The Junction City High School class of 1964 will have their 55th class reunion Friday and Saturday ( June 21-22 ).
Class member Dee Simpler provided a schedule for the reunion. The Courtyard By Marriott Hotel and Convention Center will serve as headquarters. On Friday at noon those who are attending can begin checking in to the Milford Room at the Marriott and at 5:30 p.m. the ballroom in the convention center will open.
At 6 p.m. there will be a Memorial service for deceased classmates with the evening’s agenda also including Hot Hor D’oeuvres, dvd’s of the Class of 1964 past, music and visitation.
On Saturday the Milford Room will open about 7 a.m. There will be tours of the junior high and high school beginning at 11 a.m. The ballroom at the convention center will open at 5:30 p.m. and there will be a banquet beginning at 6 p.m. with the menu including fried chicken and roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, cornbread muffins and fruit cobbler. A program, music and memories will follow the program.
The Milford Room will be open again Sunday morning until Class members depart.
Another step was taken on the new Junction City High School project Monday when the USD 475 Board of Education approved the development agreement with the City of Junction City on related infrastructure improvements.
It covers a one mile section of Blue Jay Way on the east side of the new school site, a one half mile water main extension, and overages on a nearby roundabout on K-18 at Blue Jay Way.
The Chief Operations Officer for the school district, David Wild, reported that the City is going to apply for a federal build grant. “If approved that $10 million will cover all infrastructure improvements at the site, meaning the monies that we have set aside and reserved for infrastructure development will come back to the district.” That amount for the school district would total about $2.5 million. The grant application deadline is July 15.
The development agreement was scheduled to go to the Junction City Commission Tuesday night.
The goal is to have the new school built and in use by August of 2021.
The National Weather Service issued severe storm warnings for the Dickinson, Geary, Riley , Morris adnd Pottawatomie County region Tuesday afternoon.
For a brief time there was a tornado warning in Dickinson County ( since expired ) and then severe thunderstorm warning for parts of five counties. There were gusty winds and heavy rain. A tornado watch that includes Geary, Dickinson, Morris, Wabaunsee, Riley and Pottawatomie Counties has also been issued until 10 p.m. by the National Weather Service.
Geary County Emergency Management Director Garry Berges took this photo with water runoff from a location on K-57 Highway north of Junction City.
Statement from Sunflower Bank regarding reports of fraud.
There have been recent reports of fraud in Salina, Kansas and a malware message appearing to come from Sunflower Bank was shared in the news.
We take our security, and the security of our customers very seriously. Upon learning of these reports, we immediately reviewed our security protocols to confirm the issue was not present in our environment. We actively monitor our environment 24/7 to ensure security protocols remain effective. The message that was shared appears to be from pdfmaker-live and is not associated with Sunflower Bank or its websites. Learn about removing this plug-in from your browser here: https://www.myantispyware.com/2018/09/20/how-to-remove-install-pdf-maker-com-pop-up-ads-chrome-firefox-ie-edge/.
We ask that our customers review their accounts regularly and reach out to us if they see anything that looks out-of-the-norm. Combatting fraud is a united effort and our customers are good at partnering with us to help identify and tackle situations as they arise.
All web users should be cognizant of devices they are using, make sure systems are updated regularly, and be cautious of online requests. These are common best practices to avoid falling victim to fraud and other scams:
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SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are assisting with an investigation of alleged fraudulent use of Sunflower Bank customers accounts.
Copy of the malware message that appeared on the Sunflower Bank website Monday. Image frin Salina Police Department
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the Salina Police Department had received 49 individual calls from Sunflower Bank customers whose accounts had been compromised, according to Salina Police Captain Gary Hanus.
The Saline County sheriff’s office had received six calls from residents living outside the Salina city limits whose accounts had been compromised, according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.
The cases appear to be related to those with which the police are dealing.
