Author: Brandon Peoples

Severe Weather Awareness week is underway during this first week in March. The week highlights not only what to do in the event of a tornado or severe thunderstorm, but also to go prepare an emergency kit and identify plans with family members. Riley County Emergency Management Coordinator Laurie Harrison says that kit should be large enough to get you through three days . Fort Riley Emergency Manager Chris Hallenbeck says for those living on post who may be unfamiliar with Kansas severe weather they are doing Active Army, a proactive community awareness campaign to empower soldiers, families and Army…

Fire broke out at a Manhattan apartment complex Sunday evening at 711 Allison Ave. The Manhattan Fire Department says heavy fire was noticeable on the balconies of the second and third floors. Riley County Police Department officers notified all occupants in the building, who were out by the time firefighters arrived, just after 5 p.m. Crews searched the building and the fire was put out within less than a half hour. Two dogs and four cats were removed from the building unharmed. A total of 17 firefighters responded to the call. The 3-story structure sustained significant fire damage in at…

Five people died Sunday when two vehicles collided in a fiery crash on Interstate 70, near Maple Hill in Wabaunsee County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash happened around 6:30 a.m. when a Ford F-150 drove the wrong way in the westbound lanes and struck a van head on. The driver of the truck, 20-year-old Armando Mascote of Council Grove died at the scene. Four of five occupants inside the van died at the scene while the fifth, a North Carolina man was critically injured and taken to Stormont Vail Hospital. The four others who died were all from…

A small fire at the K-State Recreation Center was quickly contained but caused a closure of the facility Friday. The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched around 12:30 p.m. According to Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Almes, firefighters located a light fixture inside the building which had caught fire. It fell onto combustibles and caused smoke to fill throughout the building. The fire was quickly contained. As a result, the Rec Center announced it would remain closed Friday with normal operations resuming Saturday. No injuries were reported.

A 15-time Grammy award winner will headline this year’s Symphony in the Flint Hills. Organizers of the annual event announced Thursday that renowned banjo player Bela Fleck, the longtime frontman for Bela Fleck and the Flecktones will be the featured performer alongside the Kansas City Symphony. This year’s event takes place June 13 at the Wade Pasture near Eskridge in Wabaunsee County. Fleck has been nominated in more categories than any other artist in the history of the award. Tickets go on sale to the general public March 7, with Wabaunsee County residents getting first-dibs at a pre-sale beginning Monday.…

Residents of a Manhattan apartment complex escaped injury but had to be displaced following a late Thursday night fire. According to the Manhattan Fire Department, firefighters were dispatched shortly before midnight to 3112 Heritage Lane. Upon arrival, crews found the three-story building with a fire in an exterior electrical box. The fire spread to the inside walls of the building and was completely extinguished within an hour. The building contains 12 apartment units. All of the residents living in the building had to spend the night elsewhere due to power not being able to be restored. The loss is estimated…

USD 378 Riley County Schools Superintendent Cliff Williams is keeping an eye on a pair of legislative bills that could alter state aid when it comes to bonds and interest, tilting the scales in favor of taxpayers. Williams says Senate Bill 382 and House Bill 2526 are similar in their approaches, but favors the Senate bill which increases state aid for those districts that have passed bonds between 2015 to 2020.  (A pdf showing language of both bills is attached below). “We would go from having 0% state aid to having 17% state aid and so just passing that would…

A home in Blue Township sustained minor damage following a small house fire Thursday. Pottawatomie County and Blue Township firefighters responded just before 1 p.m. to a house fire in the 3400 block of Dempsey Road. Assistant Pottawatomie County Fire Chief Alex Kinderknecht says the fire was contained to a room on the south side of the home and its contents. The home also had smoke damage throughout but only minor fire damage. No injuries were reported. The cause remains under investigation. The State Fire Marshall was being called in to assist in that investigation. A damage estimate is still…

RANDOLPH — USD 384 Blue Valley/Randolph Schools will be getting a new superintendent this summer. His name is John Cox and he’s the current middle school principal at Parsons Middle School in southeast Kansas. “I’m looking forward to getting a lay of the land and seeing the things we’re doing, what needs to be tweaked, what we need to do to expand programs and make sure that we have the top notch education that we have now. Under Mr. Burton they’ve done great things and I hope to be able to fill his shoes and expand them even farther,” he…

The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a possible arson incident near St. Marys. Sheriff Shane Jager said in a news release Wednesday that officers were dispatched Sunday to the Oregon Trail Park in the 23,000 block of Oregon Trail Road. An unknown person or persons entered the bathroom facilities at the park and burned contents within the bathroom. They also damaged a heater. Jager says there was no structural damage to the building and that the total loss was less than $1,000. Anyone with information is urged to call the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office or visit ptsheriff.com and leave…