Military veterans and service members who have been awarded a Quilt of Valor can display their quilt at the Sunflower Quilters Guild Quilt Show on September 23 and 24.  It is scheduled at the First Presbyterian Church , 113 West 5th, Junction City.

The quilts need to be delivered to the church on Thursday, September 22 between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. and must be picked up between 4-5 p.m. on Saturday, September 24.

Churches and other organizations that have been involved in awarding Quilts of Valor may want to recruit volunteers to facilitate the collection and return of quilts to their recipients. Contact Donna Martinson at 238-7303 for additional information on the display.

The Sunflower Quilters Guild Show will be open September 23 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on September 24 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. There is a $1 admission charge.

MANHATTAN -A former K-State student’s Snapchat selfie has drawn the attention of the university after the photo was shared by another student on social media.

The Snapchat photo went viral Thursday after two girls in blackface posted a selfie with the caption, “Feels good to finally be a n—–.”

K-State Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Pat Bosco addressed the issue with this statement:

Dear students, faculty and staff,

I have become aware that one of our students posted a racially offensive photo today on social media and used one of the most derogatory words in the English language. This photo has students, faculty, staff and other members of the K-State family upset. It rightly should, as there is no place for racism at our university, regardless of what the intentions may have been. K-State prides itself on being one family, no matter your race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or abilities. All members of the K-State family deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

As always, I want to applaud our students for their maturity and actions when it comes to these issues. Our students, faculty, administration and the Office of Diversity have done phenomenal work in areas of diversity and inclusion on our campuses. I especially want to note the diligent work of the K-State Black Student Union and its efforts and legacy of addressing these issues in an effective and pragmatic way. Over the past few years, BSU has worked in unison with the Staley School of Leadership Studies on its Cats for Inclusion Campaign. This campaign works to create effective dialogue around issues of race, and teaches would-be allies on how to take an effective anti-racist stance: catsforinclusion.wordpress.com.

I also am proud of the preliminary work that a cross section of student leaders from various organizations, including the Black Student Union, Hispanic American Leadership Organization, Asian American Student Union, Native American Student Association and the Student Governing Association, has done to create a student initiative around issues of diversity. Even

with these initiatives, we obviously still have work to do. We are firmly committed to the principles of community at Kansas State University, and it is important that we educate our students daily on these principles. We must do better, and we will do better.

Pat Bosco
Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students

 

 

K-State News and Communications Services

Chamber of Commerce members from the Flint Hills region traveled to the Fayetteville, Arkansas area this week to earn about regional partnerships and economic development.

The CEO for the Junction City Area of Commerce Dennis Beson participated in the trip. “We had about 50 regional folks go down to Fayetteville, Arkansas just to get an idea of what another town is doing that has a college and that has regionalism going.” Beson said they call their regional partnership Northwest Arkansas.  He also noted, “Everybody down there speaks about Northwest Arkansas. They don’t  speak about their one town.”

Beson said he learned about how the younger work force needs to be targeted here in Kansas, and how some younger workforce need to be brought to this area. He sees a need for creating better quality of life items, “things to do that would actually stimulate the younger families, younger workers.”

The tour also included a stop in Bentonville, Arkansas, home of Walmart.

Chamber of Commerce members from Junction City, Manhattan and Wamego made the trip.

 

MANHATTAN -Kicker Country Stampede is celebrating 22 years of bringing the magic of Nashville’s music scene to Manhattan, Kansas by releasing some exciting names in its first round of 2017 lineup announcements.  Superstar Chris Stapleton has been announced as a headliner for 2017!   Already an established Nashville songwriter for the biggest names in country, Stapleton’s star shot straight up when he released his debut album Traveller in 2015.  The album earned Stapleton four Grammy nominations with two wins and platinum selling status. Stapleton also made history at the CMA Awards when he was the first artist to win Album of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year at the same awards.  Thomas Rhett, one of country music’s hottest stars, is also set to headline the Cenex® Main Stage on one of the three nights.  Rhett, already has multiple number one hits to his name along with several prestigious industry award nominations, and multiplatinum selling status. Country music legend Alan Jackson will be joining Rhett as a headliner at the 2017 event.   With a catalog that includes over 30 number one hits, and two Grammy Award wins, Jackson’s performance on the Cenex® Main Stage is a must-see-event for any country music fan. Last but certainly not least, 2016 ACM Vocal Group of the Year, and New Artist of the Year nominees Old Dominion were announced.   Kicker Country Stampede will be making more exciting lineup announcements early next year, including the full festival schedule, so stay tuned!   

 

Three-day admission passes are available for $120, VIP for $510 and reserved for $250.  Prices will go up!   Camping is available starting at $135, and is expected to sell out, so get your site before they’re gone! Jump-the-line tickets are available for $130 while supplies last. This ticket allows fans to enter the festival a full 15 minutes before everyone else. For more information on tickets or for any of your Kicker Country Stampede needs, visit countrystampede.com or call 800-795-8091.

