Author: Brandon Peoples

The Fort Riley Tax Assistance Center officially opened to soldiers Tuesday and will remain open through the April 15 filing deadline. The center, part of the 1st Infantry Division’s Staff Judge Advocate office, provides free tax preparation assistance to military members, including active duty, eligible family members, military reservists on activated orders for 30 days or more. Tax Center Director Elizabeth Thurston says due to COVID-19 mitigation efforts, the tax center will operate as a drop-off service with no appointments. “The soldier will come in, drop off his documents. We will then have the opportunity to prepare the return and…

The Manhattan Fire Department says a Jan. 20 fire at the Manhattan Hampton Inn caused $5 million worth of damage. The estimate comes following a five-day investigation. The fire loss was estimated at $2.5 million and the loss of contents was also estimated at $2.5 million.  The cause was determined to be accidental and started as construction workers were cutting on the roof. The three-story building sustained significant fire and water damage, including the collapse of a third-story hotel room to the ground floor. The hotel, owned by Little Apple Hotel Partners of Overland Park, remains closed.

The race to get COVID vaccines into the arms of individuals is one local health officials say has been a slow, but steady success. Vaccine clinics have proved to be efficient in getting most critical health care and high risk patients vaccinated. Pottawatomie County Health Department Director Leslie Campbell says her department has been receiving about 300 doses in its weekly shipment, but stopped short Monday of telling county commissioners an exact number of vaccine doses it has in stock. “I’d rather not tell you that, because then the people in the public are going to say hey you’ve got…

Riley County Police have arrested a man on numerous counts of forgery and passing worthless checks. According to its weekend arrest report, 33-year-old Larry McVey Jr. is charged with 24 total counts of passing worthless checks, six counts of forgery, two counts of theft by deception as well as a single count of attempted theft. Police did not list an address for McVey, but he was reportedy arrested late Friday on a warrant. Online court records show McVey has a pending Clay County court case for theft and forgery, which he pleaded not guilty to last summer. He also pleaded…

A Fort Riley soldier is jailed in Riley County after police say he threatened and injured two women. According to Riley County Police, 23-year-old Jamie Bernard Smith was arrested in connection to charges of attempted domestic battery, interference with law enforcement, aggravated child endangerment and two counts of aggravated assault. The incident reportedly occurred in the 400 block of South Juliette Ave. Sunday morning. The victims were 17 and 38 years old. Police say the injuries were not life threatening and did not require hospitalization. Smith remains jailed on a $40,000 bond.

As Kansas lawmakers sift through Gov. Laura Kelly’s budget, questions remain over how much state funding the state’s universities and colleges will receive. The proposed budget calls for a 5.5 percent decrease in state funding for Kansas State University, which would be the most significant reduction in funding since 2009. State Sen. Tom Hawk of Manhattan says those cuts could likely go further if the Republican controlled majority in the legislature has its way. “If they do some of the things that they want to do, I just don’t think this is the right time to do those kind of…

Update 11 a.m. Sunday Much uncertainty remains over when and how much snow will fall in the Manhattan area, but forecasters believe it will be a significant storm for the area regardless. The National Weather Service in Topeka says the storm system will bring several inches of snow as well as minor ice accumulations beginning late Sunday night into the day on Monday. Travel may be difficult Monday when the heaviest snowfall is expected to occur, with poor visibilities. The latest models show Manhattan and Junction City straddling the line of where some of the biggest snowfall amount uncertainty exists.…

Riley County health officials confirmed 75 new coronavirus cases and 34 additional recoveries Friday. The number of patients being cared for at Ascension Via Christi fell to nine, including one in the Intensive Care Unit. Active cases totaled 402 as of Friday and the amount of total cases is nearing 5,800 since the pandemic began. The health department is now also reporting the amount of the vaccine it has on hand in addition to the amount of doses that have been administered. As of Friday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment had shipped 3,670 vaccines to the health department,…

More than 1,000 people received the coronavirus vaccine Thursday, as the Riley County Health Department officially kicked off its second phase of vaccinations. The process did not go as smoothly as health officials had hoped. Shortly before 4 p.m., there was a lack of parking availability and congested traffic became a major safety concern, as did the number of people waiting. Health officials made a difficult decision to turn away some individuals from getting in line due to safety concerns, angering many who had established appointment times to receive the shot. Some came back later Thursday evening, but those that…

It will soon cost more to mail some letters and packages. Starting Monday, the U.S. Postal Service is increasing rates for Priority Mail shipping services, about 3.5 percent overall. First-class mail is going up roughly 1.8 percent. Priority small flat-rate boxes will be $8.45 to ship, up 15 cents; medium flat-rate boxes will cost $15.50, up 45 cents and large flat-rate boxes will cost $21.90 to ship, an increase of 80 cents. APO/FPO large flat-rate boxes are also increasing 80 cents. Regular flat-rate envelopes will be $7.95 while legal flat-rate envelopes will be $8.25, both up 20 cents. Sending a…