Author: Brandon Peoples

Help wanted signs are popping up everywhere across the region including local government. Assistant Pottawatomie County Administrator Officer Heather Gladbach says there are close to a dozen vacancies in the county offices, including six positions in public works. The public works administrator position has been vacant since December when former administrator Peter Clark announced his resignation. Dustin Newman served in the role on an interim basis, before he resigned in May. Commission Chair Greg Riat says many of the applicants for the position have lacked the necessary hands-on experience the county is searching for. Riat contends that even with the…

Governor Laura Kelly proclaimed June as Kansas Dairy Month Thursday with a stop at Hildebrand Farms Dairy. During her visit, which also included Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam, Kelly pledged support for dairy farmers, who produce over 4 billion pounds of milk each year, generating over $668 million to the Kansas economy. Last year, the Kansas dairy industry increased milk production by more than 5 percent. Hildebrand Farms has been in operation since the 1930s and continues to sell milk in glass bottles at 120 stores throughout Kansas. Gov. Kelly will return to the Flint Hills for a ribbon cutting…

A Manhattan woman has been charged with driving under the influence following an injury crash at Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Kimball Ave. Wednesday morning. According to the Riley County Police Department, 38-year-old Teena Whitmore was southbound on Tuttle Creek Blvd. around 8 a.m. Wednesday, driving a Mini Cooper when she struck a sport utility vehicle head-on at the intersection. The driver of the SUV, 48-year-old Julie Overstreet, of St. George, was sitting at a red light in the inside northbound turn lane on Tuttle Creek Blvd. Both were transported to Ascension Via Christi for minor injuries. Police later arrested Whitmore…

The Kansas Department of Transportation has approved June bids for state highway construction and maintenance. Among the bids approved this month is one totaling just over $800,000 for pavement marking on a stretch of K-18 in Riley County. It spans from approximately the Geary/Riley County line east to the K-113/Seth Child Road junction. Cillesen and Sons, Inc. of Sedgwick County was awarded the bid. Additionally KDOT in May approved a bid totaling nearly $386,000 to Ebert Construction of Wamego for a bridge replacement over Swede Creek northeast of Randolph. The full statewide list of June bids are below. District One…

Imagine having your student debt wiped clean. It happened for 122 students at Manhattan Area Technical College. President Jim Genandt tells KMAN the college used funds from COVID-19 relief to pay off student debt incurred between Spring 2020 and 2021. This was done for students who had entered college but couldn’t keep going because of the pandemic, due to whatever interruptions that were pandemic related. Administrators announced the move last Friday, cancelling more than $170,000 in debt. Genandt says students who owe the college money, typically receive a hold on their accounts until the debt is paid off. All told,…

In it’s latest weekly report, the Riley County Health Department confirmed there are some coronavirus variants which have been identified locally. The health department says 39 new positive cases were identified Wednesday along with 32 additional recoveries since the June 16 report. Six COVID-positive patients are currently receiving care at Ascension Via Christi Hospital. Two are in the Intensive Care Unit. A total of 21 positive cases from variants of concern are noted in the report, including 10 from the Delta variants and 10 from the Alpha variant. One case from the Epsilon variant was also confirmed. Health officials say…

Noon Wednesday update The suspect in a Tuesday shooting in south Manhattan has turned himself in. According to Riley County Police, 23-year-old Jamie Smith, of Manhattan, surrendered to RCPD Wednesday shortly after 10:30 a.m. and was taken into custody on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. Smith is accused of shooting a 38-year-old female victim at an apartment near Yuma Street and Juliette Ave. The woman was transported to Ascension Via Christi in critical condition. Her name has not been released. Smith has been arrested twice previously this year — once in April and once in January, on charges of…

Demolition is now underway at the former Oppy’s Service Station at 3rd and Fort Riley Blvd in Manhattan. The site is the future location of a new Casey’s convenience store planned for construction sometime later this year. According to Manhattan Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes, no building permit has been issued yet. The Manhattan City Commission vacated a utility easement in October to pave way for future construction. The Iowa-based convenience store is reportedly also exploring a second Manhattan location, at the southwest corner of Tuttle Creek Blvd. and Kimball Ave. There are over 2,300 Casey’s stores across the country,…

A former USD 383 paraprofessional, charged with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a child, appeared for a status hearing Tuesday from his jail cell in Riley County. Aaron Zachry, of Junction City, faces seven total counts after police earlier this month found sexual images of children on his phone. He was arrested June 4 at Northview Pool after a report of suspicious activity. Two of the seven alleged charges involve victims under the age of 14. He remains jailed on a $360,000 total bond. Zachry’s attorney Barry Clark plans to file a motion for a bond reduction June 29…

The coronavirus pandemic may not be officially behind us yet, but local health leaders are seeing at least some reprieve in new case numbers. Riley County Health Department Director and Local Health Officer Julie Gibbs says the percent positive rate was about 6.6 percent the week before last with about 30 new cases. Testing and vaccines continue to be administered at the health department’s headquarters at 2030 Tecumseh Road. Gibbs says public health clinic workers are going above and beyond just fulfilling the department’s COVID response this summer. Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Renee Lucas continues to oversee contact tracers and follow…