Geary County Commission Chair Florence Whitebread said this week the consolidated Junction City Area Chamber of Commerce has been a big disappointment.

Whitebread spoke for herself as one commission and not for the entire governing body. “All I can say is my own thoughts, and I think in five years we’ve seen nothing happen. And it’s been a very big disappointment, and I see a number of issues, and so I think it’s something we’re looking at very strongly.”

Whitebread added right now she is looking at dissolving the consolidastion, adding the County would have to submit a letter to the Chamber of Commerce by July 1. “I’m hoping we’ll have some kind of letter out, at least some kind of response to it, yes.

The combined organization includes the Chamber of Commerce, EDC, Military Affairs Council and Convention and Visitor’s Bureau under one umbrella and under one roof.

County Commissioner Ben Bennett expressed a completely different viewpoint about the consolidation than Whitebread. “I was in on it to begin with. There’s some accusations and some concerns by some public figures that there have been some problem with the operation. I think some of that is erroneous, and I hope it can be backed up by actual facts, and I think the Chamber officers and board are working on that at this point. And I will support that.”

Prior to consolidation the different organizations in the Chamber operated seperately.

 

MANHATTAN — Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solís will give a Landon Lecture at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19, in Forum Hall in Kansas State University’s Student Union. The lecture is free and the public is invited.

Solís will polish off the busy semester as the fourth Landon Lecture in spring 2016 with an extensive background in education and politics. Before being elected president of Costa Rica in 2014, Solís’ political experience included serving as an official of Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as ambassador for Central American affairs and director of foreign policy.

“President Solís’ experience in education and politics will provide a stimulating finish to this semester’s distinguished Landon Lecture Series, which has a history of bringing many international leaders to the university,” said Jackie Hartman, the university’s chief of staff, director of community relations and chair of the Landon Lecture Series.

Solís was an associate professor of history at the University of Costa Rica from 1981-1987, serving as a Fulbright scholar at the University of Michigan from 1983-1985. He also worked at Florida Atlantic University where he was coordinator of the Center for the Administration Justice and a researcher for the Latin American and Caribbean Center. He studied history at the University of Costa Rica and earned a master’s degree in Latin American studies from Tulane University. Solís has published more than 10 books and written many articles for newspapers and magazines.

Solís will be the second Costa Rican president to give a Landon Lecture, joining Oscar Arias Sanchez who spoke in 1987.

Source Jackie Hartman on ksu.edu.

The co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Phil Dixon will talk about the Kansas City Monarchs during an appearance at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library in Junction City on May 22 at 1:30 p.m..

The Monarchs were founded in 192o, and were not only charter members of the Negro National League but they were the first professional team to use outdoor lighting. They sent more players to the major leagues than any other Negro League franchise.

During his presentation Dixon will highlight players such as Wilbur “Bullet” Rogan, Satchel Paige, and Jackie Robinson. The program is sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council.

Dixon is the author of nine books on baseball.

 

 

Utility crews are currently repairing a water main break at Sheridan St. & W. Pine St in Junction City.

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

Scattered light rain showers will continue this morning across portions of east central KS before drying out by late morning or early afternoon. Cloudy skies will prevail today, but these clouds may scatter out some this afternoon, especially across north central KS, resulting in afternoon highs in the upper 50s to mid 60s. Conditions will briefly dry out tonight through Wednesday before the next chances for showers and isolated thunderstorms returns to the region during the Thursday through Friday time-frame.

Today: Cloudy. Highs in the lower 60s. Northeast winds 5 to 15 mph.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 40s. Northeast winds up to 10 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds up to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 40s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday: Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the lower 50s.

Friday: Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of showers 50 percent.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 50s.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.

Sunday: Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 60s.

Monday: Partly sunny with a 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 80.

The Junction City Public Works Director Ray Ibarra has reported the City traffic signal at 6th and Garfield is not working due to electrical problems with the wiring.

The intersection will be a 4-way stop until the wiring gets replaced which should be completed by the end of business Tuesday, weather permitting.

The Annual Stakeholder meeting for Milford Lake was held earlier this month where the current state of the lake as well as last year’s figures were discussed.

“We really just wrapped up the 2015 season and talked about the algae impacts we had, let everyone know what KDHE has in store for the upcoming season,” said Project and Operations Manager for the Corps of Engineers at Milford Lake R.J. Harms.

One concern for many was the zebra mussel population and how that will affect the safety of lake goers.  Zebra mussels can cause injury upon impact and live a short lifespan so they build up in the water.

“We have an eb and flow with the population; it will build up and then it drops off and it seems like we’re in a downcycle of the zebra mussels right now,” said Harms.

When asked about the inflow levels Harms said, “We have had some inflows in the lake, we are about three feet high right now and we were about one foot below normal all spring and most of the winter – so we’ve had about four feet of inflow…but we’re in pretty good shape.”

One improvement to look forward to is the grant partnership to build a new loading dock and shelter at the ORB area.