The name of a Junction City man found with gunshot wounds early Friday morning has been released. According to Junction City Police, 22-year-old Lionel Page had recently returned to Junction City from Floria. The case is being worked as a homicide, although no motive for the killing has ben established JCPD Chief Tim Brown indicates the investigation is ongoing. Page was found lying on a sidewalk in the 900 block of North Washington, suffering from gunshot wounds shortly after two a.m. He was later pronounced dead at Geary Community Hospital. Junction City Police Chief Tim Brown says the only description of the suspect is that he is a black male who fled the scene. Anyone with information is asked to call Junction City Police at 762-5912 or Crime Stoppers at 762-TIPS. This is the second fatal shooting in Junction City in a month, with one reported earlier this month involving 25-year-old Crystal Fisher of Junction City. Fisher was found shortly after midnight in a vehicle parked in a lot at 713 West 11th Street. JCPD responded after receiving 9-1-1 calls of shots fired in that area, with information that a vehicle was parked with the engine running and accelerator apparently stuck open. Fisher was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound, sitting in the driver’s seat.

City of Manhattan Fire Chief Jerry Snyder is resigning from his position today (Friday) and will be rehired in the same capacity on May 3rd. City Manager Ron R. Fehr says Chief Snyder has reached a maximum level of years of service for his Kansas Police & Fire (KP&F) retirement plan, and that he has accepted Chief Snyder’s resignation, reemployment proposal in order for him to draw a portion of his retirement benefits. This action will result in savings to the City and will not require further contribution payments from the City of Manhattan to the KP&F retirement plan for Chief Snyder. Fehr stated in a press release, “Chief Snyder has served the City of Manhattan and the Manhattan Fire Department in a very high capacity as Fire Chief since 2005. This was an opportunity to retain a quality employee, which will benefit the City and Jerry Snyder.” During Chief Snyder’s absence, deputy fire chief Don Francis will serve as Interim Director of Fire Services. Snyder joined the Manhattan Fire Department in January 1977 as a Fire Fighter.

A gun-related robbery was reported at Dara’s Fast Lane at 3270 Kimball Avenue early this (Friday) morning. Riley County Police Lt. Herb Crosby indicates RCPD received a call at about 12:30 a.m. from the Dara’s clerk, stating he had just been robbed. At this time, the investigation has revealed that one suspect entered the store with a shot gun and ordered the clerk and a patron in the store to lie on the floor. The suspect then took an undetermined amount of cash from the cash register drawer and fled the store southbound, dropping some of the cash he took. There were no shots fired and no injuries. The suspect is described as a possible Hispanic male, 5′6″ to 5′8″ tall, of medium build, wearing camouflaged pants, and light gray hooded sweatshirt with two black bandanas cover his face. Investigations continue into the incident and anyone with information is asked to contact RCPD at 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers at 539-7777.

Junction City Police are again investigating a fatal shooting this (Friday) morning. An unidentified 22-year-old Junction City man was found lying on a sidewalk, suffering from gunshot wounds shortly after two a.m. He was later pronounced dead at Geary Community Hospital. Next of kin have not yet been notified. Junction City Police Chief Tim Brown says the only description of the suspect is that he is a black male who fled the scene, the 900 block of North Washington. Anyone with information is asked to call Junction City Police at 762-5912 or Crime Stoppers at 762-TIPS. An autopsy is pending. Another fatal shooting was reported earlier this month involving 25-year-old Crystal Fisher of Junction City. Fisher was found shortly after midnight in a vehicle parked in a lot at 713 West 11th Street. JCPD responded after receiving 9-1-1 calls of shots fired in that area, with information that a vehicle was parked with the engine running and accelerator apparently stuck open. Fisher was found dead from an apparent gunshot wound, sitting in the driver’s seat.

A new mayor has taken up office in Ogden following the ousting of Jimmy Bond by Ogden voters. Ogden’s new mayor is Bob Pence. Pence has immediate goals, like reopening the pool, and completing backdated job evaluations, and long term goals like boosting Ogden’s economy. Pence hasn’t mentioned whether or not he will run in next year’s election.

Recently, Riley County teamed up with the National Association of Counties (NACo) to provide citizens who are without prescription insurance, a means to save money on their prescription expenses. The Riley County Counselor’s office was instrumental in getting this program off the ground. Their Legal Assistant, Angel Dillon, monitors the program for the County, and she gave an update at Thursday’s County Commission meeting. According to Dillon, to meet this public need, the County Counselor’s office placed displays of prescription cards in various locations to include the Public Library, Health Department, Flint Hills Community Clinic, Parks and Rec., the cities of Riley, Randolph and Ogden. A new location has recently been added to the list; Head Start of USD 383 is now a point of contact for cards with their supply consisting mainly of drug cards printed in Spanish at their request.