Both Hanus and Melander said their agencies are writing outside agency assist reports for law enforcement in the locations where the crimes occurred.
Hanus also said he was aware of transactions on Sunflower accounts in Wichita, the suburbs of Wichita, Hutchinson, and one location in Texas.
In some instances, Sunflower customers’ debit card information was used for purchases and in others, Sunflower Bank ATMs were used, according to Hanus.
Both Hanus and Melander said they did not know the total number of Sunflower customers affected nor the total amount lost by Sunflower customers.
Salina Post attempt to talk with someone at Sunflower Bank. The call was transferred to voicemail in the bank’s marketing department.
Hanus said law enforcement personnel believe a redirect malware on the Sunflower Bank website was at least partially to blame for the breach. He provided a screenshot of a message that appeared on the Sunflower Bank website. The message has since been taken down.
Hanus encouraged all persons to check their financial accounts regularly for suspicious activity.
SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are assisting with an investigation of alleged fraudulent use of Sunflower Bank customers accounts.
Copy of the malware message that appeared on the Sunflower Bank website Monday. Image frin Salina Police Department
As of 7 a.m. Tuesday, the Salina Police Department had received 49 individual calls from Sunflower Bank customers whose accounts had been compromised, according to Salina Police Captain Gary Hanus.
The Saline County sheriff’s office had received six calls from residents living outside the Salina city limits whose accounts had been compromised, according to Saline County Undersheriff Brent Melander.
The cases appear to be related to those with which the police are dealing.
Both Hanus and Melander said their agencies are writing outside agency assist reports for law enforcement in the locations where the crimes occurred.
Hanus also said he was aware of transactions on Sunflower accounts in Wichita, the suburbs of Wichita, Hutchinson, and one location in Texas.
In some instances, Sunflower customers’ debit card information was used for purchases and in others, Sunflower Bank ATMs were used, according to Hanus.
Both Hanus and Melander said they did not know the total number of Sunflower customers affected nor the total amount lost by Sunflower customers.
Salina Post attempt to talk with someone at Sunflower Bank. The call was transferred to voicemail in the bank’s marketing department.
Hanus said law enforcement personnel believe a redirect malware on the Sunflower Bank website was at least partially to blame for the breach. He provided a screenshot of a message that appeared on the Sunflower Bank website. The message has since been taken down.
Hanus encouraged all persons to check their financial accounts regularly for suspicious activity.
The issue of mistrust in the community due to recent events involving the previous sheriff was on the discussion agenda for the new Geary County Sheriff Daniel Jackson Jr. Monday evening.
Former sheriff Tony Wolf was required to resign from the sheriff’s job following his convictions on one felony count of Theft and one misdemeanor count of Misuse of Public Funds.
Jackson told a Town Hall meeting he wanted to have the public session to tell people what the department has done to ensure transparency in the future. “The day I was appointed sheriff in spite of the conditions that led to my appointment I said that the Geary County Sheriff’s Department was the most professional that I had ever seen in my entire life. This was because of the dedicated, talented professionals that worked there.”
Jackson said he stands by those words and wanted to ensure all local citizens that the protection of life and property are the core of what the Department does. “In order to get that mission accomplished we have to be an organization whose people are properly equipped, trained, motivated and led by the right people in the right positions. That’s what we did with placing members of the staff in the positions they are in now.”
The command staff includes Undersheriff Eric Coffman, Major of Operations Marty Snyder, Major Mark Anderson Corrections Administrator, Captain of Corrections Donna Regelado, Captain for Administration / Technology David GIlbert and Captain of Patrol Reyan Rikorick.
Sheriff Daniel Jackson Jr. preparing to address a Town Hall meeting Monday evening.
Fort Riley is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundatiion to host the Hiring Our Heroes Career Summit June 26-27 at Riley’s Conference Center on post. This gives active duty service members an avenue to explore future careers, and provides an opportunity for military spouses and veterans to connect with more than 90 employers and education institutions that will be in attendance.
