The Geary County Attorney’s office has confirmed that bond has been set at $250,000 for the suspect in an armed robbery at Subway at 3016 West 6th Street in Junction City August 17. Henry Lightner, 53, Junction City, was arrested in that case on allegations including suspicion of Attempted Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Assault and Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer.

The status check and preliminary hearing date for Lightner has been set for August 30 in Geary County District Court.

Police reported after the robbery that a  man had approached one of the on-duty employees at the Subway on West 6th Street, produced a handgun and demanded the money from the register, then departed the business on foot.

Upon further investigation police reported that they located and arrested Lightner in connection with the case.

David Yearout is the Planning and Zonuing Director for Geary county, which includes Junction City and Milford.

Yearout was a guest on JC Now on 1420 AM – The Talk of JC where he spoke about ‘a day in the life’ of a planning and zoning director.

“Most of my day is spent with questions with regard to how the zoning regulations apply to people on a day to day basis…the questions come primarily about ‘I want to do this’ or ‘I want to build it here’ or ‘I want to put a car port in’ or ‘where can I put a fence’ – those are the day to day things that we hear,” said Yearout.

And Yearout advises although the process may be frustrating, it’s important to remember that if it is not done properly or “up to code”, you may risk having to take it all down.

“Within the city we go through a permitting process and primarily we’re looking at issues about ‘don’t put the structure over easements’ because you’re not supposed to build buildings on an easement; there are setback issues, don’t put your buildings right up to where they’re virtually on your neighbbor,” said Yearout.

The concepts for zoning regulations and land use regulations grew out of larger cities years ago, and Yearout says it can be difficult to apply in Kansas.

“It’s a little hard to transfer that to Kansas where I was always raised hearing that ‘we’re land poor out here’ – we’ve got way more land than we’ve got people,” said Yearout.

Yearout adds that they also may get questions disputing the placement of fences – ‘is it on my property line’, ‘where is my property line’ – and other related issues.

Bottomline, it’s better to be safe and check out all the details before you make changes or additions to your property.

For more information on services offered by the Planning and Zoning Department click here.

Fat Toad Billiards, 741 West 6th Street, Junction City is co-sponsoring an exclusive “Viper Kids Boot Camp” Thursday, August 26, with women’s pro player Melissa Little Aka “The Viper”!

 

This FREE event will feature 40 kids from all over the Kansas area including invitees from the local Boys and Girls Club.

 

The first hour, the kids will show their artistic side by decorating their pool cues and cases with stickers, markers and embellishments. The second hour, Melissa will teach the kids the basics of pool and perform challenge matches to win additional prizes, the event will conclude with an autograph session where every child will walk away with a signed poster of the “The Viper.

 

Little, is a native of Colorado and creator of these kid’s boot camps. “We need more kids participating in the sport of Billiards, and I feel extremely honored to be a part of the next generation of young players,” said Little.

 

With the popularity of this event, the boot camp is nearly full.  Fat Toad representative Todd Faunett was overwhelmed with sign ups in the first two days.

 

If you’re interested in signing up your child, please contact Todd at 913-980-9808

 

The annual Junction City – Geary County United Way fundraising campaign begins in September.

Charles Volland, United Way Board of Directors President, said the kickoff will be September 9 at the first home Blue Jay football game.

Nichole Mader, Executive Director of United Way, said last year’s campaign committee really worked hard. “It showed. We raised over $132,000. This year the chair members (  campaign co-chairs ) are Beth and Steve Hudson.”

The Blue Jay football game on September 9 at Al Simpler Stadium will be against Topeka High.

The past couple of years USD 475 has been making repairs to the roof at Junction City High School.

This year the cost was approximately $250,000 for repairs to one section of that  roof.

Bill Clark, USD 475 Director of Business Operations, said another section is targeted for repairs next year. “The part we planned to address next year we discovered had some leaks on this year as well. So we did some minor repairs just in the past week. We still plan to address them more thoroughly next year as we go forward.”

The work is part of a six-year plan. “We spend money pretty much every year addressing the roof over this six-year plan because the roof is so large, to get it fixed properly.”

This all part of scheduled maintenance and improvement work for the school district.

 

The August 18th Business Expo in Heritage Park was a family friendly community gathering showing off the best of Geary county and the surrounding communities.

There were over 75 businesses in attendance for the event hosted by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce – here are a few of their stories:

Jean Vacanti began her business Hollywood Pets Mobile Grooming six years ago.

