There will be one change on the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Consolidated Board of Directors. Judd Liebau has resigned, citing time constraints. Jim Jacobs has been appointed to fill the seat.

The Chamber Board will have a retreat November 10 at Acorns Resort. There will be work on goals for each of the Chamber’s divisiuons and on short, medium and long range planning.

Ten Chamber representatives will participate in  bus trip along with Manhattan and Wamego Chamber members to Fayetteville, Arkansas. Some of those making the trip include Dennis Beson, Ben Bennett, Allen Dinkel, Mike Harris and Melissa Tyson.

UPDATE:

As of 9:10 a.m. two customers or locations in Junction City were without electricity. All power had been restored in Manhattan.

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As of 8:20 a.m. there are 78 power outages in Junction City and 783 in Manhattan in the Westar Energy service area.

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Five power outages impacting 36 customers or locations in Junction City and two outages impacting 782 customers in Manhattan were reported by Westar Energy at 7:10 a.m. Thursday.

That followed an early morning thunderstorm that rumbled through the area.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has delayed sentencing for a Kansas man who has admitted aiding a wannabe Islamic State jihadist’s plan to detonate what they thought was a bomb at Fort Riley.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree heard a psychologist testify Wednesday at the hearing for 29-year-old Alexander Blair. The U.S. attorney’s office says the judge wanted some time to go over the material before handing down a sentence.

No new sentencing date has been set.

Blair pleaded guilty in May to a conspiracy count that carries up to five years’ imprisonment. He admitted loaning John T. Booker $100 to pay for the storage of the device during an FBI undercover operation.

The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Crossroads of Leadership Program is accepting applications.

The program focuses on leadership skills. Submit applications no later than Friday, October 7 at 5 p.m. by email or mail.

The class begins with a retreat Friday and Saturday October 21 and 22. There will be seven other sessions spread out from November 18 through May 17.  They will cover subject areas ranging from education and agriculture to city and county government.

Tuition for Crossroads of Leadership is $400 for Chamber members and $450 for non-members. All program materials, meals and travel are covered in the fee. Limited scholarship funds are available and are awarded based on need.

Class attendance is required so release from work responsibilities is necessary.

 

The Matrix Design Group will review the draft economic impact report Thursday and Friday following their economic impact analysis of the Flint Hills and Fort Riley region.

This project was undertaken with a Department of Defense grant received by the Flint Hills Regional Council following the force reduction of 2,093 personnel at Fort Riley. The regional impact to surrounding communities is being  studied in order to implement strategies to mitigate those impacts and plan for the future.

There will be public meetings to review the draft economic impact report in Junction City on Thursday from 1-3 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at the C. L. Hoover Opera House, and in Manhattan from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday at City Hall in the City Commission Chambers.

The final economic analysis presentation is expected later in the fall.

 

 

The Army Housing Summit will be hosted at Fort Riley from August 27 through September second.

The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors were informed Wednesday that representatives from national and international installations will be in attendance. More than 100 of the visitors will remain in Fort Riley lodging. It was also estimated by Chamber CEO that up to 250 could be housed outside the gate ( off post ) in lodging facilities.

During the summit Army housing managers can receive training.

Geary County Commissioner Florence Whitebread updated the Geary Community Hospital Board of Trustees this week on the proposed 6.1 mill increase in the county’s property tax levy.

One of the factors in that proposed hike, is the inmate population at the Geary County Detention Center. She noted it has doubled since last year, averaging 140 to 170 inmates daily. The capacity of that facility is in the 180 to 182 bed range.

 

The members of the Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program Class of 2016-17 have been announced. Three are from Geary County.

They include Ellen Becker, a Labor and Empoyee Relations Specialist at the Fort Riley Civilian Personnel Advisory Center; Anthony Dokes, Modeling and Simulation Specialist ( DIACAP ), and Kevin Walker, Installation Voting Assistance Officer USAG, DHR.

There are 24 members in the class including 13 from Riley County, seven from Pottawatomie County, and one from Dickinson County.