The Grandview Plaza Police Department has reported the arrest of two people on drug related charges.
They include:
–Jada Pachea Barnett, 18, Grandview Plaza, suspicion of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Paraphernalia, Contributing to the Misconduct of a Minor, and Permitting a Public Nuisance.
–A juvenile on suspicion of Distribution of Marijuana and Possession of Paraphernalia.
The Junction City Police Department tour log report includes the arrest of:
–Michael Strong, 52, Junction City, suspicion of DUI / Accident, at 7:18 p.m. Saturday in the 600 block of North Garfield Street.
–Walter Martin Perez, 33, Junction City, suspicion of DUI, at 1:17 a.m. Sunday, 100 West 7th Street.
The Police Department also reported the arrest of Jeremiah Warren, 18, Junction City, on suspicion of Theft of a Firearm from a previous case, 11:06 p.m. Saturday, at 624 South Washington Street.
Junction City Police have reported the arest of three people Saturday afternoon on drug related charges in the 100 block of South Washington Street.
They include Derrell D. Wilmer, 29, Junction City, on suspicion of Sale of Marijuana, Criminal Possession of Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and No Drug Tax Stamp, Andrea L. Guesby, 29, Junction City, Sale of Marijuana Within 1,000 Feet of a School, and No Drug Tax Stamp, and Jasmine Marie Jackson, 21, Junction City, Possession of Cocaine.
The arrests were reported at 12:44 p.m. Saturday.
Kansas legislators have agreed on a sweeping measure that would overhaul the juvenile justice system by offering community-based services to juvenile offenders.
The Senate Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice has voted to close group homes for juvenile offenders in July 2018. The bill also proposes to create a team to review cases with the input of families and educators.
Geary County Attorney Steve Opat said it’s destructive of the juvenile justice system as it exists now. “There’s apparently a push, and I don’t know where it comes from to realign and do away with the system as we know it. I guess the thought is that it’s too onerous, too cumbersome, too introspective in terms of how we manage juveniles in our justice system”
Opat also added. “I frankly think the underlying reason is that the state thinks it’ll save them about $8 million, although nobody is coming right out to say that. And that’s not a sufficient reason to do what’s being proposed.”
Opat feels the proposal will remove any control, supervision or guidance over juveniles as it is currently known. He conveyed his thoughts on the matter to officials in the Legislature. He also confirmed the county attorney’s he has talked to in Kansas are lobbying against the proposal.
The full Senate is expected to vote on the bill by this week.
The annual Storm Spotter / Severe Weather Awareness Training meeting is scheduled Monday, March 7 in Geary County.
It will begin at 7 p.m. at the 4-H / Senior Center at 1025 South Spring Valley Road.
The meeting is conducted by the National Weather Service – Topeka office, and sponsored by Geary County Emergency Management.
The public is invited to attend. There is no cost.
Firefighters and environmentalists attended a 6-day conference at Fort Riley.
By Maria Childs
1st Inf. Div. Post
“Deploy!” shouted a wildland fire instructor from Colorado State University
as five firefighters raced toward him.
The 25-second clock began at the start of the command for all five of them
including Adam Peterson, a Fort Riley firefighter, who was now in the middle
of the field practicing the use of his emergency shelter for a wildland fire
course Feb. 10.
Peterson was one of about 25 firefighters and environmentalists who attended
the 6-day course offered at Fort Riley.
“It’s a lot different than structural firefighting,” Peterson said. “A lot
of the time, when you respond to a structural fire, you don’t know all the
hazards until you get inside. With wildland fires, everything is in the open
– it’s right there. It’s a different type of methodology behind fighting
structural and wildland fires.”
Firefighters across the nation are certifying in multiple types of
firefighting. Installation Management Command has decided to jump on board
with this standardization and certify Department of Defense firefighters in
multiple areas.
Steve Gray, one of the instructors who visited Fort Riley, talks to a local
representative from fire stations across the United States and makes plans
to provide the course to that installation’s firefighters. He said the
standardization is for safety.
“I think the number one reason is safety,” Gray said. “It’s a foundation
that every wildland firefighter starts from.fire still burns like fire
burns.”
Vicki Edge, another instructor and Georgia State firefighter, said
firefighters get the chemistry of firefighting from their educational
background and their structural world, but that doesn’t mean they know how
to fight any fire.
“They just need to know how to apply it to a wildland fire,” Edge said.
Dan Grosboll, a fish and wildlife biologist from Joint Base Louis-McChord in
Washington, visited Fort Riley to obtain the certification. At his
installation, he is responsible for executing prescribed burns for habitat
management. Each year, he reviews the standards of wildlife fires including
using his emergency shelter, but he said it was great to be reminded in an
atmosphere with firefighters who brought a new perspective for him.
“It is a great refresher in all the basic wildland fire techniques,”
Grosboll said. “Most of it was a review for me.”
Being new to Fort Riley, Peterson said this training is very useful because
the fire department executes many prescribed burns and knowing how to manage
the fire is very important because of the grassland.
“The mission here is a lot different than some other bases,” Peterson said.
“We have ranges so wildland fires are prevalent specifically at Fort Riley.
This covers anything from prescribed burns to instances where it is not a
planned burn.”
Peterson has all of his certification except wildland firefighting. He said
it was nice to have the class at Fort Riley because he was familiar with the
land.