 

The Party Pit, located directly in front of the Cenex® Main Stage, puts fans steps away from their favorite artists during their performances! There are a very limited number of passes in this standing-room-only area. Party Pit passes are available for Thomas Rhett, Alan Jackson, Chris Stapleton, and Old Dominion OR you can buy the Party Pit super pass which gives fans access to the party pit for every. single. concert. every. single. day.

By Chief Justice Lawton Nuss
Kansas Supreme Court

Ask most Kansans what they know about our state Supreme Court, and you likely will hear something about the cases we decide. After all, making those decisions is one of our most important duties. But we have many other responsibilities that few Kansans outside of the legal community know about. The people’s Constitution grants us “general administrative authority over all courts in this state,” a responsibility that includes the entire judicial branch of government and its nearly 1,900 judges and court employees.

One of our other responsibilities is to establish rules for admitting persons to practice law as attorneys in Kansas courts, to supervise their conduct, and to discipline them. This week we announced a significant new rule about attorneys.

The new rule allows attorneys living in Kansas who are spouses of military service members stationed here to temporarily practice law without taking the state-administered uniform bar exam. Those attorneys must first be admitted to practice in other states. Before the court adopted this rule, attorneys who came to our state with their military spouses had to pass our bar exam in order to join the more than 11,000 attorneys licensed to practice law here, even though their stay was not permanent.

My fellow justices and I believe that a person married to a member of the military should not have to sacrifice a legal career to be with a spouse. Similarly, a member of the military should not have to leave such a spouse behind to continue his or her legal career. As a former Marine Corps combat engineer, I am especially proud of this show of support of the men and women — and their families — who pledge their lives in service to our country.

And as for deciding cases? More than 3,000 of them have been decided by the Supreme Court since I became a justice in 2002. Many Kansans know of only a few. But more Kansans are learning about these other cases by attending court sessions we have conducted in 12 Kansas communities since early 2011.
Our next session to familiarize Kansans with our work will be at Hutchinson Community College the evening of October 4. And someday, perhaps a lawyer spouse of a military member stationed in Kansas will be arguing one of those cases in front of us – and you.

Army Entertainment and Army Sports, in coordination with the Fort Riley Directorate of Family, and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, are bringing the Alpha Warrior Military Demo to Fort Riley on Friday, September 16th. 

Major General Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley Commanding General will compete alongside other soldiers and DOD ID Card holders.

The event challenges participants to test their skills by taking on the Battle Rig, a series of 8 elite obstacles, with American Ninja Warrior competitors Brent Steffensen and Kacy Catanzaro.

Alpha Warrior Military Demo provides an experiential event that encompasses fitness and nutrition discussions, work-outs and hands-on experience on the Alpha Warrior Battle Rig.

This is the first time Alpha Warrior has been toured at Army installations.

An introduction, course demo and a Q&A with Brent and Kacy will take place at 4:00 pm followed by youth trials (ages 12+) at 5:00 pm and adult warmup and tryouts at 6:00 pm. Timed Battle Rig challenges begin at 7:00 pm.

No tickets or pre-registration are required and spectators are welcome.

All events will take place at Long Fitness Center and are open to Soldiers and DOD ID card holders only.

For more information visit https://riley.armymwr.com/us/riley or call 785-239-8990.

Construction on the new VA clinic in Junction City located on Southwind Drive just across US Hwy 77 is well underway.

Here are some photos from the new site, slated to be over 10,000 square feet.

Meet Sherri Childs – a 35 year Geary county employee and one of two employees set to be honored for reaching that benchmark at a ceremony on Monday, September 19th.

Childs works in the Geary County Treasurer’s office making sure everything runs smoothly.

“For the most part, I just kind of help run the office, I do a lot of the reports for the motor vehicle side of the office, and balance drawers [to] keep the money going in the right direction,” said Childs.

While her day to day duties can sometimes vary, Childs, a soft-spoken woman who says that she avoids the limelight is essential to the daily functions in the Treasurer’s Office, and in the 35 years she’s been there, those duties have changed.

“When I started here, we used typewriters, and adding machines – that was a lot of fun carbon copy paper,” said Childs. “[It’s] changed a lot, 2012 was a big change for this office when we went to the new system in the Motor Vehicle Department; that one probably just about did me in, but I’m still here.”

Childs, originally from Wakefield, came to Junction City when she was 19 years old and began working for Geary county.

Childs is married to JCPD Lieutenant Jeff Childs, and they share three children.

The awards ceremony for Geary County employees reaching service milestones will be held on September 19 at 3:00 pm.

Susan Gabbard, Geary County Clerk’s office, is also being recognized for 35 years of service.

For a complete list of those being recognized click here.