Grover, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Katie were among the Sesame Street characters who paid a visit to Fort Riley on Wednesday. It was part of the U.S. Sesame Street / USO Experience for Military Families Tour.
Two themes were featured dealing with different realities faced by today’s military families…moving to a new base and families transitioning to civilian life.
Dancing and tips of advice for young people are included in the shows, which include a young girl named Katie, a military child who shares her own experiences with change and transition.
Prior to the first show Tour Coordinator Nicole McClendon explained Katie has just found out that she’s about to move to a new base which all military kids go through. “And she understandably a little bit nervous about it so she comes and talks to her friends on Sesame Street. And she’s going to learn some new songs and dances and have some fun, and along the way without even knowing it she’s going to learn some great tips on how to stay in touch with the friends she’s leaving behind, and easy ways to make new friends at the new base she’s going to.”
Three shows were performed on post before an audience of young children with a number of adults sprinkled in the audience.
The hunt for a new economic development commission director continues in Junction City.
Chamber of Commerce CEO Dennis Beson said a couple of “good solid candidates” have been identified. “They are not local candidates. They are from out of state that have the qualifications of many years of EDC experience. And we are talking to them and having both video interviews, and we hope to have some folks in town soon for an in-person interview.”
Beson updated the Chamber board Wednesday, noting if they’re lucky they will have a new EDC director in place in the next 60 days.
MANHATTAN, Kan. – In response to the United States Olympic Committee this week announcingthe completed list of athletes who will compete for Team USA in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement:
“Congratulations to all the outstanding Kansas athletes who qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Team. Kansas has a long history of athletic excellence, and I look forward to cheering on these nine men and women as they continue that legacy next month in Brazil. These athletes have put in countless hours of training and preparation, and now they have the chance to display their talents in front of the entire nation and the world. Best of luck each of them in their respective events. Go Team USA!”
The proposed Sports Complex plans for Junction City are rolling ahead full steam, as they were discussed at the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce Board meeting Wednesday morning.
Mick McCallister, Mayor of Junction City, says that the complex will help the community.
Mayor Mick McCallister
“If we can do more of those types of sports endeavors, it’s going to hlep our community EDC (Economic Development Commission) wise, CVB (Convention & Visitors Bureau) wise and it’s going to help the community; the more sales tax we can get from the folks coming up and down I-70,” said McCallister referring to the Babe Ruth State Baseball Tournament that was held in Junction City and finished Tuesday evening at Rathert Field.
McCallister added that our central location in the state and being just off of Interstate 70 makes Junction City a great place to bring a sports complex – but will that be enough to attract patrons?
“Based on all of the activities that go on in surrounding communitities around us, we’re missing the boat on this…just this past weekend, we had the 15 and under tournament, and there was a great economic boost to our community,” said McCallister.
The proposed sports complex is still in the very developmental stages, with the hiring of a Project Manager expected in the near future.
“We’ve got about 4 candidates that fit the criteria that we’re looking for, and we’re going to start doing interviews this week and next week; and we hope to have within 2 weeks somebody that we’ll appoint as that position,” said Dennis Beson, CEO of the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce.
Beson said the project manager will work full time at “pulling all
Dennis Beson, CEO Chamber of Commerce
the loose ends together.” This includes looking at feasability studies and searching for grants to make this possible.
This project manager, as an independent contractor position, will report to Beson and the CVB (Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) Director and work directly out of the Chamber offices on 6th Street in Junction City.
The proposed sports complex has the potential to draw larger tournaments, lead to sales tax revenues and income for lodging, facilities, service stations, and restaurants.
Tell us: What do you think of a sports complex in Junction City? Anneberg Park has been a very successful venture in Manhattan – could something similar to that work in Geary County? Did you attend the Babe Ruth State Baseball Tournament; would you attend similar events?
UPDATE: Hospital staff reported that Vernon Bohn is in fair condition.
GEARY COUNTY – A rural Geary County man was injured in an accident just before 7:30a.m. on Wednesday in the County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Dodge pickup driven by Vernon Charles Bohn, 60, Dwight, was northbound driving the ditch line checking fences at 10-20 mph in the 7000 block of Humboldt Creek Road twelve miles southeast of Junction City.
A 1988 International semi-truck driven by Robert L. Rahe, 47, Marion, was northbound and rear-ended the Dodge and pushed it into a pasture
Bohn was lifeflighted to Stormont Vail Topeka. He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
Kansas State University’s Prairie Star Ornamental Flower Program conducts is working to help beautify your property.
The prgoram conducts traisl to determine the varieties of flowers are best adapted to our prairie climate. Flowers that can successful grow in one part of Kansas, may not thrive in our area.
Cheryl Boyer, K-State Research and Extension nursery crops and garden center specialist, says that “around 600 cultivars are being tested this year in ground trials and in large container trials.”
