DICKINSON COUNTY – One person was injured in an accident just before 7 p.m. on Saturday in Dickinson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Ford Econoline Van driven by William B Wallett, 45, Senoia, GA, was eastbound on Interstate 70 eight miles east of Abilene.

The van traveled into the median, struck a guardrail and rolled coming to rest into the westbound lanes.

A passenger Cooper B. Lynn Sr., 36, Dixon, CA., was transported to the hospital in Abilene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

Wallett and another passenger refused transport for treatment.

The Old Abilene Gunfighters will perform at the Geary County Historical Museum on Sunday ( July 24 ).

The times are 12:30, 2 and 3 p.m., according to the Historical Society newsletter ‘Geary Glimmers.’

COLDWATER–U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced Thursday that veterans enrolled in the Project Access Received Closer to Home (ARCH) pilot program will continue receiving health care close to home after the program ends on Aug. 7, 2016.

“Today’s announcement that veterans will continue to receive care without interruption when Project ARCH ends next month is welcome news for Kansas veterans,” Sen. Moran said. “Veterans living in rural America face unique challenges when accessing health care, and I’m pleased our veterans will continue to receive quality, timely care in the communities they call home.”

Veterans participating in Project ARCH will continue to benefit from health care services without interruption when the pilot program ends next month through options available under the Veterans Choice Program, such as the “unusual or excessive burden provision” and Provider Agreements.

Veterans enrolled in the program will be contacted directly by the VA; however, Kansas veterans with questions about the upcoming transition should contact Sen. Moran’s Olathe, Kan., office at (913) 393-0711.

Background
In May, Sen. Moran called on the Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health Dr. David Shulkin to provide continuity of care for veterans currently utilizing ARCH as contracts under the program expire in August 2016.

Since 2011, the ARCH pilot program has been operating in five rural sites, including Pratt, Kan. Analysis shows that more than 90 percent of veterans who received primary care services through ARCH were “completely satisfied” with the services, and cited significantly shortened travel times to receive this care.

MANHATTAN -Kansas State University’s Bryan Pinkall has that Olympic touch.

A 2003 Great Bend High School graduate and KSU assistant professor of music is again lending his talents to the staging of an Olympic opening ceremony. This time he is part of the opening ceremony performance operations team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, according to a media release.

Pinkall was selected in late 2015 to be part of the team, joining performing arts professionals from around the world in volunteering their time and expertise to create the opening ceremony, which is one of the world’s largest artistic events.

“The details surrounding the opening ceremony are highly secretive,” Pinkall said. “On the evening of Aug. 5, a worldwide television audience of billions will be able to witness the ceremony live from Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The 2016 games are the first to be hosted in South America.”
Pinkall is becoming an old hand at helping manage such large events. He was part of the Emmy-winning team behind the opening ceremony for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia. He also helped with staging the 2015 World Meeting of Families Papal Mass in Philadelphia.

Along with teaching vocal performance at Kansas State University’s School of Music, Theatre, and Dance in the College of Arts & Sciences, Pinkall is a professional singer with the Kansas City Chorale. The group is under the direction of Charles Bruffy and won a Grammy Award in 2016 for best choral performance.

More information about Pinkall is available at bryanpinkall.com. More information about the 2016 Olympic Games is available at rio2016.com.

Joining Pinkall in Rio de Janeiro will be Phillip Vardiman, director of the university’s athletic training program, who is an athletic trainer on the medical team serving the U.S. track and field team.

The “Big Red One” officially welcomed three new leaders to the 1st Infantry
Division with a Victory with Honors ceremony July 21 at the division’s
headquarters on Fort Riley. The ceremony also allowed Soldiers and civilians
to say goodbye to two men who have had a great impact both within the
division and in the state of Kansas.

Brig. Gen. William A. Turner, Col. Scott Efflandt and Col. Charles
Masaracchia were welcomed as the division’s new deputy commanding general,
deputy commanding officer and chief of staff, respectively. Also honored
were Col. Peter G. Minalga, the outgoing 1st Inf. Div. chief of staff, and
John Armbrust, the departing executive director of the Governor’s Military
Council.

“John and Karen Armburst are examples of lifetime servants,” Grigsby said of
the exiting director and his wife. “We at Fort Riley have a saying: Fort
Riley is the best place to live, train, deploy from, come home to and retire
at. We believe all this, and you should to. It was through the efforts of
people like John Armburst who worked tirelessly and partnered with us over
the many years to ensure that we had the very best facilities and support
from our civil elected leaders.”

