Author: Brandon Peoples

Riley County Commissioners took their meeting on the road Thursday for its first quarterly evening meeting of the year. The meeting lasted just under two hours and county officials were generally pleased with attendance. Commission Chair Kathryn Focke proposed the idea earlier this year in an effort to “make local government accessible to everyone.” The meeting included updates from the City of Riley. Mayor Darci Pottroff highlighted a few projects the city has recently wrapped up. “We just finished a major sewer project. It was a CDBG (community development block) grant, but we now have every city sewer line. Between…

An illegal outdoor burn Wednesday led to around 60 acres being scorched north of Manhattan. Riley County Fire District No. 1 was dispatched shortly before 2 p.m. to an area near High Plains Trail, southwest of Tuttle Creek Lake dam for an out of control fire. Officials say an Evergy electrical transformer junction box was also damaged, but no outages were reported. Two homes were threatened but no evacuations were issued and no structures were lost. No injuries were reported. Mutual aid was provided by the Manhattan Fire Department with more than two dozen firefighters responding to the blaze. Deputy…

A Manhattan man was arrested Tuesday on a number of charges including distribution of fentanyl. According to RCPD, a 22-year-old woman reported a 22-year-old man stole her car, which was later located in the 2500 block of Farm Bureau Road. Police say Shawn Samuelson ran from police and was arrested in connection for theft and interference. He was additionally charged with criminal use of a weapon and distribution of fentanyl after police found Samuelson in possession of a gun and had reportedly given a fentanyl pill away to another person. Samuelson remains jailed on an $18,000 bond.

The first phase of the Manhattan Regional Airport runway reconstruction is officially underway. The airport closed Tuesday night and will remain closed until 7 a.m. Friday. City Manager Ron Fehr briefed commissioners Tuesday on the temporary closure. “This is where we’re shortening the main runway down to 5,800 feet so what they’re doing right now is re-marking everything. Once they get the threshold changed and marked, there is a scheduled flight for later that (Friday) morning,” he said. The $31 million project was approved by the Manhattan City Commission last August. Fehr says the second phase of runway reconstruction will…

A Junction City soldier who had been reported as missing by family members out of state has been found incarcerated in Georgia. The family of 24-year-old Roberto Junior Familia had reached out to several Kansas media outlets concerned for his safety after not hearing from him for about a week and struggling to file a missing person report with the Junction City Police Department, which requires such reports to be filed in-person. His family resides in Florida, New York and Puerto Rico and they noted his mother, who lives in Florida, was planning to make the 21-hour drive to Junction…

Riley County Commissioners will take their bi-weekly board meeting on the road Thursday evening, meeting with constituents in Riley. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at Riley City Hall. Commissioners will offer an opportunity for public comment at the beginning and will receive an update from Riley City Mayor Darci Pottroff. An administrative work session is planned with County Counselor Clancy Holeman. The board will also hear updates from RCPD Director Brian Peete, Emergency Management Director Russel Stukey and Public Information Officer Vivienne Leyva. Stukey’s update will include ongoing efforts to recruit firefighters and storm spotters. Thursday’s meeting is the…

A Manhattan man was arrested Tuesday on a warrant for a past burglary and theft in the 1000 block of North Juliette. According to RCPD, 24-year-old Jon Marte was initially arrested June 4 after reportedly kicking in the door of an occupied apartment unit while the residents were home. Marte is accused of stealing multiple items including a camera, a tablet, an iPhone, an Xbox controller and cash in addition to other miscellaneous items. As of Wednesday Marte remained jailed on a $15,000 bond.

A bill to raise the legal age to buy tobacco products in Kansas has passed the Senate and is headed for Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk. Senators on Tuesday approved House Bill 2269 on a 28 to 11 vote. The bill passed the House 68-53 earlier this month.  The bill would bring Kansas into compliance with federal law, making it illegal for retailers to sell tobacco products including cigarettes and e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 21. Currently the minimum age to purchase those products is 18 in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Revenue has projected that raising the legal…

Family of a 24-year-old Florida man stationed at Fort Riley thought to be missing say they’re desperate for answers. Roberto Junior Familia is an inactive U.S. Army soldier based in Junction City, with family in Florida and New York. His cousins shared in an email they last had phone correspondence with him March 19 and says a message he sent showed possible signs of distress that caused them alarm. They he say he suffers from PTSD and they have tried to file a missing person report with JCPD, which must be done in person. Efforts to locate Familia so far…

The suspect in a fatal February 2022 shooting in Aggieville noted in Riley County District Court Monday he intends to plead not guilty to all seven counts listed in the criminal complaint. Tremelle Montgomery, of Fort Riley, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of fellow soldier Joshua Wardi. He also faces three counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault against Donovan Bastien, Jared Musgrave and Tyrece White. The case will likely be scheduled for trial this fall, though a date wasn’t determined Monday, due to scheduling conflicts between the state and defense in September…