The ribbon cutting and grand opening for the new Junction City Athletic Training Center was held Wednesday at 935 East Fourth Street.

 

You may recall the booking photos from June 12th where a man by the name of Paramijit Sandhu was arrested on suspicion of littering – but the full story is a bit more complex than the simple littering many may have imagined.

Gary Berges, Geary County Emergency Management Director, says that the accused released hazardous materials in Geary County.

Near the area of Old Stage Rd. and Clarks Creek Rd., the accused is said to have allegedly driven his semi-truck out to the rural area and intentionally released soda lime – a potentially hazardous material into a ditch and part of the roadway.

“[Soda lime] is used in a lot of applications, but the problem is that it should not be mixed with water. We couldn’t leave it on the roadway or especially in the ditch so it would not mix with any water if it rained or was taken downstream; so we contacted a hazardous response team to come out and clean it up,” said Berges.

Berges said the county is now being billed approximately $4000 by the hazardous response team and they are seeking that payment in the form of restitution from the accused through the county court system.

Sandhu allegedly delivered most of the product the day prior in Kansas City. The accused stayed the night in Junction City and is believed to have intentionally dumped the soda lime so his semi-trailer could be empty of all product and he could pick up a different load.

The Young Professionals of Junction City (YPJC) are hosting a Color Dash on Saturday, August 20th at Thunderbird Marina & RV Resort located at 4725 W. Rolling Hills, Junction City.

Sponsors are still needed for the event. Sponsoship deadlines are July 8th.

The sponsorship levels are as follows:

• Legendary: $5000 or more; your logo will appear on banners near the startigng line and stage on the day of the event, every runner will have your logo on the event sponsored t-shirts, you will be included in social media posts and important emails, vendor spot is waived to set up a booth free of charge on the day of the event, company name will be mentioned during any ads as well as on jcpost.com, you will sponsor of YPJC events for a year
• Epic:  $3000 – $5000; logo on banners near starting line and stage; logo on event sponsored t-shirts, included on social media posts and important emails, vendor spot is waived, name mentioned during any ads and on jcpost.com
• Champ:  $1500 – $3000; logo on all banners near the starting line and stage, logo on event sponsored t-shirts, included in all social media posts and important emails, vendor spot is waived
• Heroic:  $500 – $1500; logo on banners near starting line and stage; included in social media posts and important emails, vendor spot is waived
• Family&Community:  $50 – $500; name listed on banner near stage the day of the event

Volunteers and vendors are also needed for the Color Dash.

If interested, sign up onnline to be a volunteer as soon as possile at https://www.junctioncitychamber.org/color-dash-by-ypjc.

Vendors are welcome to join on the day of the event for a $25 booth space fee, sign up at:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1xc4vYYfM1bF3SMhMAPxW-LUomzST0F2gZpEUjGjxhUU/viewform?c=0&w=1.

To register to run in the Color Dash visit:  https://bit.ly/CD5K-YPJC.

The event is Saturday, August 20th, sponsors have until July 8th to sign up by emailing ypjc@ypjc.org or info@jcacc.org prior to Friday.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Two women who are suing Kansas State University for refusing to investigate complaints that they were raped off-campus are getting support from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education say in a court brief that the university is incorrect in its conclusion that it isn’t responsible for what happens at off-campus fraternity houses.

The Kansas City Star reports Sara Weckhorst of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and Tessa Farmer of Overland Park have filed separate federal lawsuits accusing Kansas State of violating Title IX, the gender discrimination law that protects students from sexual violence and harassment.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t name sexual assault victims, but the two women have gone public with their case to stand up for victims of rape on college campuses.

The Junction City Commission has approved an application for Kansas Historical Designation for a local project to restore the Civil War Arch at 6th and Washington.

In other business Tuesday night the City Commission received a positive annual audit report. It was noted during Commission discussion that the City paid off $9.2 million in City debt in 2015.

 

The public is invited to a free concert on the steps of the Eisenhower Presidential Library on Monday, July 11 at 7 p.m.  The 451st Army Band will be performing.

This band is comprised of select musicians from the Upper Midwest. They are citizen soldiers in the United States Army Reserve. The band is stationed at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, and is part of the 88th Regional Support Command headquartered at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

The 451st Army Band has performed for American and international dignitaries. Some of their more notable performances include the 50th anniversary of the World War II victory in France, and the 60th anniversary of the World War II liberation of Italy in Rome.

