Dry and mild conditions along with abundant sunshine will continue through the end of the week with highs in the 70s, according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. With an increase in wind speeds on Friday, there will be Very High Fire Danger primarily along and west of a line from Council Grove to Alma to Seneca. This weekend into early next week we will be tracking an approaching storm system that will bring chances for showers and thunderstorms to the region. While there is a chance for some scattered precipitation across central Kansas Sat-Sat. night, the better chances for more widespread precipitation will be during the Sunday through Tuesday timeframe.

Today: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to around 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph.

Friday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy in the evening then becoming mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. Southeast winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 30 mph.

Saturday: Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 70s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s.

Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 70s.

Sunday Night: Rain showers and thunderstorms likely. Lows in the mid 50s. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

Monday: Rain showers and thunderstorms likely. Highs in the upper 60s. Chance of precipitation 70 percent.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the lower 50s.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s.

Wednesday: Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 70.

The ribbon cutting for the new ACE Hardware store in Junction City is scheduled at 11 a.m. Thursday.

The new 12,000 square store is located at 602 Caroline Avenue on the west side of the city.

The business is owned by Scott and Karalee Ridder of Manhattan. They also operate the Midwest Ace Hardware store in Manhattan.

 

GEARY COUNTY- A Wabaunsee County woman was injured in an accident just before 10a.m. on Wednesday in Geary County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Mazda passenger car driven by Veronica Marie Mangiaracino, 46, Alta Vista, was eastbound on Old Highway 18 three miles south of Interstate 70.

The Mazda turned north into the path of 2007 Toyota passenger car driven by Mounir G. El- Aasar, 55, Manhattan, that was southbound on Kansas 177.

The vehicles collided in the northbound lanes.

Mangiaracino was transported to the hospital in Manhattan.

El- Aasar was not injured.

Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

FORT RILEY, Kan. – The commander of the 1st Infantry Division released the following statement today regarding the deaths of two Manhattan residents.

“I was extremely saddened to learn of the death of Ronald and Marlene Montgomery,” said Maj. Gen. Wayne W. Grigsby, commanding general of the 1st
Infantry Division and senior commander of Fort Riley, Kansas. “My deepest
sympathies, and those of the 1st Inf. Div., are with their family and loved
ones during this trying time. We will offer our full cooperation to relevant
law enforcement agencies as they conduct their investigation.”

On April 7, the couple was traveling eastbound on I-70 in the vicinity of
exit 303 when their vehicle was struck by another vehicle driven by a Fort
Riley Soldier.

The Soldier, Sgt. Kevin Runions, was treated and released from Irwin Army
Community Hospital. He is assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th field Artillery
Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Div., and serves as a
healthcare specialist.

The accident remains under investigation.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol accident report, Robert Montgomery, 81, and Marlene Montgomery, 78, were fatality victims stemming from the accident on April 7 at I-70 exit 303. Their vehicle was exiting the interstate and had right of way when another vehicle driven by Runions ran the stop sign at K-18, hitting the Montgomery’s vehicle. After the accident Robert and Marlene Montgomery were transported to Via Christi Hospital.

Bob Copple, an experienced administrative leader in Catholic healthcare, is returning to his roots in Via Christi and in Kansas to become senior administrator for Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan. 

 Since June 2013, Copple has served as president and chief executive officer of CHI’s Memorial Community Hospital & Health System in Blair, Nebraska. Prior to joining Memorial, Copple served as operations leader for campus and system diagnostics at CHI and Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha.

“Our Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan has a strong history of providing high quality healthcare services to the community,” said Todd Conklin, chief operating officer for Via Christi Health. “I am confident that under Bob’s leadership, it will continue to serve this important and growing community with distinction.”

A licensed professional engineer with more than two decades of healthcare leadership experience, Copple served as director of Facilities Management for Via Christi’s Wichita hospitals from 1996 to 2001.

Copple will begin his new role as Manhattan’s administrative leader on May 23, succeeding John Broberg, whose planned retirement was announced in January.

“This move is like going home in a way,” said Copple, who earned both is bachelor’s and a master’s degrees in industrial engineering from Kansas State University. “I am excited to have the opportunity to return to Manhattan, to be closer to a couple of my siblings and their families, and to be part of the university community. My children will be in Manhattan for a few years attending KSU, which is a benefit as well.”

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) – Officials say air conditions that prompted a health advisory from the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department could continue into Thursday.

The advisory says the unhealthy smoke levels are caused by agricultural burns in the Flint Hills area of Kansas and areas in Nebraska east of Beatrice.

The advisory says the problem may last through Thursday because of winds from the south and relatively low wind speeds.

The advisory says older adults and children and people with asthma, lung disease or other respiratory conditions or heart disease to stay indoors and avoid strenuous activity.

WAMEGO- Law enforcement authorities in Pottawatomie County are investigating an alleged theft caught on security cameras.

Just after 3 a.m. on Monday, security cameras at Reed Company, LLC in Wamego, took video of a man in what appears to be a brand new White Chevy Crew Cab Dually pickup took a Mustang 2500 track skid steer, Titan 16 foot Dump Trailer, and an attachment that was on the skid steer from their business parking area, according to police.

The machine was loaded backwards in the trailer, and the trailer’s tailgate was bent on the right side. Loss is estimated at over $69,000

Police in Wamego are asking the public for help with information on the theft.

Fort Riley officials have announced on their Facebook page that USO Fort Riley is accepting donations of household goods which will be shared with Fort Riley families who were impacted by the fire at the Bluffs Apartments in Junction City on Tuesday.