“..with this program we actually have demonstration gardens across the state. So, they don’t all have 600 varities, but they have a handful, and so we can compare varieties that grow at our main trial site with those that are growing at Colby and Hays and Haysville and across the state,” said Boyer.
The plants are rated by how fast and strong they grow and the overall visual impact of the flower displays.
“Last year, we only added 36 plants out of more than 500 we tested. So, very few make it to our recommended plants lists, so you can be pretty confident about those that do will perform well across the state,” said Boyer.
The varieties on the Prairie Star List are available from retail garden centers; the list is available online at www.ksu.edu/ornamentals.
The monthly Geary Community Hospital Board meeting provided some interesting figures.
While surgery revenues were up for the hospital, overall patient totals are on a downward spiral.
Dr. Joseph Stratton, CEO Geary Community Hospital
Joesph Stratton, Geary Community Hospital CEO says that this isn’t unique to Geary County.
“We do struggle some with keeping our inpatient numbers up and that’s not unique to us for a market of our size, and the payers be they the Medicare and Medicaid, the comercial insurance companies [like] Blue Cross Blue Shield, don’t want to frankly have people in the hospitals and we just as sure [want them to] not be here as well, but it causes a hardship on us in some ways and that trend has been taking place over the last three years and while we’re concerned about it, we’re doing what we can to staff appropriately,” said Stratton.
Stratton noted that the marketing team for GCH has been working hard to let the community know that when there is a need for hospital services, it can be done locally at Geary Community Hospital.
“We market ourselves as best we can and we try to have an aggressive campaign with that; Nikki Davies in the public relations and marketing department has worked really hard at that the last couple of years. I think we have more exposure in that way – in a [more] positive way that we’ve ever head before – trying to get the word out there about the services, but it’s a work in progress,” said Stratton.
The hospital CEO also noted that the season may have an effect on the newest figures for overall patient totals – people generally aren’t as sick in the summer months as they may be in the winter months.
DICKINSON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Dickinson County are investigating a suspect in connection with Monday’s inmate escape from the jail in Abilene.
Just hours after the Sheriff’s Office captured escapee Trent Hostetter, 27, authorities arrested 20-year-old Warren Varelman-Morton of Chapman.
He is alleged to have assisted in Hostetter’s escape, according to a media release from the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities believe there is sufficient evidence to show that Hostetter did not act alone in his escape.
Varelman-Morton was booked into the Dickinson County Jail on requested charges of criminal damage to property and conspiracy to commit aggravated escape from custody.
Hostetter escaped from the jail between 7:25 and 8:05 p.m. Monday through a portion of a fence that had been compromised in an exercise yard, according to Dickinson County Sheriff Gareth Hoffman.
A short time later, Hostetter stole a vehicle a couple of blocks from the Dickinson County courthouse.
A Herington police officer later saw the vehicle and pursued it into Lincolnville. The stolen vehicle crashed and Hostetter fled on foot, according to Hoffman.
Trent Hostetter
After an all night search, Hostetter was captured and returned to jail.
Hostetter was being held for impersonating an officer and a parole violation. He now faces an additional charge of aggravated escape from custody.
Local, state and federal agencies were represented Tuesday in a mock training exercise at Milford Lake.
According to Geary County Sheriff Tony Wolf the exericse simulated a capsized boat that had caught fire with two juvenile subjects ( objects ) that went into the water and disappeared. Authorities then conducted a simulated search for a body ( object ). “We treated this just as a normal call. The good thing was we didn’t let all the Deputies know that this was going to happen so we sat back and gauged their response, how they responded, how they took the ball and ran with it once they got here.”
Wolf said the Deputies responded very well. “Everybody got here, they surrounded the area, they got eyes on the target, if you will out there. Boats were used to mark the area for the search portion of the exercise. PBC pipe was used to resemble one mock human figure ( victim ) and wood and rock for the other one.
The sheriff noted that after the call went out everybody tried to respond with lights and sirens but a radio message was quickly sent out and those were shut down. They then responded code one without the lights and sirens. At that point it was known that it was a drill in progress, but Wolf said they “took the ball and ran with it very well.”
The Geary County Sheriff’s Office and Sheriff’s Posse, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Geary County Emergency Management, Kansas Wildlife and Parks Natural Resource Officers and Milford State Park personnel plus the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center participated in the exercise. In addition to boats the Sheriff’s Department also used their drone during their exercise, flying it over the search area. And the law enforcement command vehicle was taken to the site just off the South Boat Ramp at Milford State Park.
The Department of the Army announced today the deployment of the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan., with about 800 soldiers to Afghanistan in the summer of 2016. This deployment is part of a regular rotation of forces in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
“I could not be more proud of the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade, and I know they will succeed at any mission given during this deployment,” Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby Jr., the commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division said. “The Demon brigade has trained long and hard for this important mission, and the men and women of this great unit are prepared and ready. I am extremely confident in this team and know they will be value added to the force in support of Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.”
The information was released by the 1st Infantry Division Public Affairs Office.