“I opened in 2010 and I was groomer for many years before that…some of these customers I’ve had since the day I opened my business,” said Vacanti.

The best part about Vacanti’s business- she’s exclusive to Junction City.

Vacanti only accepts smaller breeds but she is accepting new clients by calling or texting 785-375-2029.

Jonyse Gardner is a new business owner in town bringing beauty and hygiene to another level.

“Junction City really doesn’t have a place that specializes in waxing, so I figured I’d do something different and still be in the beauty industry, but bring something different to the table,” said Gardner.

Glamazon Wax Bar, located at 129 W. 7th Street in Junction City does a full range of beauty treatments such as advanced skin care, nails, massages and chemical peels.

For a full range of services click here.

Kirk Crabtree, Rainbow Restorations said that the Business Expo was not only a good way to promote his business, but also to support the local community.

“We’ve been in the area about four or five years…it’s a way to give back to the community and to help out the other businesses here and show our support for Junction City,” said Crabtree.

Rainbow Restorations is located at 2312 Lacy Drive in Junction City and offers a wide variety of services.

To view those services clickhere.

Riley, Youth Group Leader for St Paul’s Lutheran Church in Junction City promoted their annual soup luncheon.

The event is October 1st ftom 11:00 am to 1:00 pm at the church located at 9719 Clarks Creek Road.

Riley warmly invited community members to join her congregation for Sunday Services at 9:30 am.

The Pavement Pros, owned and operated by Corey and Denise Jones didn’t miss out on a chance to introduce themselves to the community.

Headquareted in McPherson, KS, the business often makes stops in Geary County and the Flint Hills Region.

“We make it here quite a bit,” said Denise Jones.

Check out the services offered by the pavement pros, both commercial and residential by clicking here.

Community – the theme of the night for the August Business Expo hosted by the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce.

Dennis Beson, Chamber of Commerce CEO said that the Business Expo gives local businesses a chance to show off to the community.

“Our goal is to show off local businesses as much as anybody else,” said Beson. “What we’re trying for is to let people know there’s a lot more in Geary county and the region…than a lot of people think; I think sometimes that there’s an opinion that we don’t have much to do or much things so our hope is to educate people [on] what’s here.”

Beson added that this was an important event “just for the idea of community.”

Below are photos of some of the many vendors, business owners and patrons in attendance.

The Fort Riley Public Affairs Garrison Office has announced that several changes are scheduled to occur at certain Fort Riley access control points soon, pending the approval of an environmental assessment.

–       On September 26, 12th Street Gate will have only commercial vehicles lane. While personally owned vehicles will still be allowed access, there will no longer be a designated POV lane. Outbound traffic at 12th Street Gate will no longer be authorized.

–       Estes Gate will be open 24 hours a day beginning September 30.
Commercial traffic at Estes is required to have an access pass or badge
prior to trying to access.

–       Four Corners Gate will be closed indefinitely to all vehicle traffic
beginning October 3.

Weekly Kansas Department of Health & Environment test results for toxic blue green algae at Milford Lake have been released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In Zone A on the south end of the lake a warning will be in effect. The East Rolling Hills swim beach and the Milford State Park swim beach will be closed.

Zone B in the middle part of the lake is rated clear.

In Zone C on the north end of the lake a warning has been issued. Boat ramps at the Clay County Parks and the Fort Riley Marina will be opened.

In a warning you should avoid direct contact with the lake water such as swimming or jet skiing, since the algae level is considered unsafe for people and animals. Boating and fishing are still allowed in a warning zone.

 

Chapman will be the location for a second annual Touch-A-Truck in Dickinson County on Labor Day, September 5.

Multiple agencies will participate with vehicles or equipment in the event from 9 a.m. to noon on Labor Day on Circle Drive in front of the Chapman Middle School and in a portion of the District Gym parking lot.

Participating agencies will include Dickinson County Fire District One featuring a drone, Chapman Police Department, Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department, Dickinson County EMS, Chapman Fire Department, Dickinson County Emergency Management, Life Star Helicopter, Kansas Wildlife Parks & Tourism featuring K9 Meg, Enterprise Fire Department, Johns Wrecker Service and Rutz Construction.

Touch-A-Truck allows the public to view and learn about the vehicles and equipment used by the different participating agencies and companies.