The most recent report from NACo (January 2010), states that 58 cards were utilized in Riley County averaging each user a savings of 26.71% or $16.51 on their prescription purchase. These figures reflect an overall increase in savings, but the users of the card remain constant from the November 2009’s report.

On the national front, according to figures published by NACo, the program continues to grow rapidly. 1,298 counties are participating in the program. To give you an idea of just how much that is, there are 3,066 counties in the nation, so this figure represents just over a third are using the program.

Since the end of January, there has been 21.6 million prescriptions filled under the card, representing a 24.2% overall average savings or $257.8 million dollars.

The Riley County Drug Discount Card is available free of charge to anyone. If you have insurance, but don’t have prescription drug coverage, this card could save money. The card can be picked up at the locations listed above.

Imagine visiting Council Grove, Wamego, Westmoreland, Randolph, Manhattan, Junction City, Clay Center, Leonardville, and Riley in just a few days. That will be the itinerary of the final two candidates for the newly formed Flint Hills Regional Council Executive Director. Chris Campany of Starkville, Mississippi tells KMAN he’s very excited about the possibility of being selected for the position. He says many regions talk about forming regional councils, but it doesn’t happen all that often. Campany adds it’s obviously an exciting time for the Flint Hills region, saying it’s a great opportunity for the communities in the region to work on areas such as transportation, economic development, education, housing, and agricultural economic development. Campany will be in the area Monday and Tuesday of next week, beginning in Council Grove Monday at 10, Wamego at 12:30, Westmoreland at 1:30, and Manhattan most of the late afternoon, and then continuing in Junction City at 8:45 Tuesday, Clay Center at 10:30, and the interview at the Manhattan Public Library at 1:30, which is open to the public. Candidate Ty Warner describes the position as an exciting prospect. He says the Flint Hills Regional council is probably one of the mos exciting things happening in the country right now. He gives kudos to the whole Flint Hills area for pulling this together and for wanting to move forward in a cooperative way. Warner formerly was a regional planner for the Chicago area. Warner will be in the Flint Hills area the end of next week. Warner will be doing a series of meet-and greets in Council Grove, Wamego, and Westmoreland on Wednesday, March 24th, and in Clay Center, Junction City, and Manhattan Thursday.

A Manhattan man has entered a no contest plea to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 26-year-old Kenneth Miller entered the plea Wednesday in Pottawatomie County District court, with sentencing set for April 15th. Miller had been formally charged by county attorney Sherri Schuck in mid-February. Miller also faces a sentencing on false writing charges April 15th. Miller entered the plea of no contest to two felony counts of making a false writing in early February. He and another individual were taken into custody in January after allegedly purchasing gasoline with a counterfeit 20 dollar bill. Law enforcement officials indicate more than two thousand dollars worth of counterfeit money were found during an execution of search warrants in Wamego January 22nd.

Some questions have been raised regarding the timing of Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson’s report dealing with allegations of open meetings violations in Ogden. Wilkerson issued his findings Friday afternoon, on the same day that a county canvass made Ogden Mayor Jimmy Bond’s recall official, and three days after the recall election. But Wilkerson maintains he tried to keep his viewpoint separate from the election proceedings. Wilkerson was asked if his report could have been released any sooner. His response was he maybe could have worked weekends and evenings, but he doesn’t believe in hurrying this kind of thing. Meanwhile, Wilkerson clarifies that to say there was no wrongdoing on Bond’s part is incorrect. The county attorney indicates only that the open meetings law was not violated in the case of the pool firings–the only allegation in the petition for recall Wilkerson directly addressed. Wilkerson refers to a letter written that indicated action had been taken by the city council on the matter. However, as the decision actually appears to have been made by the Mayor, the open meetings act doesn’t come into play. Further as announced last Friday, Wilkerson maintains that based on Ogden City code, opening or closing the municipal pool rests in the discretion of the Mayor. The county attorney concluded by saying the Mayor of Ogden is granted a great deal of authority in running the affairs of the City of Ogden, as are most mayors of similar size cities.

The Manhattan area was well-represented at Tuesday’s pro-education rally in Topeka. Manhattan/Ogden NEA President Usha Reddi says the event in her words “went really great.” Reddi was especially pleased with the number of young people who attended from the Manhattan area. Reddi tells KMAN the message continues to be “We want what’s right, and not what’s left,” referring to funding for education. Several students from the local district attended the event, with a thousand people and 30 districts represented. Reddi adds the students had a chance to meet with and see in action, State Senator Roger Reitz and State Representative Sydney Carlin, both of Manhattan.