Junction City police included multiple arrests on their Tuesday morning tour log report.

–Kodie L. Glidewell, 18, Junction City, on suspicion of Aggravated Indecent Liberties With a Child. The arrest occurred at 2220 Prospect Circle.

–Shane D. price, 21, Junction City, on two counts each of suspicion of Identity Theft and Criminal Use of a Financial Card.

–Darian K. White Jr., 19, Junction City on suspicion of violation of a No Contact Order.

–Trey D. Peters, 22, CouncilGrove and William K. Mitchell, 23, Junction City, on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana. They were arrested at 1060 Cedar Street.

The Red Cross Blood Drive is in day two ( Tuesday ) at the Junction City Municipal Auditorium. It runs until 1 p.m.  Walk-ins are welcome or you can call 1-800-RED CROSS for an appointment.

On Monday 71 units were collected, exceeding the goal of 63 that had been set.

Dry and windy conditions are in store yet again today across northeast Kansas. With many locations seeing temperatures around 80 degrees, it will be also be a well above normal early spring day by about 20 degrees! Please remember not to burn due to the favorable conditions for fires to spread out of control.

Tonight: Breezy. Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 50s. South winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 40 mph.

Wednesday: Breezy…cooler. Mostly sunny. Slight chance of rain showers and isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the upper 60s. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph.

Wednesday Night: Breezy. Much colder. Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain in the evening…then chance of snow after midnight. Lows in the lower 30s. Northwest winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.

Thursday: Cooler…sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s.

Friday: Warmer. Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 60s.

Friday Night: Not as cool. Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the lower 40s.

Saturday: Cooler. Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 50s.

Saturday Night: Colder. Mostly cloudy with a 40 percent chance of rain and snow. Lows around 30.

Sunday: Mostly sunny with slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 50s.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers. Lows in the mid 30s.

Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) – A growing number of states are weighing whether to legalize marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. But for many veterans, the debate is already over.

They’re increasingly using cannabis even though it remains illegal in most states and is unapproved by the Department of Veterans Affairs because major studies have yet to show it is effective against PTSD.

While the research has been contradictory and limited, some former members of the military say marijuana helps them manage their anxiety, insomnia and nightmares. They say prescription drugs weren’t effective or left them feeling like zombies.

Others, though, have seen little benefit from pot. And the VA has documented a troubling rise in the number of PTSD-afflicted veterans who have been diagnosed with marijuana dependence, which some experts say can hamper recovery from war trauma.

Geary County Commissioner Florence Whitebread reported on Monday that Economic Development Director Greg Miller planned to travel to Ottawa, Kansas yesterday ( Monday ) to visit about the Main Street Program. “They are interested in bringing that back to Junction City, if that’s a possibility.”

Whitebread noted advantages of the program could range from making grants available to notoriety.  She noted a lot of things go along with the program. “I know there’s several communities in Kansas that has had them and has improved their looks. They’ve addressed some appearances of the city and so forth with it.”

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY- Fire crews across Kansas were busy with grass fires on Monday. Forty acres burned in Pottawatomie County after controlled burns rekindled near the intersection of Elm Slough and Rockenham Road, according to a social media report.

Fire crews also were busy with a large grass fire in Greenwood County where a portion of U.S. 400 was temporarily closed.

Another mile long fire in Butler County was extinguished just before 7 p.m. on Monday.

No injuries were reported. Fire officials continue to monitor areas of recent controlled burns while most of the state remains under a red flag warning or fire weather watch.

MANHATTAN – A fire in Manhattan damaged two homes on Monday and caused thousands of dollars in damage.

Just after 3 p.m., the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 520 Stone Pointe and found a fire on the rear exterior of the home and quickly knocked down the fire, according to a media release.

Two occupants of the structure were home at the time of the fire and were able to exit without injury prior to arrival of fire crews.

A total of 22 firefighters responded on 8 fire apparatus.
The residence of 520 Stone Pointe received an estimated loss of $10,000 to the contents with $20,000 to the structure. The owner is listed as Manhattan Capital LLC of Lenexa, Kansas. The four occupants of this address are displaced and being assisted by Red Cross.

The residence of 522 Stone Pointe received an estimated loss of $5,000 to the contents with $10,000 to the structure. The owner is listed as Ian Holman of Manhattan. The occupant of this address is displaced and also being assisted by Red Cross.
The cause of the fire was determined to accidental due to an electrical issue.

So far Geary County has avoided problems with grass fires on the recent dry, windy days.

Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges reported there was one minor fire reported on Monday. An unattended campfire near Smith Road off J-Hill burned a small amount of grass. Firefighters had it under control in about 10 minutes.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has sent back to committee a school funding bill that would redistribute some state education dollars to help poor school districts.

The measure senators returned on a voice vote is a response to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last month. The court said a 2015 school funding law has shorted poor schools on their fair share of the state’s $4 billion-plus in annual aid to its 286 local districts.

The court gave lawmakers until June 30 to fix the problems and threatened to keep schools closed if they didn’t meet the deadline.

The bill would redistribute about $38 million in education funding during the 2016-17 school year. It would increase the state aid for 100 districts but reduce funding for 186 districts.

Funding shortfalls at the state level are trickling down to KSU Extension.

Geary County Commission Chair Florence Whitebread confirmed on Monday that the Geary County Extension Office will be required to remit state funds back to Kansas State University and on back to the State. “They think it’s going to amount to, like, $2,500. So far that’s the amount.”

Whitebread noted the Geary County Extension Office does have some money in their capital outlay fund that they can use. She stated, “But if  the State keeps asking for these funds back it’s going to get hard on the agencies.” Whitebread added the available funds in capital outlay mean the local extension office will not have to make any cuts.