BILL DRAPER, Associated Press
MELISSA HELLMANN, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Navy veteran seeking to get five of his children back from state custody in Kansas says his use of medical marijuana to treat PTSD — not the family’s past scrapes with the law in Riley County — prompted the state’s action.

Raymond Schwab has campaigned on the Statehouse steps to get his children back, and drawn national attention as medical marijuana proponents describe the case as an example of government overreach.

Schwab ended a hunger strike protest Wednesday after lawsuit was filed against the state of Kansas in the ongoing dispute.

State officials have declined to specify why the children were removed, but say Schwab isn’t telling the truth about it being because of marijuana.

Police and court documents show that in the five months before it occurred, Schwab’s wife was arrested for domestic battery and hospitalized for mental health issues, and police were called to their home for a domestic disturbance.

Today will be partly cloudy with highs reaching into the low 60s according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. There is a chance for some scattered showers this afternoon mainly north of I-70. Slight cool down Friday before a warm up this weekend. Dry conditions and gusty winds Sunday may lead to elevated fire concerns.

Today: Cooler. Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Tonight: Colder. Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Friday: Sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s. West winds 5 to 10 mph.

Saturday: Not as cool. Sunny. Highs in the mid 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Saturday Night: Clear. Lows in the upper 30s.

Sunday: Warmer…sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s.

Monday: Cooler…sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.

Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 70.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 40s.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

The Junction City Commission has approved an ordinance for new flood plain regulations.

The Planning and Zoning Director, David Yearout, said that was a prerequisite for getting new flood plain maps for all the county that would become effective April 5. The Geary County Commission had already approved the regs.

Yearout said the only change for the County is the new effective date of the maps….April 5, 2016. “For the City mandatory language from FEMA and DWR required as part of the flood plain management regulations, now the City’s regulations are identical to those of the County with respect to what’s required when someone comes in and wants to get a building permit to do something in an area designated in a flood area.”

The Geary County Democrats will meet on Thursday, April 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the Dorothy Bramlage Public Library.  Shelley Dunham, Morris County Democratic Chairperson, will present information about the The Field Plan of the Kansas Democratic Party. 

The purpose of this plan is to recruit Democrats to volunteer in the 2016 Election.  Other agenda items include Democratic caucus report, legislative update, voter registration, recruitment of Precinct Men and Women, and Vote Builder training on April 16. 

All interested Democrats are invited to attend.  Please contact Shelley Hoyle Kite at 785-238-6222 or tandskite@cox.net for further information.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection is holding a recruitment fair at Fort Riley March 31 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Building 210 at Custer Road in Rooms 118C and 118D.

The event is designed for personnel leaving the Army and interested in a
career with the border patrol.

Recruitment managers will meet with and interview those interested in
positions as officers, agents and specialists.

For more information, call the Soldier for Life / Transition Assistance
Program office at 785-239-2248.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Manhattan Foundation is receiving a $6 million donation from a couple’s estate.

The Manhattan Mercury  reports that the gift from the estate of Dorothy and Lincoln Diehl is the first installment in what could add up to more than $11 million for the Greater Manhattan Community Foundation.

A news release says the Diehls established two funds with the foundation. One supports Kansas State University’s Beach Museum of Art and another is a donor-advised fund to support community charitable causes focusing on the arts, youth and basic human needs. The estate gift will be added to the donor-advised fund.

The Diehls moved to Manhattan in 1979 to work at Kansas State after spending several years teaching abroad in a variety of countries including Turkey, Egypt, Iran and Ethiopia.

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department worked two non-injury accidents on Tuesday.

–Deputies responded to K-177 where Dillon Henry had been driving a Pontiac Grand AM. A deer crossed in front of his vehicle. The car struck the deer causing minor damage to the front of the vehicle. Henry was not hurt.

–Deputies responded to US 77 where Walter Brown of Junction City had been traveling south in a Toyota Tacoma when the vehicle struck a deer. Brown was not injured.

Some scattered thunderstorms are possible this morning before the threat for severe weather increases this afternoon and evening according to the National Weather Service of Topeka. Small details such as surface winds and moisture will play a great role in the severe potential of any storms that do form. For now, the best chances for storms remains east of a Washington to Herington line between 5-10pm. Large hail, strong winds, and an isolated tornado or two are possible. Stay weather aware today and be prepared.

Tonight: Colder. Partly cloudy. Slight chance of rain showers and thunderstorms in the evening…then slight chance of rain showers after midnight. Lows in the mid 40s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph with gusts to around 20 mph shifting to the northwest 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Thursday: Cooler. Partly sunny with slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 60s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 30s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Friday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 50s. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 30s.

Saturday: Warmer…sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.

Saturday Night: Clear. Lows around 40.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s.

Monday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s.

Monday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 30s.

Tuesday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s

LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. officials say the Pentagon will be deploying an armored brigade combat team to Eastern Europe next February as part of the ongoing effort to rotate troops in and out of the region to reassure allies worried about threats from an increasingly aggressive Russia.

The officials say the Army will announce Wednesday that it will be sending a full set of equipment with the brigade to Europe. Earlier plans had called for the Pentagon to rotate troops into Europe, where they would use a set of training equipment that had been pre-positioned there.

There are about 4,500 soldiers in an armored brigade, along with dozens of heavy vehicles, tanks and other equipment.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the announcement publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.