Author: Brandon Peoples

A Wamego man cashed in not one, but two winning Kansas Lottery tickets recently. Christopher Gast cashed in on $11,000 in winnings over the past two weeks. He won big two weeks ago playing the $20 scratch ticket $100,000 Cash Party, hitting the second-tier prize of $10,000. Gast told lottery officials he plays about every day, but had never won any prize this big. His luck continued, when, two weeks later, he bought a ticket from the same store, winning an additional $1,000 playing the same game. The winning tickets were both sold at the Short Stop in Wamego 807…

The final piece of the new Douglass Recreation Center was unveiled Saturday as part of the annual Juneteenth celebration in Manhattan. A mural, entitled Triumphant, was designed by Wichita native EuGene Byrd III of Atlanta, Georgia. It honors the strength, pain, joy, faith, knowledge, sacrifice and perseverance of black residents in the community from past to present. Where the center now sits in southern Manhattan, was once where African Americans predominantly resided, says Douglass Center Director Dave Baker. “That’s all changed in the last 20 to 30 years and so one of my goals was to do as much as…

Officials from the City of Manhattan, Riley County and Pottawatomie County sat down Thursday to discuss budgetary challenges amid the newly adopted Senate Bill 13. The legislation, passed this spring, is intended to increase transparency in property tax collections in the state. It requires all taxing entities to create budgets at a revenue-neutral rate (RNR), setting a tax rate for the current year which results in the same revenue as was collected the prior year. The RNR, as defined by the new law, is the mill levy at which an entity collects the same dollar amount of property taxes as…

The Wamego School Board met briefly Friday to approve the hire of new principals at Wamego Middle School and Wamego High School for the upcoming school year. Interim Superintendent Greg Mann spoke about the hiring process at Friday’s meeting. Brad Couture will lead the middle school after serving as an assistant principal and athletic director for several years at Republic County Schools in Belleville. Julie Schrum will lead the high school, following a two year stint as principal at Norton Community High School. A formal meet and greet is planned closer to the start of the school year. The school…

Riley County Police say a motorcyclist is in critical condition following a Thursday crash near the intersection of Anderson Ave. and Woodland Street. Investigators say 71-year-old Dennis Rhoden, of Solomon, had swerved his 2003 Harley-Davidson into oncoming traffic to avoid a car turning at the intersection shortly before 4 p.m. He was transported to Ascension Via Christi for treatment of undisclosed injuries.

The Negro Leagues and its ties to the Manhattan area were featured as part of the kickoff to Juneteenth weekend festivities Thursday night at the Douglass Recreation Center. Co-founder of the Negro Leagues Museum Phil S. Dixon spoke about the Kansas City Monarchs and some of the ways the team influenced modern baseball. Dixon says among the most notable were team buses and the advent of baseball at night. Dixon has interviewed over 500 former Negro League players and family members. He spoke about some of his favorites including George Giles, who himself was a successful Manhattan businessman. Dixon says…

A Pottawatomie County woman sustained a serious injury Thursday after rolling her pickup near Hiawatha. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 41-year-old Sarah Hoskins of Emmett was on the eastbound off ramp, shortly before 1:30 p.m. on US 36 near the US 73 junction, when her truck went off the roadway onto the shoulder. The truck rolled into the grass median and Hoskins was ejected. The crash report says Hoskins was transported to Hiawatha Community Hospital. She was not wearing a seat belt.

Riley County Police arrested a Junction City man Friday on a charge of sexual exploitation of a child. Officers arrested 31-year-old Aaron Zachry after responding to a report of an unwanted person accused of suspicious activity at the pool. An initial investigation revealed Zachry possessed sexual pictures of children on his cell phone. According to information online, Zachry was employed as a special education paraprofessional at Northview Elementary. He was issued a total bond of $60,000, causing him to remain confined. Police are calling his arrest an ongoing investigation and due to his nature of employment working with local children,…

Riley County Police have identified the man whose body was pulled from Tuttle Creek Lake Wednesday night. Police say 24-year-old Okheem Riley, of Manhattan died in the incident which remains under further investigation. No foul play is suspected. Fort Riley officials confirmed Riley was a First Lieutenant from the 1st Sustainment Brigade and had served on post since 2018. His vehicle and clothes were located by a concerned citizen Wednesday afternoon, prompting a search of the water from several area agencies including RCPD, EMS, Fort Riley, Emergency Management, Manhattan and Riley County Fire Departments, the US Army Corps of Engineers…

Formal charges have been filed in Pottawatomie County against a former Manhattan Parks & Recreation Department employee accused of sex crimes. Zach Bayless faces two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. A criminal complaint provided by County Attorney Sherri Schuck, alleges that sometime between Nov. 30 and Dec. 4, Bayless feloniously promoted a performance that included sexually explicit conduct of a child under the age of 14. A second count charges him with being in possession of sexually explicit content involving a minor on May 13. Bayless will make his first court appearance at 9 a.m. Tuesday in Westmoreland.…