Gary Drake has been reelected by his fellow trustees to serve as chairman of the Geary Community Hospital Board of Trustees for the coming year.

Drake has two years remaining on his term on the Hospital Board, but he made it clear this week that this next year will be his final year that he would serve in the chairman’s role. The Board officers are elected on an annual basis. Mark Stenstrom will serve as vice-chairman for the next 12 months, Jim Ruhnke as treasurer and Patty Maycroft as secretary.

Geary Community Hospital officials are moving forward on an effort to see if it might be possible to provide daycare service for the children of GCH employees.

Hospital CEO Joe Stratton said a survey is being submitted to all of the employees at Geary Community to determine the degree of interest. “And then we’ll know how to proceed after that with a feasibility study.”

The idea for providing the daycare service was submitted in August by the Chief of the Medical Staff. Dr. Richard Lochamy, in August.

 

The Kansas Water Office Regional Advisory Committee meeting is Friday, October 7 at 9 a.m. at the United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall in Wakefield. The committee will be finalizing work on the development of action plans to meet regional goals.

In conjunction with this meeting, a special forum will begin at 10:30 a.m. on the implementation of the Harmful Algal Blooms Action Plan that has been approved by the RAC and Kansas Water Authority. Affected stakeholders at Milford Lake, as well as downstream water suppliers, are being invited to discuss the impacts of HABs and current and proposed solutions that are identified in the Action Plan. As a co-host of the forum, The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be taking public comments on the Lake Level Management Plan as a strategy to address the harmful algal blooms.

 

The time for the  public meeting to review the final draft of the Regional Community Economic Impact Analysis for the Flint Hills region has been changed. The analysis is being done by Matrix Design Group following force structure reductions at Fort Riley that were announced by the U.S. Army in July of 2015, and some which occurred earlier, resulting in a total loss of 2,345 personnel at the post.

The meeting is still scheduled for Monday October 17 as originally planned at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library, but instead of running from 1-3 p.m. it is scheduled from 4-6 p.m.

The regional impact to the communities surrounding the military installation as a result of the force reductions is the focus of the analysis. A federal grant received by the Flint Hills Regional Council is funding the study.

The analysis concludes with recommendations for mitigating economic impacts of past force reductions at Fort Riley and “what if” recommendations for potential future reductions.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents say the bulk of a potential 5 percent, or $28 million, cut in state aid for universities in the system would affect the University of Kansas, the University of Kansas Medical Center and Kansas State University.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the possible cuts were outlined in documents requested by Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration.

Brownback isn’t required to reveal his budget strategy until January.

Kansas State University officials say the loss of $4.9 million in state funding would trigger reductions across the institution. University of Kansas Medical Center officials say the institution intends to shield its cancer treatment and research program from a $5.1 million reduction.

The reduction would cause Wichita State University to freeze capital projects or equipment purchases and freeze or eliminate staff positions.

Manhattan, Kan. (Sept. 27, 2016) — The City of Manhattan has released an online survey to solicit feedback on the level of use and quality of trails in the community, as well as future priorities for maintenance and trail expansion.

“We’re looking forward to hearing from both our avid trail users and those residents who only occasionally use the trails or don’t use them at all,” said Wyatt Thompson, senior park planner. “We need to hear from all sides so we can plan and respond accordingly in the future.”

The online survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ManhattanTrails through Oct. 12. Along with the survey, residents might see volunteers conducting in-person surveys on the trails through Oct. 8. Additional focus groups and in-person interviews will be conducted in November.

The survey is part of a community effort to evaluate Manhattan’s trails. The Sunflower Foundation awarded a grant to the City of Manhattan for construction of the Old Blue River Trail, which is still in design. As part of that grant award, the foundation offered the city the opportunity to work with the Center for Research Strategies to assess overall community trail use.

The Riley County Health Department, Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization, and other wellness, transportation and recreation groups have worked with Manhattan Parks and Recreation staff to develop the evaluation tools.

In anticipation of the Grand Reopening of the Walmart on Chestnut Street in Junction City, they will host a series of family friendly events this weekend.

• Friday, September 30: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm; pumpkin painting for kids, visits from local police and fire departments, free samples, face painting and games; cotton candy, popcorn and games will be available for a donation to the Children’s Miracle Network
• Saturday, October 1:  family friendly events from 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
• Sunday, October 2:  events from noon to 4:00 pm

The Grand Reopening Ceremony will be on October 7th.

The newly remodeled Walmart Supercenter located at 521 E. Chestnut St. in Junction City will host a grand reopening celebration Friday, Oct. 7, at 7:30 a.m.

The project represents Walmart’s reinvestment in the store, its customers, and the community. The remodel provides a new fresh produce experience, new lighting and flooring throughout, a variety of upgraded departments and wider aisles in the grocery section.

“We are looking forward to re-introducing our store to the community with expanded offerings and a fresh look. Our everyday low prices will remain the same, but we’re adding greater convenience and a new and improved local grocery shopping experience,” said store manager Nick Brungardt.

Join the Grand Opening Celebration

Local associates will provide a special welcome to members of the Junction City community with a grand reopening celebration. A brief ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on Oct. 7 at 7:30 a.m.

Job Opportunities

At Walmart, associates have access to competitive wages, affordable benefits and the chance to build a career. More than 75% of store management teams started as hourly associates, and 40 percent of those promotions went to associates within the first year of their employment.

Committed to the Community

Walmart is committed to serving the Junction City community and continues to support organizations through a variety of investments every year. The commitment to community goes beyond philanthropy. This investment is a whole company undertaking that is woven into Walmart’s day-to-day business activities, creating value by accelerating job mobility, developing suppliers and small businesses, lowering the environmental footprint of Walmart’s operations and more.