Author: Brandon Peoples

MANHATTAN — The City of Manhattan is encouraging residents to stay alert with the ongoing wet weather and rising waters at Tuttle Creek Lake. No significant releases from the lake are scheduled or anticipated for the immediate future, according to the US Army Corps of Engineers. The lake level as of Thursday was 1127.36 feet. The lake is only at 77 percent capacity and there is no immediate threat of flooding downstream. The time frame for any release from Tuttle Creek Lake is anticipated to be provided by the US Army Corps of Engineers and could range from a few…

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is partnering with two Midwestern Democrats to fight the spread of misinformation about vaccines in the face of measles outbreaks across the nation. The Kansas City Star reports Roberts introduced legislation Thursday to instruct Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to award competitive grants for public information campaigns aimed at combating the anti-vaccine movement. The bill does not specify a dollar figure, but would enable the CDC to steer money toward them. The Kansas senator called a lack of confidence in vaccines as one of the top public health threats…

MANHATTAN — Our area could use an extended break from severe weather and heavy rains, but the way the current weather pattern is shaping up, it could be an active next few days with strong to severe thunderstorms. In fact, slight severe weather chances exist now through Saturday for the Manhattan area and a large swath of Kansas. Some areas further south were listed in an enhanced risk for severe storms Thursday evening. A flash flood watch is posted for Riley, Pottawatomie, Geary and Clay counties through Friday morning. The primary risk for Thursday includes hail up to 2 inches…

WICHITA — Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial kickoff to summer for many travelers. An estimated 43 million Americans will take a vacation during the holiday weekend, the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes in 2000. In fact AAA Kansas expects to rescue some 1,700 motorists this weekend on Kansas roads, according to spokesman Shawn Steward. One area they hope not to be making rescues is in flooded roadways. Steward encourages people to be aware of roadways that may be covered by high water and avoid driving into flooded areas. As of May 20,…

MANHATTAN — The Manhattan area got some reprieve from rainfall Wednesday, but not before several more chances heading into Memorial Day weekend. Meteorologist Audra Hennecke with the National Weather Service in Topeka says the area remains in an active pattern with not a whole lot of change in flow. Hennecke says as the rainy pattern continues we’ll likely see a mix between widespread rains and heavy downpours. The National Weather Service says it’s the second wettest May on record for Manhattan. Already 10.05 inches has fallen this month, just over two inches shy of the record 12.39 inches that fell…

WESTMORELAND — A Wamego woman has been convicted of mistreating a dependent adult, according to the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. A Pottawatomie County jury Monday found 54-year-old Jana L. Paczkowski guilty of one felony count of mistreatment of a dependent adult. The case stemmed from a 2017 investigation by the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office that discovered over a two-month period that while serving as the trustee of a special need trust for a dependent adult, Paczkowski used money from the trust for her own benefit rather than for the beneficiary. District Judge Jeffrey Elder has scheduled her sentencing for 1:30…

Severe weather pushed through the region Tuesday evening bringing tornadoes, hail and some brief heavy rains. Activity began around 4:30 p.m. when a cell developed in Geary County, then moved through Fort Riley, west of Manhattan and into northern parts of Riley and Pottawatomie counties. Tornado sirens were sounded in the City of Manhattan, but no reports of damage were reported in and around Riley County. The Geary County Sheriff’s Office reported a touch down of the tornado north of Old Hwy 40 at the county line. It traveled northwest, staying south of Milford Lake and west of Junction City…

Pottawatomie County Commissioner Dee McKee and Assistant Planner Stephan Metzger joined us for discussions on flooding, a potential housing study and other governmental issues.

JUNCTION CITY — Geary County authorities have captured the two men accused of attacking an individual Monday morning on U.S. Hwy 77. Sheriff Daniel Jackson says Michael Whitaker of Topeka and Jason Robert Snider of Chapman were both located overnight Monday in Shawnee County. They remain incarcerated in Geary County Detention Center awaiting their first appearances. An investigation determined the victim was on State Lake Road with one of the suspects when he was ordered out of the car at gun point by a second suspect. The victim was threatened by both men, one with a knife and one with…

MANHATTAN — The Riley County Law Board has signed off on its 2020 budget for publication, totaling just over $602,000 in adjustments. This brings the total budget to around $22.1 million The final proposal, approved Monday, subtracts $137,000 from the Riley County Police Department’s initial budget request for next year, along with a $91,713 carry over from 2018. The proposal is the same budget impact of a 1 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA), while still maintaining an actual 1.9 percent COLA for employees. To make this happen, RCPD officials had to reduce funds in other parts of the initial…