REPUBLIC-WASHINGTON-MARSHALL-NEMAHA-BROWN-CLOUD-CLAY-RILEY-POTTAWATOMIE-JACKSON-JEFFERSON-OTTAWA-DICKINSON-GEARY-MORRIS-WABAUNSEE-SHAWNEE-DOUGLAS-LYON-OSAGE-FRANKLIN-COFFEY-ANDERSON-
346 AM CST FRI FEB 19 2016

…RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 5 PM CST
THIS AFTERNOON FOR LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES…GUSTY WINDS AND
CRITICAL FUELS FOR FIRE WEATHER ZONES

* WIND…WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS BETWEEN 15 AND 25 MPH…WITH GUSTS
TO AROUND 35 MPH THIS MORNING WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH THROUGH
THE AFTERNOON HOURS TO 10 TO 20 WITH GUSTS OF 25 MPH.

* HUMIDITY…MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITY VALUES WILL RANGE FROM THE MID TEENS TO NEAR 20 PERCENT LATE THIS MORNING AND THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS.

* IMPACTS…ANY FIRES THAT DEVELOP WILL LIKELY SPREAD RAPIDLY.
OUTDOOR BURNING IS NOT RECOMMENDED.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS
ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW…OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF
STRONG WINDS…LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY…AND WARM TEMPERATURES MAY
LEAD TO EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR.

The Junction City Police Department has reported the arrest of a 26-year old Junction City man, Joshua Edward Stepney, on suspicion of Aggravated Battery.

The arrest occurred at 5;12 p.m. Thursday at Handy’s at 1101 Whitney.

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Police reported that 39-year old Gary Lerenzo Cunningham, Junction City, was arrested on suspicion of Interference With a Law Enforcement Officer.

That arrest occurred at McDonalds at 416 West Sixth Street at 10:36 p.m. Thursday.

One area state senator, Jeff Longbine, does not support a plan that would balance the state’s fiscal 2017 budget, avoiding a $200 million shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

The plan was developed by three senators and three house members. Longbine said he does not support the measure. “It continued to take one-time money. I think there were some over estimations of possible revenue sources, some under estimation of expenses. It leaves virtually no ending balance in 2016, somewhere around between six and seven million dollars. I think the ending balance in ’17’ i inadequate. So I was unable to support that bill.”

The plan also did not add $54 million in extra money for public schools in response to a Kansas Supreme Court decision striking down an education funding law.

A proposed Kansas House bill would require a property tax levy for community college satellite campuses.

According to Geary County Commission Chair Florence Whitebread if the measure passes up to two mills could be levied. “Which would be like Cloud County or Barton or any of those that have  here. And they could levy up to two mills for construction, for work. ” Whitebread added the measure reads the mills could be used for educational programs.

Final action has not occurred on the proposal.

 

 

 

The American Red Cross will be hosting a blood drive on Fort Riley next week.

The blood drive will be Tuesday, Feb. 23 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Fort Riley Division Headquarters – Building 580, and Wednesday, Feb. 24 from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. at In Processing , 208 Custer.

To schedule an appointment online go to www.redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-733-2767.

Story courtesy Jennifer Tidball on ksu.edu.

MANHATTAN — After decades of searching, scientists recently detected gravitational waves from the collision of two black holes — a discovery that confirms Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.

Lado Samushia, a Kansas State University assistant professor of physics, has studied dark energy and Einstein’s theory of general relativity. His research uses 3-D maps of galaxy distribution to study the properties of dark energy. He uses these maps to study properties of gravitational interactions and check whether Einstein’s theory of general relativity is a correct theory of gravity.

Name: Lado SamushiaSamushia discusses the importance of the discovery of gravitational waves and what it means for the field of physics.

Description of expertise: Kansas State University assistant professor of physics and cosmology researcher

Comments/quotes:
Describe the discovery. What does it mean?
On Sept. 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, or LIGO, detected tiny periodic distortions in the spacetime continuum using advanced detectors located at the Hanford site in Richmond, Washington, and Livingston, Louisiana. The only plausible explanation of this detection is that gravitational waves created during the merger of two distant black holes passed through both detectors. These types of signals are extremely weak. LIGO detected length variations of 20 picometers, which is less than the diameter of a helium atom.

How does this discovery relate to Einstein’s theory of general relativity?
Einstein published his revolutionary work on general relativity in 1915. General relativity is a physical theory of spacetime and gravitation. One of the many predictions of general relativity is that if massive objects move with acceleration, they will create “ripples of curvature” that move at the speed of light. LIGO directly detected these ripples — gravitational waves — for the first time, which provides experimental confirmation of general relativity.

Why is this discovery important?
The discovery experimentally confirms another theoretical prediction of general relativity. It also provides evidence that massive black holes exist. The exact profile of the signal could only be generated by two black holes of roughly 30 solar masses merging about 400 megaparsecs — or 8 sextillion miles — from the Earth.

What does this discovery mean for the field of physics?
Astrophysical observations originally were made using only visible light. Technological advancements in the late 20th century allowed us to see the universe in other frequency windows, such as radio-waves, microwaves, gamma rays, X-rays, ultraviolet and infrared. Gravitational waves provide yet another window into the universe. Unlike light, gravitational waves can pass through matter without being significantly scattered. We will be able to study properties of binary black holes that are otherwise invisible since they do not emit light.

What else should we know?
The European Space Agency is discussing a space-based gravitational wave detector. The Evolved Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or eLISA, is a proposed space mission with a launch date of 2034. The concept consists of three spacecraft that are arranged as an equilateral triangle with arms that are millions of kilometers long. Gravitational waves can be detected by observing periodic variations in the distance between the arms. eLISA will be sensitive to much lower frequency gravitational waves compared to LIGO and should be able to detect many events coming from binary stars in our galaxy, binary black holes in other galaxies and compact objects orbiting supermassive black holes.

Fort Riley stocked the last load of rainbow trout for the season this week.

Officials have reported that 6,800 trout were put into Cameron Springs and Moon Lake for the season, which began November 1 and runs through April 15.

 

Windy conditions Thursday and Friday can make travel difficult. Some gusts will hit 50 miles per hour.

Garry Berges, Geary County Rural Fire Chief, explained motorists should not discard matches or cigarettes out of their vehicle windows. “If you start having problems with your vehicle keep it on the blacktop. Don’t pull over into the grass because the heat could start a fire that way.”

Be cautious with profile vehicles. “Semi’s, the single trailers and then the double trailers will have a hard time keeping a straight line. And we get a lot of calls, people saying that truck is driving recklessly. Well he’s trying to keep it as straight as he can, and the wind just creates havoc for them.”

A red flag warning has been issued until 7 p.m. Thursday. Winds are expected to diminish during the overnight hours, and decrease by Friday afternoon. A burn ban is in effect in Geary County, with Berges indicating it will likely stay in place through Saturday.

Construction of a roundabout at Henry Drive and Ray Road has proceeded to the point where the flow of traffic through that area will be affected.

On the Fort Riley Facebook page it is reported that beginning Feb. 22 and lasting until approximately May 15, phase one of the construction will result in the decrease of speed limits to 20 miles per hour on both Ray Road and Henry Drive. Traffic on Henry Drive will remain two way traffic, but without shoulders.