Author: Brandon Peoples

The cost for providing court-appointed attorneys in Pottawatomie County may soon go up. At Monday’s meeting it was noted that the three attorneys making up the county’s indigent dependent panel are seeking a new contract for services. They’re seeking compensation of $7,000 per month each, up from the $5,000 per month they’ve been under contract for since 2017. County Counselor John Watt says there are concerns if a contract could not be agreed upon. By law, the county is required to provide counsel to those unable to afford representation. Commissioners weren’t prepared to meet with the panel just yet, instead…

The search for the next director of the Riley County Police Department is winding down. At Monday’s Law Board meeting in Leonardville, three finalists were announced, from a pool of 15 candidates. Those finalists include RCPD Administrative Captain Josh Kyle, Edwardsville, Kansas Police Chief Mark Mathies and Montpelier, Vermont Police Chief Brian Peete. Law Board Chair Linda Morse says the board will host all three gentlemen at a forum next week.  “The forum will be held Thursday, Oct. 27 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Manhattan Fire Department Headquarters (2000 Denison Ave.). The forum will start with finalists’ presentations,…

Tuesday is the last day to register or update voter registration ahead of the Nov. 8 general election. Registration books close at 5 p.m. Advance voting by mail and in person then begins Wednesday, with the final day to apply for an advance mail ballot on Nov. 1. At the local level, Riley County commissioner John Ford and Pottawatomie County commissioner Dee McKee are both unopposed in re-election bids for their District 1 seats. Pottawatomie County voters have two ballot questions in front of them, including whether to levy a quarter percent sales tax for a variety of infrastructure projects,…

A status hearing was held Tuesday for Robert Iacobellis, the former Manhattan restaurant owner charged with more than two dozen counts of sexual abuse involving four individuals. Judge Kendra Lewison, who is presiding over the case, announced that Salina attorney Julie Effenbeck has been appointed by as Iacobellis’ new attorney. The decision comes amid Iacobellis’ inability to hire his own counsel following his dismissal of former court-appointed attorneys Lora Ingels and Brenda Jordan, who had initially secured an Alford plea agreement with prosecutors earlier this year. Iacobellis withdrew that plea in early August. Effenbeck has not yet met with her…

A 17-year-old is in custody for his role in a summer incident where shots were fired outside Manhattan’s Holiday Inn at the Campus. RCPD says Marc Anthony Oliver was arrested Friday at Manhattan High School on a warrant for criminal use of a firearm and marijuana possession. Oliver reportedly discarded a bag of marijuana and a handgun inside while running away from a traffic stop in the early morning hours of July 31 in the 3100 block of Lundin Road. Officers were responding that morning after a report of possible shots fired in the hotel’s parking lot. Oliver is being…

Riley County Police say a Manhattan man, who is a registered sex offender, was arrested recently on a number of charges, including violating terms of his offender registration. According to Monday’s RCPD activity report, 41-year-old Cedric Wilson was arrested Friday for the aforementioned charge as well as aggravated burglary, possession of an opiate and lewd and lascivious behavior. The lewd and lascivious charge stems from an Oct. 2 incident where Wilson is accused of inappropriately touching and exposing himself inside a Manhattan restaurant. The aggravated burglary charge stems from an Oct. 6 incident where Wilson reportedly entered a 29-year-old woman’s…

Officials with the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility in Manhattan are continuing to work through the process of standing up the scientific research arm of the facility. NBAF Deputy Director Ken Burton says behind the scenes, crews are working through ongoing integrated system functional performance testing. Once completed, Burton says another milestone will be realized, as the facility will enter the endurance period. Dr. Burton says the endurance period is a contractual requirement for the construction team.  Burton says the first half of that period will be primarily focused on facilities, but adds that some creative tactics are being…

Riley County Police have arrested a Manhattan man accused in a March shooting incident for a probation violation. According to Thursday’s activity report, 38-year-old Ryan Powell was arrested late Wednesday. The violation is in reference to a March 27 domestic altercation in which Powell is accused of shooting a 23-year-old man in the leg. The bullet also grazed a 21-year-old woman. Powell is charged in that incident with two counts each of aggravated battery and aggravated assault and three counts of child endangerment, including two aggravated counts. Powell remains jailed on a $50,000 bond.

Members of the Geary County USD 475 school board appear to have two sites in mind for a proposed early childhood development center. The idea is being proposed to help make the district more appealing to service members at Fort Riley and help grow the district’s reach. Having narrowed its options from 11 potential sites, board members on Monday debated the idea of constructing a facility on the former Junction City High School property versus building a new facility north of the new Junction City High School, on the city’s western edge.  USD 475 Construction Program Manager David Wild… Building…

For a second straight week, new COVID-19 infections in Riley County totaled 18, keeping the county in the moderate incidence category, with a score of 24.2 per 100,000 people. The figures don’t factor in at-home test results. Hospitalizations continue to be very low, with Ascension Via Christi reporting just one hospitalization on its medical floor, a week after having no patients in its care. Health officials have noted one additional COVID-related death, involving a 57-year-old unvaccinated woman who tested positive on Sept. 23 and died the same day. Her death is the 97th COVID-related death in Riley County since the…