The two-day Jammin in JC blues and barbecue festival kicks off Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. in downtown Junction City.
State setup was done on Sixth Street adjacent to Heritage Park on Thursday.
The Friday night lineup includes performances by:
–Amanda Fish at 5 p.m.
–Lauren Anderson 6:35
— Katy G & the Girls at 8:15.
The festival will resume at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The sound of gunshots echoed in the hallways of the Geary County Office Building on Thursday afternoon.
It was a starter pistol used to begin a training exercise for employees in the building, and for law enforcement and emergency personnel.
With high school students playing the role of shooting victims a shooter went down the hallways firing shots.
Police responded followed by ambulance personnel and a SWAT team that went through the building, removed the victims, negotiated with the shooter who had gone inside an office, and then arrested him and escorted him out of the building. Employees who had gone into hiding when the training exercise began were eventually allowed to escape outside of the building. Everyone was then debriefed after the exercise ended. The goal…to be prepared in the event a shooter in the workplace ever does occur.
Employees agreed in a debriefing afterwards, it was a realistic exercise. Curt Janke, Assistant Geary County Emergency Management Director, told them everyone did a good job. “When we started down that hallway there wasn’t a sound in this building.”
Possible options for employees could be to take shelter or run, depending on the situation., Janke stated if the people in an office decide to evacuate they need to have a rally point. “If you decide as an office to evacuate, we’re trying to find where everybody is, we need to know that you’re at the rally point. And we need somebody from each office that you’re at the rally point and you have all the people with you.”
Observers were present to watch the exercise as it unfolded. They ranged from emergency management and law enforcement personnel to county commissioners.
Under current ( ALICE ) training, Janke noted, businesses such as this are getting hit as often as school districts. “The ALICE training that they’re teaching at the school districts transfers right over to this. You do the exact same thing. You make the choice on whether you’re going to lock down, whether you’re going to try to evacuate, or as a last resort whether you’re going to take the shooter down.”
Again…it was a training exercise for a shooter in the workplace on Thursday, not the real deal.
RILEY COUNTY – Two people were injured an accident just after 5p.m. on Thursday in Riley County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Kia Sorrento driven by Jonathan Chae, 28, Manhattan, was making a left hand turn onto Tuttle Creek Blvd from Walters Drive.
The driver pulled out in front of a 2014 Dodge Durango driven by Stacey Pennell, 48, Manhattan.
The Durango struck the Sorrento.
Chae was transported to Via Christi. The KHP indicated Pennell was injured but not where she was treated.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas faith-based group is hoping to overturn a law allowing concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses across the state.
Lawrence-based Kansas Interfaith Action representatives are visiting state universities to increase awareness of the issue and raise money. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Rabbi Moti Rieber says the group also plans to lobby the Legislature to change the law once representatives return to session in January.
Gov. Sam Brownback signed the law in 2013 requiring concealed carry of handguns to be allowed in all publicly owned buildings unless the owners provide adequate security to prevent anyone from bringing weapons in.
Cities, counties and public colleges and universities were allowed to exempt themselves until July 1, 2017, so they could set new policies and planned for security measures.
It’s that time of the year again – Blue Jay Homecoming is October 3rd through 8th.
The theme for this year’s festivities are “Chillin’ in the Artctic”.
Students can dress up throughout the week in a show of school spirit.
The activities for Homecoming Week 2016 at Junction City High School are as follows:
The latest blue green algae results for Milford Lake from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) are as follows:
The public should be mindful of the notices posted in each zoning area.
Blue green algae may suddenly appear or disappear or move as the wind shifts so boaters are asked to use caution and move to clear portions of the lake.
The original notice cancelling the October 13, 2016, Metropolitan Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals (MPC/BZA) meeting has been rescinded.
The regularly scheduled October 13, 2016, MPC/BZA meeting is back on. 
Work has begun for Eddie Reeder, the new Project Manager for a proposed Sports Complex in Junction City.
