Author: Brandon Peoples

The Riley County Health Department is confirming 118 new positive cases of COVID-19 since Friday and now says over 4,000 residents have tested positive since the pandemic began. The total number of cases since March is 4,023, of which 384 are currently active. That means, since the first case was presented March 20 (262 days ago), Riley County is averaging 15 new positive COVID cases each day. Ascension Via Christi is caring for 11 positive patients and two patients under investigation, showing symptoms. Three of those patients are in the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. There remain 13 active COVID outbreaks…

Riley County Police are investigating burglaries where a number of firearms were stolen over the weekend. According to its activity report, officers filed a burglary report Friday in the 1300 block of North 8th Street after five men reported an unknown suspect entered their home and stole a 12-gauge shotgun, a Glock 17 nine mm magazine and ammunition, in addition to electronics and other items. Officers estimate the value of the stolen items to be approximately $1,700. Additionally a burglary report was filed Saturday night in the 1100 block of Pierre Street after three people reported an unknown suspect entered…

Animal cruelty is suspected after the partial remains of a missing SIamese cat were found Wednesday in Manhattan. The remains were brought to the T. Russel Reitz Animal Shelter and examined by Kansas State University veterinarians. A necropsy was performed to investigate the cause of death which was not conclusive but animal cruelty is suspected. The cat’s owner, Bailey Jean Griffin reported the cat missing earlier in the day and in a Facebook post Thursday stated a woman found the cat’s partial body in an alleyway between Yuma Street and Colorado Street. Only the top half of the 8-year-old cat,…

Riley County is reporting 125 new positive COVID-19 cases since Wednesday. Along with the new cases, 128 people have recovered since Wednesday’s report as well. This puts the county at 388 active cases. Ascension Via Christi is monitoring 10 positive patients. Since March, 3,905 people have tested positive for the virus. A total of 3,501 (90 percent) have made full recoveries. A total of 16 deaths have also been logged during that period. A total of 657 people were swabbed at the free testing event on Thursday. Free drive-up testing will be offered again December 10 from 11:00 a.m. to…

A Manhattan man was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash in Geary County Thursday morning. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash was reported just after 11 a.m. in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Junction City, about three miles east of US 77. The crash report says a Mercedes-Benz driven by 66-year-old Charles Gillum of Manhattan was trying to pass an eastbound Ford F250 in the left lane, but the driver of the pickup failed to notice Gillum’s vehicle and attempted to change lanes at the same time. The pickup struck the Mercedes, which then left the roadway…

It’s unclear how soon a coronavirus vaccine makes it into our area, but discussions are beginning to happen with state and local health officials about how vaccines will be distributed. “We believe there will be some disseminated to local health departments for use within counties. I do anticipate that by a week from Friday, we’ll probably have a lot more detail what that will look like in Kansas,” said Ascension Via Christi President and CEO Bob Copple, who co-chairs the Manhattan Area Recovery Task Force. He believes much more will be known by late next week as the Food and…

Thousands of Kansans are still awaiting unemployment benefits as the state department of labor struggles to keep up with the demand placed upon it during the pandemic. Since March, Kansas has paid 3.2 million claims, totaling $2.3 billion. Acting Labor Secretary Ryan Wright. “You have to go back eight years to get to $2 billion in payouts. So this agency has done about eight years worth of work in the span of about eight months,” he said. Wright says in addition, the computer systems being used at the Department of Labor are more than 40 years old. Despite this, the…

A Junction City woman convicted for her role in a 2017 Riley County murder will serve up to eight months in prison. Riley County Judge John Bosch handed down the sentence last week to 44-year-old Bobbie Jo Long. She’s also been ordered to serve 18 months of probation. Long previously pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing apprehension or prosecution in connection to the murder of former drug informant Carrie Jones of Junction City. Jones’ body was found in rural Riley County in October 2017. She sustained a gunshot wound. Prosecutors said Long was an accomplice to Steven Meredith, who…

A sixteenth Riley County resident has died from COVID-19 related complications. The health department confirmed Wednesday an 86-year-old woman, who was a Leonardville Nursing Home resident, died after testing positive for the novel coronavirus Nov. 8. It’s the nursing home’s third COVID fatality. The county recorded 71 new cases and nine more recoveries since Monday as the active case count climbed to 391. The Pottawatomie County Health Department recorded 14 new COVID-19 infections since Monday and has now totaled 703 since March, with 41 active cases and 666 now listed as recovered. The county was monitoring one COVID positive patient…

Two Pottawatomie County communities have implemented face mask ordinances of their own to help mitigate community spread of the coronavirus. City officials in Wamego adopted an ordinance Tuesday which will remain in effect through Feb. 2. It requires masks be worn in all public spaces indoors or outdoors where six feet of physical distancing cannot be maintained. It exempts children under the age of 5 and those with medical or mental health conditions or a disability that prevents wearing of a face covering. A violation of the ordinance results in an infraction, punishable by a $25 fine. The Onaga City…