TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —Top Republican legislators are accusing the Kansas Supreme Court of issuing its latest education funding ruling to help justices survive attempts to oust them in the November election.

Senate Majority Leader Terry Bruce said Wednesday that he believes the court is trying to shift voters’ attention away from unpopular past decisions that struck down death sentences in capital murder cases.

House Speaker Ray Merrick also said the school funding decision was political.

The court did not respond to a request for comment.

The court on Friday rejected some education funding changes approved by legislators earlier this year and warned that schools won’t reopen if lawmakers don’t make additional fixes to help poor school districts by June 30.

Five of the court’s seven justices face yes-or-no retention votes in November.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) —Republican leaders in the Kansas Senate have abandoned an effort to pass legislation to respond to the state Supreme Court’s latest decision on education funding.

Senate President Susan Wagle and Majority Leader Terry Bruce said there would be no debate Wednesday after it became clear during a meeting of GOP senators that they were deeply split.

The Legislature convened Wednesday for the ceremony formally adjourning its annual session.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback would have to call a special session for lawmakers to approve additional education funding changes. But some GOP senators want to defy the court.

The court on Friday rejected some education funding changes made earlier this year and warned that public schools will be unable to reopen again if legislators don’t act by June 30.

Geary County Emergency Management has announced that Houston Road, a back road to the city of Milford, has reopened. It had been closed due to the high water level at Milford Lake.

 

May 2016 Weather Summary

Geary County Extension Agent Chuck Otte has released his May weather summary for the county.

Just like April, May started out rather dry. But by the end of the month we had above average rainfall. Unlike the previous months of 2016 however,
temperatures were normal, in fact amazingly normal!

The average daily high temperature for May was 72.6 degrees, 2.5 degrees
below normal. The average overnight low for May was 55.3, 2.3 degrees
above normal. This resulted in a monthly mean temperature of 64.0 degrees
which is the normal May mean temperature. The reason that the average
high was 2.5 below normal and the average low was 2.3 above normal, yet
we ended up with a zero deviation from the norm is due to rounding errors. In
reality, anything within one half of a degree of the long term average would
usually be considered normal. The highest temperature in May was 84
degrees on the 11th and the lowest temperature was 42 degrees on the 13th.
There were no daily temperature records set or tied during May. The hottest
May on record was in 1962 when we had monthly mean temperature of 74.3.
The coldest May on record was in 1995 when we had a monthly mean
temperature of 57.8.

Just like April, rainfall was well below average in the first half of the month
and then well above average for the second half of the month. Normal May
rainfall is 4.79 inches. Milford Lake recieved 6.84 inches and Junction City
recieved 7.15 inches. A majority of that rainfall occurred in a five day period
(24th through 28th) when Junction City received 5.90 inches and Milford
Lake 5.82 inches. Given the wide area over which these rains, and
associated severe weather occurred, it´s no surprise that area lakes and
rivers were running full over the Memorial Day weekend! Year to date Milford
Lake has received 13.84 inches and Junction City 13.73 inches. Normal year
to date precipitation through the end of May is 11.85 inches. The wettest May
on record was in 1995 when 17.23 inches of rain flooded the region. The
driest May on record was 2009 when only 0.86 inches of rain fell. While this
year may seem wet, we need to remember that last year we had over 10
inches of rain during May!

June brings us the official start of summer and temperatures tend to reflect
that. Average daily highs during June range from 81 on the 1st to 90 on the
30th. Overnight lows start the month at 58 and by the end of the month reach
67. While we don´t regularly have daily highs in the 100’s, long term records
show that they are possible from about the 9th onward through September.
June is our wettest month of the year with long term average rainfall of 4.80
inches. But those averages can be deceiving. The driest June on record,
1966, received only 0.20 inches of rain and the wettest, 1965, received 11.90
inches. However, since 1931, only five years have seen June rainfall of less
than one inch.

Chuck Otte
County Extension Agent, Ag & Natural Resources

There will be a race for the second district seat on the Geary County Commission.

County Clerk Rebecca Bossemeyer confirmed Wednesday morning that Charles Stimatze, Republican, has filed for election. He will challenge the incumbent candidate, Larry Hicks, Democrat, for the second district seat on the commission.

Stimatze paid the filing fee for his election bid.

