The Geary County Free Fair opens Monday ( July 18 ) with the 4-H Food & Food Preservation Judging at one p.m.

The schedule for the remainder of the day includes:

–1:30 – 7 p.m. 4-H Food Sale

–3-7 p.m. Open Class Arts & Crafts, Textiles, Barn Quilt entries accepted

–4-6:30 p.m. Open Class Photography entries accepted

–4-7 p.m. 4-H entries accepted, Open Class Floriculture, Horticulture, Agriculture entries accepted

–5-7 p.m. Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides

–5-8 p.m. Money Pit Open

–6-8 p.m. Homemade Ice Cream Social

–6:30 – 7:30 p.m. Pedal Pull Sign up

–7 p.m. All 4-H and Open Class exhibits must be in place except Floriculture, Horticulture, Crops, 4-H Livestock, Open Class Foods

–7 p.m. Horse Show

–7:30 p.m. Pedal Pull, Open Class Photography Judging

 

The annual 4-H Bucket Calf and Beef Show is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, the 4-H Swine Show at 7:30 p.m.Wednesday, and the 4-H Barbecue and Watermelon Feed goes from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The 4-H Project & Livestock Auction is scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday. The fair wraps up Thursday night.

The Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce has announced that applications to become a community emergency response team member are available at the Geary County Emergency Management Office. You can also download an application from the Geary County Emergency Management website.

Additional volunteers are currently being trained to be C.E.R.t members. Training in fire safety, medical operations, search and rescue, terorrism and disaster preparedness will be taught to team members.

Following a disaster, only qualified personnel will be allowed in the affected area to assist. C.E.R.T. teams will work with the First Responders to look for victims, control access to the area, and help where needed once trained.

 

LAFAYETTE COUNTY, MO. – Two adults and three children from Fort Riley were injured in an accident just after 10:30 p.m. on Friday in Lafayette County Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Freightliner semi driven by James E. Wilkins, 54, Independence, MO., was westbound on Interstate 70 just east of Bates City.

The truck merged into a 2010 Nissan Cube driven by Stephanie Wells, 26, Fort Riley.

The Nissan travelled off the left side of the road, returned to the highway and struck the semi.

Wells and passengers Christina V. Jones, 22; Zackery Jones, 7; Casey Jones, 6; and Alessa Wells, 1, were transported by Odessa EMS to Centerpoint Medical Center.

Wilkins was not injured.

All were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.

Story by Monty Thompson

On Friday morning Fort Riley honored the outgoing leaders of the 1st Infantry Division’s 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, welcomed the “Dagger” brigade’s new
commander and senior noncommissioned officer and saw the uncasing of the 2nd ABCT’s colors, officially signifying the brigade’s return home after a nine-month mission to Kuwait.

Col. Miles Brown, commander of the Dagger brigade, and Command Sgt. Maj. Larry Orvis Jr., the brigade’s senior noncommissioned officer, will transfer command of the brigade to Col. Dave Garner and Command Sgt. Maj. Craig A.
Copridge at the ceremony.

Brown took command of the 2nd ABCT in June 2014. His next assignment is as the chief of staff for the 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado. Orvis became the 2nd ABCT’s senior noncommissioned officer in November 2014. His next assignment is at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Garner’s previous assignment was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served on the faculty of the School of Advanced Military Studies. This is his first assignment within the 1st Inf. Div. Copridge’s previous assignment was as the senior noncommissioned officer for 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry
Regiment, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia.

While deployed, the Dagger brigade assumed responsibility of the theater security cooperation and partnership mission within the Central Command area of responsibility. Through bilateral exercises and training exchanges, Dagger Soldiers displayed commitment in increasing partner capacity while
fostering professional and personal relationships in the region to reaffirm support for long-term sustainment of security and stability in the region.

The brigade’s Soldiers began returning to Fort Riley in June.

Friday afternoon reports came in of an accident on I-70.

JC Post spoke with the Geary County Emergency Management Director, Gary Berges:  “We have report of a vehicle upside down on the roadway, a single vehicle accident near 294 1/2 on I-70 which is just about a half mile west of the US-77/I-70 interchange west of Junction City.”

Berges reported that traffic was down to one lane going westbound on I-70 and both lanes going eastbound were open.

A check at the scene revealed landed on it’s top. No injuries were reported.

It hasn’t been easy bringing new teachers to Geary USD 475.

Dr. Ferrell Miller, USD 475 Board of Education, says that many of the teachers feel that their profession isn’t supported in the state.

“When people go out to recruit at different fairs, the response from some of those that they’ve tried to recruit is ‘we don’t want to go to Kansas’ – why not? ‘Well primarily because your governor and your legislature doesn’t support teachers and we don’t want to go where that’s true, we want to go where teachers are supported’ – and not just with salaries but with respect on what they’re doing on a daily basis in the classroom,” said Miller.

Despite the negative feedback, there will be 160 new teachers in the District this upcoming school year – but whether or not they stay may be the bigger issue.

There will be a ‘New Teacher Breakfast’ on August 2nd.

Student enrollment for the 2016-2017 school year is August 2nd and 3rd; the first day of school is August 15th.

The scheduled visit by the Chief of Staff of the United States Army General Mark Milley to Fort Riley has been postponed.

The announcement was made by the office of Senator Jerry Moran this afternoon.

Senator Moran’s office reported that General Milley plans to visit Fort Riley at a later date.

 

The Junction City – Geary County Metropolitan Planning Commission has recommended approval on an application by Jason Budinas to rezone property at 223 and 229 East Seventh Street in Junction City.

Planning and Zoning Administrator David Yearout said those are vacant lots right now that are zoned commercially for retail sales. “The owner wishes to build a warehouse. He owns a distribution facility for dry goods. It’s grocery stores in a four-county area, and he wants to put his warehouse there.”

The rezoning would go from central commercial special to light industrial district.

The recommendation will go to the City Commision for final consideration.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran toured the Foot Locker Corporate Services Center in Junction City on Friday.

He visited with the management and then toured the plant, stopping to talk to employees and pose for pictures.  He reported that it is the second largest plant facility in the state. “The purpose for being here is to have conversations with the management here and to let them know that we care about Foot Locker and its prescence in our state, particularly here in Junction City, offer my help if there are issues.”

Moran stated that Foot Locker belongs to an association of apparel organizations that often visit his office in Washington D.C. to talk about issues related to trade and tariffs. “But I wanted local folks to know that we are interested in their business.”