The proposal from a majority of the Geary County Commission to analyze the master agreement for the consolidated Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce was a discussion topic for Junction City commisioners Tuesday night. A recent letter submitted to City officials included the suggestion that agencies under the Chamber umbrella be seperated and operate on their own with their own director and board of directors.

Sentiments ranged from the consolidated Chamber is a good use of City funding and good things have been accomplished, to concern about this issue being brought up during an election year.

City Manager Allen Dinkel has received direction from the City Commission on the next course of action. “As the Commission directed me, I’m going to write a letter to the County saying show us the agreement, the pieces you wanted changed and how would you want to change them?” That would, in turn, give City officials a chance to look at them and possibly have meetings in the future to discuss the issue.

Currently the Chamber of Commerce Activities Division, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, the Economic Development Commission, and the Military Affairs Council operate under the Chamber umbrella.

The Board of Education met Tuesday evening and several topics were on the agenda.

LaDonna Junghans is the new Board President, and Dr. Ferrell Miller is Vice President.

The Board ratified teacher’s contracts for the 2016-2017 school year that included a 2% pay raise.

A 2% pay raise motion was also passed for classified staff, occupational therapists, and administrative salaries for the 2016-2017 school year.

A major, continuing discussion was on creating a new position for a Hiring and Retention Coordinator in the district. This person would be working toward decreasing the subsitute shortage in USD 475.

Dr. Corbin Witt proposed that the Board approve the new position on a trial basis for one year without a secretary for that person.

Board member Carolyn Gaston suggested two options to consider before creating a new position/department:

• take payroll and benefits out of Human Resources to lessen their load and allow them to do the necessary recruitment themselves
• look at contracting an individual to handle recruitment and retention rather than creating a new department in lieu of the budget cuts that affected USD 475

Board member Brian Field says that he is looking for something more concrete in the form of pay for this proposed Recrutiment and Retention Coordinator.

The Board agreed that not enough information was given to them or shown that requires the addition of a new department; the issue was postponed to be discussed again with more information at the August 1st Board of Education meeting.

Board member Tom Brungardt once again spoke out on his displeasure with a provision in the Subsitute Teacher’s Handbook.

According to Brungardt, the handbook states that subsitutes will be paid extra to ‘sub’ during their plan period, but according to Brungardt it doesn’t make clear that subsitutes may be told they have to cover classes that they didn’t sign up for when they accepted the job.  Brungardt further stated that “making” subsitutes cover classes they didn’t agree to when they accepted the job that day may exasterbate the subsitute shortage in the district.

Field, who said that he previously worked as a subsitute, says that most ‘subs’ know that there is a possibility that they may move around throughout the school day and that from experience it wasn’t an issue when those situations arose.  Field says that letting subsitutes know ahead of time that this is a possibility allows teachers to keep their planning period open and not have to move teachers from classrooms.

Brungardt still didn’t like the idea that subsitutes will be made, as he puts it, to cover classes other than what they agreed upon.

The Board approved the Handbook, as is, with a vote of 6 to 1.

Technology fees and textbook charges were shaken up for the 2016-2017 school year.

Dr. Anwar Khoury made a motion for reduced and free students combined textbook/technology charge to be $0, and students that don’t qualify for free or reduced services to pay $40. The motion was passed 4 to 3.

The Budget Review for 2016-2017 showed the effects of the State Legislature’s return to the 2014-15 financing formula for Equity Funding solution that was approved by the State Legislature on June 24, signed in to law by Governor Sam Brownback on June 27, and the Kansas Supreme Court found the 2014-15 financing formula met the Kansas Constitution for equity of funding.

At this point the impact of that legislation on USD 475 is still being processed, but a difference of $307,775 is the estimated tentative loss to the district.

On July 8 the District will participate in State Budget training, and at the August 1st Board Meeting the draft budget will be discussed to get the approval to propose the budget to the public.

On August 2, the proposed budget and hearing date will be provided to the public for a period of 10 days and on August 15 a special Board meeting will be held to approve the proposed budget for 2016-2017.

Per state law, the district must certify the school distric budget and provide to the county clerk by August 25, 2016.

The next monthly Board of Education meeting is August 1, 2016 at 5:00 pm.