“We are looking to decide, hopefully within the first 90 days whether or not this is going to be a feasibl
e project and then from there we’re going to look at our timeline for obtaining the funding, and land acquisition – where we’re going to put the facility – and from there we’ll be able to assess how we’re going to develop and construct the project, whether we do that in phases or whether we’re able to construct the entire complex at once,” said Reeder.
The plan is to create an outdoor, multi-sport facility that can support baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey and football. Reeder said that early plans are looking at a 40 acre complex, to be open year-round, with some administrative and other buildings attached to possibly host other events.
“I think it’s a great idea [to bring a sports complex to Junction City],” said Reeder. “The Babe Ruth tournament will be hosting the Regionals [here] next year, so we’ll have teams coming from as far away as Canada…and you know they’re bringing these teams here, they’re not bringing them to Topeka, or Kansas City, or Wichita.”
Junction City’s central location in the state and close proximity to Interstate 70 make this an attractive stop for traveling sports teams.
At this stage, Reeder is only interested in if the complex is actually feasible for Junction City; there was a feasibility study done in 2013 that Reeder is revisiting and expanding upon in order to move forward with the project.
“Shortly after that study was done [in 2013] I think the idea [for a sports complex] was put on the backburner, and I think since Dennis Beson came in to the Chamber (Chamber of Commerce CEO) he has a lot of great ideas for the city and sees the sports complex as a strong asset,” said Reeder.
For now, Reeder is revisiting the old feasibility studies and conducting deeper research “to forecast what the revenues and expenditures would be, to see where possible cuts could be made…if it’s not going to draw in a profit then it’s not going to be a worthwhile project.”
Optimism is high for the complex that many see as a way to bring revenue in to Junction City.
“Once we do find out that it’s a possibility and that we’re able to do it, the next step is going to be to try to find the funding – obviously, that’s going to be the biggest challenge and the biggest part of whether or not we’re going to get this to work as well as what the timeline is going to be,” said Reeder.
If the feasibility study is favorable, and the project has sufficient funding there is also talk to save room for future expansion at the site of the sports complex.
Reeder began duties as Project Manager on September 6, 2015.
Reeder was a guest on JC Now on 1420 AM – The Talk of JC Thursday morning, click here for the full audio.
The Geary County Office building will close at 3 p.m. Thursday for an emergency management exericse involving a shooter in the workplace scenario.
County employees will be involved in the exercise. Emergency vehicles will be in the area near the building.
The offices in the Geary County Office building will reopen for normal business Friday morning.
The First Infantry Division at Fort Riley is celebrating 100 years as “The Fighting First” and Brigadier General Patrick Frank wants the community to celebrate with them.
“This 100th year anniversary of course showcases the Division and all it’s done since 1917; when you see our combat tradition, what we have done in combat for the nation, being on point – what our soldiers do each and every day in the 1st Infantry Division, it has the entire Division excited to honor those that came before us, those that are currently in our formation, our families and to celebrate that with the Flint Hills community,” said Frank.
Frank was the speaker during a Thursday morning Military Affairs Council (MAC) Breakfast where he boasted about the excitement surrounding the 100th anniversary of the Big Red One and the storied history behind the nation’s “Fighting First”.
“We take great pride in that, we’ve been the first in to World War I, World War II, Vietnam, [the] first back in to Iraq; we are a Division that wins at everything that it does and our soldiers truly believe that right down to the core and you can see that each and every day at Fort Riley, so it’s really special to the 1st Infantry Division,” said Frank.
A major strength in the Division, a division that Frank likes to affectionately say belongs to the community, is the strength of the surrounding region and it’s support of the army.
“We want the community in the Flint Hills to come out and to enjoy these ceremonies that surround the Division’s history with our soldiers because we are a part of your communities…to have the Flint Hills as a part of this 100 year celebration is very important to us,” said Frank.
On October 19th there will be a Deployment Ceremony for the Division, and members of the Division will take part in the Veterans Day parade in Manhattan in November.
The next year will be filled with events celebrating and highlighting the 1st Infantry Division, with a 100th Anniversary Celebration on June 8, 2017 and Victory Week 2017 the third week in August.