for a Reason, St. Xavier’s Day,  on December 3 at Flagstop Resort and RV Park in Milford. The day will begin with a 2-mile Fun Run at 10 a.m. followed by a Frozen Plunge of participating St. Xavier school staff and community members at 11 a.m. Lunch will begin at 11:30 a.m. following the Frozen Plunge.

It is a tradition to celebrate the patron saint of a Catholic School and Parish. For St. Xavier, December 3 is the feast day of their patron saint St. Francis Xavier , the patron saint of missionary work.

To participate in the 2-mile Fun Run, the cost is $25 per person or $75 per family. You can contact the parish office at 238-2998 for the necessary form, and there will be an online link up in the near future.

If you own a small business and would like to sponsor this event, there are three levels of sponsorship starting at $100. You will receive advertising the day of the event and on the back of the t-shirts that will be distributed to runners. Officials said you can contact the St. Xavier Parish office for more information.

The 4-H Foundation began in 2003 with the goal of raising $250,000 in ten years – needless to say, they surpassed that goal and are now working toward $500,000 by the year 2022.

Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte said that they’ve had tremendous donations over the years.

“We’ve been able to do a couple of college scholarships now thanks to Ray and Nellie Smith; just some outstanding support…we’ve got so many people in the community that have been touched by 4-H either here in Geary County or somewhere around the country, and we all remember that and they want to see other youth have the opportunity to participate in just a wonderful program like 4-H,” said Otte.

Ginger Kopfer, Geary County Extension Agent, said that the money raised for the 4-H Foundation directly benefits the children.

“They’re using the money that they get to sponsor tons of things for our 4-H members, things like 4-h camp they pay for half of their fee to go…they’ve supported almost 500 of those educational opportunities since 2007,” said Kopfer.

The Bingo and Soup Supper is open to the public, you do not have to be a 4-H member.

Some of the menu items include:  chili, chicken noodle soup, cinnamon rolls from Tasty Pastry in Clay Center, and cornbread.

At the completion of dinner, attendees will be invited to play bingo.

The meal begins at 5:30 pm on Sunday, November 6th; there is no set charge for the meal but donations are appreciated.

 

 

Jeff Blixt, Mayor of Chapman, visited the KJCK studios in Junction City where he boasted with pride sharing new details about his city.

The Department of Commerce gifted the City of Chapman a $200,000 grant which Mayor Jeff Blixt said will help create new sidewalks.

“That project closes tomorrow for bids, and we’ll find out tomorrow who the low bidder is…we decided that maybe one of the things that we wanted to do in our application was, why couldn’t we redo sidewalks – whether they’re new, or rehab the old ones,” said Blixt.

Blixt said they hope to create a mile of sidewalks that he hopes will entice residents to shop local.

“We want to make sure that people in Chapman shop in Chapman…and try to support the businesses that are there…we try to remind people that we have services there and to try to support them and try to make them grow,” said Blixt.

Blixt said that a lot of effort when in to rebuilding Chapman after the devastating tornado in 2008.

“I think when you come to our community now you see brand new schools, and sometimes something like that just improves your community and tells you a lot about it – I think our town is great, and I think the quality of life is great,” said Blixt.

To hear Blixt’s interview on the JC Now Morning Show, click here.

Chapman Mayor Jeff Blixt was a guest on the JC Now Morning Show on 1420 AM – The Talk of JC Wednesday morning where he talked in part about some of the changes in city leadership.

“I think our town is great and I think the quality of life is great,” said Blixt.

The city of Chapman is run, in part, by the Mayor, five council members, and a City Administrator.

“Maybe about five or six years ago, the city decided that they wanted to have a City Administrator; our first City Administrator was Jerry Beaker…and then we had another kid, Austin St. John that was with us for two years, and right now we’re still looking for a replacement for Austin,” said Blixt.

Blixt hopes to have a new City Administrator in place by March 2017.

Chapman is also in need of a new Police Chief.

“We will be going through the applications within the next couple of weeks, and hopefully narrow it down to some candidates for interviews and hopefully in the near future we can have a Police Chief,” said Brixt.

For more information visit https://chapmanks.com/.