Larry Hicks initially filed by petition last Friday, but Bossemeyer confirmed that some signatures were ruled invalid, leaving him without enough valid signatures. “There were a variety of reasons. There were people who were Republican and unaffiliated that signed his petition. You had to be a Democrat because that’s the nomination that he’s seeking. And you also have to live in that county commission district,and there were a number of people who signed it that did not live in the district.”

 

This Saturday, June 4, members of the public can ride a free aTa Bus shuttle provided by the Geary County Convention and Visitors Bureau division of the Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce, between Freeman Field and downtown Junction City.

You can watch the biplanes during the National Biplane Fly In or enjoy Art in the Park in Heritage Park and the car show downtown.

The ata Bus shuttle will be operating between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the half hour between Freeman Field and downtown.

The Victory Celebration at Fort Riley Saturday night will be a prelude to the upcoming Victory Week activities on post.

The celebration begins at 6 p.m. at Rally Point Field on Fort Riley, and will feature live music including a performance by the 1st Infantry Division Band. There will be food, carnival games and fireworks.

Victory Week officially begins with the Victory run around Fort Riley’s Custer Hill at 6:30 a.m. Monday ( June 6 ).

Members of the public are encouraged to attend Victory Week unit sporting events which will begin on Monday with basketball, bowling, softball, soccer, flag football, Danger’s Dash, skeet and trap shoot, arm wrestling, a biathlon, fishing and the Warrior competition. Other sporting events include combatives, weightlifting, a tug of war and the Ten-Miler race.

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY – The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office received two
reports of groups needing assistance on the Kansas River near the St. George Boat Ramp over the past week, according to a media release.

Just before 4:25pm on Saturday, Pottawatomie County Deputies were dispatched to the St. George boat ramp for a report of a female being swept down river. Deputies were told there were
three people upstream about one half mile to the west of the boat ramp who had
gotten stuck in some trees and were stranded.

A fourth person had fallen off a raft after a boat struck a low hanging branch and partially sunk
forcing the three other people on the boat to jump off. That person was
recused by another member of the boating party. The three people stranded
upstream were able to climb the bank to safety. They walked to emergency
units that were responding to the scene.
Pottawatomie County EMS transported to individuals for treatment.

Just after 7 p.m. deputies, the St. George Fire Department and Pottawatomie County EMS were dispatched to the St George boat
ramp for a capsized boat with people in the water.  Most of the
people were able to get to shore.

LT Chris Schmidt was able to throw a rope line and help pull one person from the water. One patient was checked for possible
injuries but no subjects were transported by EMS.

With the recent heavy rainfall in the area, water levels at area rivers and lakes are higher than normal. This leads to faster moving water and an increase in unseen or underwater debris, such as tree limbs, that can damage watercraft and cause injuries. Even experienced boaters need to be aware that current water conditions can become dangerous very quickly and precautions need to be taken for everyone’s safety. Persons wishing to use the river for recreational purposes should consider the hazards that exist with high and fast moving water, in addition the danger caused to the rescue personal going onto the water to rescue the victims.

Geary County Clerk Rebecca Bossemeyer has released information on a new law moving the date to change political parties.

Bossemeyer said registered voters who are affiliated with the Democratic, Libertarian, or Republican Parties may not change their party affiliations between June 1 ( Wednesday ) at noon through August 31.

Registered voters who are affiliated with a political party may not change to unaffiliated during this time period.

Voters are encouraged to check their registration status by one of the following methods.

–Access www.voteks.org by clicking on voter view and then registration information. then enter the county, name, and date of birth, and click on search.

–Call the County Clerk’s Office at 238-3912

The law remains the same for registered voters who are not unaffiliated with a party.

 

MANHATTAN – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating a suspect in connection with illegal drugs.

Just before midnight on May 28, members of the Riley County Police Department conducted a traffic stop in the 2200 block of Seth Child Road in Manhattan and seized approximately 1.7 grams of methamphetamine, 2.4 grams of marijuana, as well as other controlled substances to include illegal prescription drugs, according to a media release.

Numerous items of drug paraphernalia were also located and seized as part of this investigation.

Matthew Schoettle, 26, Junction City was arrested for the offenses of possession of alprazolam with the intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possession of methamphetamine, possession of diazepam, possession of oxycodone, possession of oxycontin, possession of marijuana (at the felony level) and possession of drug paraphernalia (at the felony level). Schoettle was given a bond of $30,000.00 and at the time of this release remained confined at the Riley County Jail.