The Governor’s Military Council seeks to grow and protect major military
activities located in Kansas while creating defense-related jobs and helping
local governments improve conditions for service members and their families,
according to information from the governor’s office.

“Pete’s time in the division was exemplary,” Grigsby said of Minalga, who
commanded the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., during its
regionally aligned forces mission in Africa before serving as the chief of
staff. “Pete had small teams – sometimes as little as one to two Soldiers –
and upwards to the BCT headquarters deployed all over the continent of
Africa to build relations with and improve our African partners’ capacity
and capability to close with and destroy our enemies.”

Minalga is set to retire soon from the Army after a 26-year career.

“The Army will always be in my heart,” Minalga said. “The men and women I
have led throughout my career will always be in my heart. The men and women
of the 1st Infantry Division headquarters will always be in my heart.”

Turner most recently served as commandant of the United States Army Field
Artillery School, United States Army Fires Center of Excellence, at Fort
Sill, Oklahoma, beginning in June 2014. He previously served with the Big
Red One as commander of Battery B, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st
Infantry Division (Mechanized) Artillery, from December 1991 to August 1993
and as current operations officer for the DIVARTY from January to December
1991.

“This is indeed the best place in the Army to live, train, deploy from and
come home to,” Turner said. “We’re very excited about this opportunity.”

Efflandt most recently served as executive officer to the commander of the
U.S. Army Forces Command from July 2015 to July 2016. He also served as
chief of the programs division in the Office of the Chief Legislative
Liaison at the Pentagon.

“I’m the newest Big Red One Soldier, and I couldn’t be happier to be
standing here today,” Efflandt said. “I was first assigned to Fort Riley,
Kansas, in 1984, and I’ve been trying ever since to be back.”

The deputy commanding officer joked there was a moral to that story: “I’m
not very fast, but I am persistent.”

WABAUNSEE COUNTY – A Manhattan man was injured in an accident just before 8 a.m. on Friday in Wabaunsee County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported 2007 BMW passenger vehicle driven by Willie L. Moore, 63, was westbound on Interstate 70 just west of Vera Road.

The vehicle drifted into the median, vaulted over the creek, struck the west embankment of Dog Creek and overturned.

Moore was transported to the hospital in Manhattan.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

Sesame Street characters Elmo, Grover, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Katie, a military character designed exclusively for military families, are headed to Fort Riley as part of a six-month U.S. Sesame Street / USO Experience for Military Families Tour featuring two shows which tackle different realities faced by today’s military families.

The tour will visit Fort Riley’s Whiteside Fitness center on July 27 and include three 30-minute performances. The show that will be performed at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. is titled “Katie is Moving to a New Base” and the 4:30 p.m. show is titled “Katie’s Family Transitions to Civilian Life.”

These shows are open to military ID holders and their sponsored guests only — the event is not open to the general public. Tickets are free and required for entry. They can be picked up at the Leisure Travel Center starting July 11.

The Sesame Street / USO Experience for Military Families is the longest running traveling tour in the USO’s 75-year history. Based on Sesame Street’s award-winning Military Families Initiative, the tour represents a nearly decade long partnership between the two organizations and is part of the yearlong USD 75th anniversary celebration.

With help from Katie, a military child who shares her own eperiences with change and transition, and all of her Sesame Street pals, the tour has taken its message to more than 540,000 service members and military families, and performed more than 1,000 shows on 149 military installations in 33 states and 11 countries to date.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department has reported that Deputies responded to a two-vehicle injury accident at I-70 mile marker 300 eastbound east of Junction City. This occurred about 8:25 p.m. Thursday.

Ray Crowell, Manhattan, was driving a Mazda 6 when he ran into the back of Lossa Adogle, Grandview Plaza, who was driving a Toyota Camry. Adogle was transported to Geary Community Hospital for treatment.

Update:

Forty-six units were collected on day two of the American Red Cross blood drive in Junction City. That was seven units short of the day two goal.

The overall two-day drive finished 9 units short of the goal.

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The American Red Cross has a blood drive under way until 1 p.m. at the Junction City Municipal Auditorium. This is day two of the blood drive.

On day one of the drive 61 units were colelcted, just two short of the goal for the day.