Author: Brandon Peoples

MANHATTAN — Things are progressing nicely for Pawnee Mental Health’s new Crisis Stabilization Center, located on Hayes Drive in Manhattan. The facility is undergoing a major renovation and soon will begin advertising for positions that the organization hopes to fill later this year. Pawnee Mental Health Executive Director Robbin Cole tells KMAN some of the things they’re looking for in potential candidates. “Folks who have experience certainly working in crisis care for people with mental health and substance abuse problems, are going to be interested in this opportunity,” Cole said. Additional positions include the areas of case management, mental health…

MANHATTAN — Fire investigators have ruled the cause of Wednesday morning’s fire at Colonial Gardens mobile home park to be undetermined, with a loss of about $400,000 in damages. The Kansas State Fire Marshal’s Office was requested to assist by responding an accelerant detection canine. The dog is used to sniff out traces of potential ignitable materials that could’ve been used to start a fire. At this point the fire cause is believed to be accidental and arson is not suspected. Loss is estimated at $300,000 to the structure and $100,000 to the contents. The previous clubhouse building in the…

MANHATTAN — The Native Stone Chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse is opening a firework stand Monday that will help raise money for their organization. Spokesperson Lisa McCurdy says this is the most important fundraiser of the year for the organization. “It generates the funds we need for the year to provide things to the kids, such as therapy, items for the kids like blankets, vests and B.A.C.A. bears,” McCurdy said Wednesday in an appearance on the KMAN Morning Show. Organizers had to move their booth this year to a new location at 900 North 3rd Street, across from Dairy…

JUNCTION CITY — The victim of a deadly ATV crash in Geary County has been identified. The Geary County Sheriff’s Office says 48-year-old Mark Jackson of Milford was spraying a field near Ava Road in rural Geary County Tuesday afternoon when the ATV he was riding on overturned and rolled down an embankment, pinning him underneath the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. Junction City Fire and EMS assisted at the scene. Original story Tuesday 10 p.m. GEARY COUNTY — One person is dead following an ATV accident Tuesday in rural…

MANHATTAN — The Prairiewood Retreat and Reserve will be setting up a conservation easement in the tallgrass prairie. This easement, in partnership with the Kansas Land Trust, will cover over over 200 acres of the native tallgrass prairie . This will prohibit any future development on the historic grasslands. To celebrate this easement, Prairiewood will be holding a Non-groundbreaking ceremony on July 7th during their Open Trail Day. The event will begin at 5:45 pm with a guided walk through the prairie led by Courtney Materson, a Lawrence based ecologist. Then the dedication will take place at 7:30 pm with…

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — A Geary County man is behind bars after police say he attempted to kill a man Monday morning. Junction City Police were dispatched around 9 a.m. to 223 North Washington Street for a report of a battery that occurred hours earlier. The victim, 49-year-old Francisco Correa reported he was battered with a pipe. He sustained injuries to his head, legs and torso. He was treated at Geary Community Hospital. A few hours later, JCPD arrested 40-year-old Juan Pablo Flores of Grandview Plaza on charges of attempted murder and criminal threat. Flores is being held without bond,…

WESTMORELAND, Kan. — The Pottawatomie County Commission is one step closer to determining how codes are established moving forward for residents and businesses in the Blue Township Sewer District County Counselor John Watt spoke Monday about how the area is in the process of adopting same codes that match what’s in place in the City of Manhattan. It will encompass a geographical area of the township’s benefit sewer district. Watt says it was dovetailed so that city officials can seamlessly jump into the enforcement process, or code inspections. The codes are set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2020. Watt…

After a weekend of heavy rains, the outlook for the next week shows some reprieve for the region. Numerous flood warnings were posted over the weekend after river levels rose into flood stage across much of northeast and north-central Kansas. Most have since been lifted in the Manhattan area. The Kansas River, which remains high, was pulled from a flood warning early Monday morning. Tuttle Creek Lake levels have been steadily rising, with the latest observation at 1,131.62 Monday morning. The three-day forecast shows the lake level rising above 1,133 feet. Outflow was reduced Sunday from 10,000 cubic feet per…

A Junction City woman will spend the next five years in federal prison for possessing child pornography. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said Thursday that 24-year-old Kayla Michelle Simpson pleaded guilty to one count of possessing child pornography. Simpson’s iPhone was seized by FBI officials in September 2016. In her plea, Simpson admitted her phone contained images of her having sex with an underage girl. The case was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative.

Country Stampede is moving to Topeka for at least the next three years. Along with that will be a name change, which Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla announced at a news conference Thursday. (Audio courtesy KSNT-TV) Organizers of the event say rising costs have made the event no longer feasible to have in Manhattan. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism and Country Stampede, LLC mutually agreed to terminate the Special Event Permit Addendum signed in March 2018. Under the termination agreement, KDWPT will refund the operator’s payment of $81,500 and the operator is no longer obligated to…