The Junction City Public Works Department has issued a release stating there willbe no trash / garbage pick-up by the City of Junction City on Monday, May 30 due to the Memorial Day holiday.

The trash / garbage pick-up will be picked up the next work day throughout the coming week. for example Monday’s pick-up day will Tuesday, may 31st.

In order to ensure pick-up your trash should be set out by 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

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The Junction City Public Works Department will start their summer schedule hours on Tuesday, May 31.

On May 31 they will be starting at 6:30 a.m. in an effort to overcome the heat during the summer months.

The Corp of Engineers at Milford Lake will be reducing the outflow of the lake to 25 cubic feet per second due to downstream flooding.

There has been extremely heavy rain in Kansas this week which is definetly a factor.

The lake is expected to increase another three to four feet in the lake level.

There is no expected increase in the outflow from Milford until early next week.

By Sarah Wasinger

John Thissen will begin serving in his new leadership role as Superintendent of Schools for Hays USD 489 on July 1. The Board of Education unanimously voted Thissen as the next Superintendent of Schools for USD 489 at the special board meeting held on May 27.

John Thissen is currently serving as Superintendent at USD 487 in Herington, Kansas.

“I am excited and eager to work within the Hays community,” Thissen said. “My experience with Herington’s community revealed how significant a group of people’s combined foresight and effort placed into the betterment of a service organization can create varied tendrils of growth for a town.”

Thissen has served in the role of Superintendent in Herington since 2007. He has also served as the Principal of McPherson Middle School, Great Bend Middle School, and Harrison Junior High School. Thissen also has experience as a college instructor at Barton County Community College and started his career as a seventh and eighth grade science teacher and boys’ and girls’ basketball and track coach at Herington.

Thissen is married to Kelli Thissen, a physical education teacher and a graduate of Fort Hays State University. The couple has two grown children, Chelsi Myer and Camron Thissen. Thissen earned his District Administration licensure from Kansas State University and obtained his Building Administration license, Curriculum and Instruction License, and Biology Sciences License from Emporia State University.

Thissen is currently a member of the Herington Civic Club and the Herington Economic Development Committee. He established the New Life for Teen Parents board in 1991 and has been a coach, YMCA board member, Boy Scout pack leader, and a supporter of his local Chamber of Commerce.

“The comprehensive, yet quick, tours I recently received of the Hays school buildings clearly identified needs, not wants. It appears that this June, or in the next couple years, the Hays community will inevitably be financially supporting some kind of facility improvement plan,” Thissen said.

“I believe the real challenge will be making sure that those people leading the process will make responsible decisions, resulting in even those not happy with increased taxes saying, in the end, that what was accomplished was good.”

“Although current media can create confusion on how much support public education receives, we are within a time of great curriculum offerings and opportunities for students,” Thissen said. “Hays Schools are positioned to prepare their children for a work world quite different from the one we now reside. It is a wonderful venture when a group of people work together in a system with the sole purpose of making children’s lives as promising as possible. I am honored and humbled to be allowed this opportunity to serve the Hays community, and I will be a loyal and committed steward of education.”

Board president Lance Bickle said, “The board is extremely pleased that Mr. John Thissen accepted the position for Superintendent of schools for USD 489. We had many great candidates that we were able to speak with but truly felt John was a great match for the district moving forward.”

“John really stood out with both the staff as well as the board with his clear vision, genuine desire, and his commitment to lead USD 489. Mr. Thissen brings experience, leadership and a great passion for our students and the community here in Hays. We are very excited to work with Mr. Thissen as we continue to focus on making USD 489 that best it can be,” Bickle said.

The USD 489 Board of Education selected Thissen out of four candidates that were interviewed by the board over the last two weeks. USD 489 is pleased to welcome John and his wife Kelli to Hays.

The Kansas State University College of Education is hosting a suicide prevention conference next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The 2016 Counselors Can conference will feature the Kansas Commissioner of Education, Randy Watson; whom will be presenting “A New Vision for Kansas – New and Critical Roles for School Counselors”.

John Hughey, Kansas Sate University professor of Special Education, counseling and student affairs and 2016 Kansas Counselor of the Year, said this year’s conference is exceeding all expectations with a “30 percent increase in attendees”.

One of the “especially meaningful” portions of the conference according to Hughey is because of Clark Flatt’s presentation and this year’s passage of the Jason Flatt Act by the Kansas Legislature.

The law goes into effect on January 1, 2017 and requires local school boards in each school district to offer free, online suicide awareness and prevention training and notify parents or guardians that training materials are available.

According to Hughey, one person dies by suicide every 20 hours and suicide is the 0th leading cause of death in the state of Kansas.  For Kansans aged 10 to 34, suicide is the second largest cause of death.

The “counselor camp” will be Tuesday, May 31st and Wednesday, June 1st at the Hilton Garden Inn in Manhattan.

More than 80 Kansas State University students, faculty, and alumni are the newest members of Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest and most prestigious all-discipline honor societies.

Phi Kappa Phi recognizes and promotes academic excellence in all fields of higher education and engages the community of scholars in service to others.

Sarah Slagle, of Junction City, whom is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Special Education was amongst those initiated.

From Manhattan, the initiates included:  Alexandria Dunlap, Gary S. Fees, Alyssa Q. Jackson, Andrew Kohls, Andrew Llewelyn, Nicholas Lundeen, Ashley N. Messick, Emma A. Miller, Joshua Richards, Erika Schmitt, Susan Whitaker, and Maxwell Wright.

The new initiates for spring 2016 are second semester juniors in the upper 7.5% of their class, seniors in the upper 10% of their class, or outstandig graduate students in the top 10% of their class.

Per Vicky Spurlock, cit of Junction City Public Works:

Utility crews are currently repairing a water main break in the 700 block of West Pine and South Sheridan.

Residents can expect periods of low water pressure or no water for the next 6-8 hours for repairs.

CHAPMAN, Kan. (AP) — Residents in northern Kansas are cleaning up the damage from an EF4 tornado that ripped through the rural area earlier this week.

Tom and Janet Whitehair’s Dickinson County home was among about 20 homes damaged or destroyed by the half-mile-wide tornado that was on the ground for about 90 minutes Wednesday night. No serious injuries or fatalities were reported.

Whitehair told the Topeka Capital-Journal he and his wife are “lucky to be alive.”

The National Weather Service says the tornado had wind speeds up to 180 mph. Most of the damage was in Dickinson County, but two homes were also damaged in Ottawa County, where the twister began.

Dickinson County administrator Brad Homman says some residents had minor injuries, and ranchers are also reporting missing livestock, horses and pets.