Many companies will be present to interview and hire potential employees.
The event will begin with a free reception on June 26, providing those attending an opportunity to network with human resource experts and hiring managers.
June 27 will feature a full day of workshops and will conclude with a career fair.
Pre-registration is recommended. You can pre-register at https://www.hiringourheroes.org/events.
A new chapter of Moms Demand Action is being formed in Junction City. The first meeting will be Saturday at 1:30 p.m.at the 12th Street Community Center.
The Chapter is being formed by Mary Snipes of Juncton City. It is a nonprofit organization that works toward making a safe community.
The Chapter is open to the public.
There will be collaboration with a Moms Demand Action chapter in Manhattan.
Daniel Jackson Jr. ( L ) speaking during a Town Hall meeting. Some members of his command staff are to his right.
Firefighting is being removed from the job description of Geary County Sheriff’s Deputies. Sheriff Daniel Jackson Jr. told a town hall meeting the Department is a governmental entity and part of a larger governmental entity….Geary County. “We are subject to all the labor laws that go along with being a governmental agency that employs people. “If we told an employee they are required to go into a burning building and put the fire out we are required by law to ensure he has the required training and certifications to safely accomplish that mission.”
Jackson added he would also argue that he has a responsibility to the employee and the citizens of the county to make sure all the employees are trained and certified to do the dangerous job that they do. “Our deputies are not and never have been trained and certified as firefighters, that’s the cold hard truth.” Jackson said there is no way the Department can maintain their certification as a law enforcement officer and get them qualified to serve as a firefighter. He noted there is not enough time in the week or funds in the budget to make that occur.
Deputies will still continue to perform first responder duties. For example they would still enter a burning building to save someone, but will not be there to fight fires. Jackson referred to the old job description. “If one of my Deputies were to take that job description literally and enter a structure fire, and try to fight that fire and die in the process, or citizens died because of his untrained efforts that would be on me and on the county. The liability with failing to train an employee for a job he is required to do is not something the Department or the County could stand.”
Jackson said the Geary County Rural Fire Department and the volunters that man that Department are a vital piece of of the county’s public safety, but they’re volunteers not governed by the laws that apply to the County and the Sheriff’s Department. “The Deputies will still respond as they always have to any fire that occurs and do what any other law enforcement officer would do to save a life. If they get there first and there’s someone inside the house they will of course risk their life and go inside that house to try to get the person out.” Deputies, however, will no longer grab a hose and fight the fire.
Jackson said he met with Rural Fire Chief Garry Berges, the members of the Geary County Commission, the County Counselor, and the County HR and they all agreed with his decision to remove the firefighting requirement from the Deputy job description.
Jackson touched on a number of other topics during the town hall meeting at the Four-H / Senior Citizen Center ranging from the introduction of his command staff to a move to increase the number corrections officers working in the jail. He also indicated he would conduct more town hall meetings in the future.
MANHATTAN —The Riley County Police Department has purchased an armored vehicle to transport officers in high-risk situations, and aid in the recovery and protection of civilians in harm’s way, according to a media release.
photo courtesy RCPD
“Communication is essential to the resolution of a high-risk situation,” Lieutenant Brad Jager, Tactical Team Leader said. “This resource allows officers the ability to establish and maintain a dialogue with a potentially dangerous person to safely resolve the situation.”
The Lenco Bearcat was manufactured in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and transported to the law enforcement center in Manhattan on Friday, May 3,2019. It was purchased in 2018 with forfeiture funds at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Bearcat will provide ballistic protection against threats officers face during active violence, hostage situations and the rescue of injured victims among other instances.
The vehicle is not weaponized and is limited use. Its purpose is to provide protection to officers responding to dangerous situations in an effort to peacefully resolve emergency situations.
The Junction City High School class of 1964 will have their 55th class reunion Friday and Saturday ( June 21-22 ).