“The people that have the knowledge of the wildland mission are here,”
Peterson said. “Even though it was put on by someone outside of Fort Riley,
all the people are familiar with the mission here at Fort riley are here, so
I get to learn on two fronts.”
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s. North winds around 5 mph.
Sunday: Cooler…sunny. Highs in the upper 50s. North winds 5 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers. Lows in the upper 30s.
Tuesday: Mostly cloudy with slight chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 50s.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s.
Wednesday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 20s.
Thursday: Sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s.
Friday: Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.
Junction City police have reported the arrest of a 34-year old Junction City man, David Huffman, on their Saturday tour log report.
Huffman was arrested on suspicion of Aggravated Battery, Aggravated Child Abuse, and Assault.
—
Police reported the arrest of David Butler Jr., 36, Junction City on suspicion of Criminal Damage to Property ( Domestic ). The arrest occurred just after 10:30 p.m. Friday in the 100 block of West 14th Street.
—
Police also reported the arrest of Gabriel Berumen, 35, Junction City, on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence and Driving Without Headlights. The arrest was reported at 2:23 a.m. Saturday in the 300 block of West 6th Street.
Dear Faculty and Staff,
Greetings from Anderson Hall! While this is a bit early in the month for my “Dear Colleague” letter, I want to keep the university community informed as we work to finalize our budget for this year and prepare our budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Quite frankly, this news is not the best.
Taking into account multiple demands on our budget, we will be taking the following immediate actions:
• A one-time, 2 percent general use callback will be instituted for each administrative and academic unit at K-State for the remainder of fiscal year 2016.
• Unit heads will be asked to prepare several options for general use base reductions between 2 and 4 percent for fiscal year 2017.
What brought us to this point where we have to look at budget cuts? There are five major factors that have all contributed to our need for internal reallocations:
• Stagnant State General Fund Budget: In my seven years as K-State president, the State General Fund, or SGF, allocations to K-State have either remained flat or decreased each year. In prior years, we were able to use tuition rate increases to offset a stagnant SGF allocation. But, with the tuition cap in place, this is simply not possible.
• Legislative Tuition Cap: The Kansas Legislature capped tuition rate increases at the Consumer Price Index plus 2 percent, which severely limits our flexibility to generate new revenue.
• Decrease in Institutional Fund Balances: Over the past several years, we have depended on institutional reserve funds generated from enrollment increases to insulate the university community from budget cuts. As these funds have been “spent down,” we no longer have sufficient central reserves to backfill where needed.
• Increased Utility Costs: We continue to invest in our academic infrastructure with new construction and much-needed renovation of existing buildings. The energy efficiencies implemented over the past several years have resulted in a cost reduction per square foot on electricity. That said, we are still experiencing rate increases and adding a substantial amount of additional space with new construction. Along with the chill plant debt service payment beginning this fiscal year, the overall result is a significant shortfall in the utilities budget.
• University Enrollment and Credit Hour Decline: Enrollment is the lifeblood of our university, and we have worked hard to produce eight consecutive years of record enrollment. Increased tuition funds were used for salary increases, scholarship enhancements, increased utility and health care costs, hiring additional faculty and staff and offsetting state general fund reductions. We are proud that the fall 2015 entering class is the most diverse and academically gifted in our history. However, like many post-secondary institutions in the nation, our enrollment decreased this year in all major categories: domestic undergraduate and graduate students, distance education students and international students. We had a not-so-perfect storm of all being down at the same time.
So, what actions are we taking to ensure we don’t find ourselves in a similar position a year from now?
• We are working diligently to get the tuition cap removed for fiscal year 2018. The Kansas Board of Regents has responsibility for setting tuition and fees, and we need that authority restored. The need for differential tuition also is being considered.
• We are exploring a number of strategic initiatives throughout the university community that will be closely examined and vetted by the University Budget Advisory Committee.
• We have an Enrollment Management Task Force working hard to help develop a plan as we move forward.
• We need to find ways to match revenues to needs and spending. We will keep everyone informed about developments and continue to be transparent as it relates to budget initiatives.
Unfortunately for higher education, the budgetary challenges we are facing are not unique to K-State and also are affecting some of our nation’s most prestigious public universities. The chancellor of the nation’s top-ranked public research university, the University of California at Berkeley, recently announced they are running a $150 million per year deficit and will have to substantially change the way they do business.
When budget cuts occur, there is always significant consternation about the effects these cuts will have on faculty and staff, as well as our core university missions of teaching, research and service. K-State is finishing nearly a decade of being asked “to do more with less.” While it is easy to be discouraged, I remind myself each day that we will all continue to work hard to ensure our students have the same great experience at K-State that they have had for more than 150 years.
Again, I thank all of you for what you do each day and greatly appreciate your dedication to excellence. I look forward to sharing more information in the coming weeks.
Regards,
Kirk
The fixed routes for the public transportation service provided by aTa bus are expected to be in place in March in Junction City and Grandview Plaza.
aTa Bus board member Florence Whitebread said the routes will cover approximately 85% of Junction City. “Once this is up and going there will be a lot of publicity on it. ”
Right now in Junction City and Grandview Plaza you can make appointments to ride on aTa Bus, but fixed routes are not yet available. Whitebread estimated they would probably start by the second week of March.
Last month there were more than 1,000 bus riders in Geary County using aTa Bus through the appointment system.