Noxious Weed Director, Dennis Peterson gave an update at Thursday’s Riley County Commission meeting.

According to Peterson, Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) rescinded an existing contract in early June because of budget issues, but reinstated it in July, and now the KDOT contract has been completed. They finished spraying for field bindweed and serecia lespedeza last week. They are currently spraying serecia lespedeza for several landowners with Escort herbicide.


Peterson said his crews will begin spraying brush on county roads in section 2 next week. There’s also a need to spray cattails for Deep Creek Sewer District this week, weather permitting.

According to Peterson, mowing is ongoing, with all county roads mowed the second time, with a third round just started. East Marlatt Avenue has been mowed four times with the lawn mower. The first pass along the curb has been mowed three times with the roadside mower, and they have made three chemical applications to this road this year. He said they are still getting complaints from a person who thinks they should mow this area once per week. He said that one-mile of county-owned property is very costly to maintain because it’s a manual opertion.

The next Household Hazardous Waste collection is at Howie’s on Saturday, September 11th from 8 a.m. to 12 noon.

Ogden may have new travel lodging in the not so distant future. Mayor Bob Pence tells KMAN Ogden City Council members had a special visitor Wednesday night, a representative from Lexington Suites. Pence says discussions were opened regarding a possible new hotel in the RIM development area south of town.

However, the Ogden Mayor admits there’s nothing firmed up yet time-frame wise, saying it’s “real preliminary.” Pence says they’re trying to work it out so that when the highway extension gets completed, they’d be ready to open the doors, which would be in mid 2012.

Wildcat Insider - August 30, 2010


Segment 1 Topics: Carson Coffman


Segment 2 Topics: UCLA Personnel issues, K-State’s Offensive Line, K-State’s team morale, and season projections


Segment 3 Topics: K-State Volleyball


Segment 4 Topics: Competition for positions in football and depth chart discussion


Segment 5 Topics: College Football across the nation, KSU Players that could have huge impacts in the future


Segment 6 Topics: Excitement around Saturday and this season

KMAN’s Matt Walters turned 40 on September 1st. On a special edition of “The Game,” numerous guests roasted Matt Walters. Enjoy!


Segment 1: Brian Smoller and Rob Voelker


Segment 2: Brian Smoller, Corey Dean, Dave Lewis, and Greg Hoyt


Segment 3: Ray Kujawa, Brad Hill, and Tim Fitzgerald


Segment 4: Wyatt Thompson, Kenny Lannou, and D. Scott Fritchen


Segment 5: Eric Atkinson and some loyal “The Game” listeners


Segment 6: Frank Martin, Scott Miller, Aaron Leiker, and Rob Voelker

The Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 Board of Education held their first meeting of the new school year Wednesday night, and much was accomplished. The Board saw a presentation by Superintendent Bob Shannon on a new health insurance plan for its classified and administrative personnel. The new plan will raise monthly charges roughly 37 dollars a month, and passed by six votes to zero. The Board also was given information about a new grant received, a readiness and emergency management grant in the amount of $300,000. The grant is funded by the U.S Department of Education. Finally, the Board was asked by Associate Superintendent Bob Seymour to approve the hiring of a new teacher at Lee Elementary, which would help with keeping student to teacher ratios lower. The measure was unanimously approved.

Welcome to the debut of the weekly “Two Cents” on 1350kman.com. GoPowercat.com’s Robert Cassidy and KMAN’s Ryan Wallace take a fun and unique approach to sports talk with great interviews. Enjoy this show featuring interviews with former K-State quarterback Grant Gregory and K-State Men’s Basketball Assistant Coach Matt Figger.

Riley County Police are announcing a homicide arrest involving a mother/daughter domestic dispute Tuesday night. Diane Washam, 45, of 2814 Illinois Lane faces a possible charge of murder in the second degree, in connection with the death of her 88-year-old mother June Smith, who also resided at 2814 Illinois Lane.

RCPD Lt. Herb Crosby reports officers were called to the Illinois Lane address shortly after 10 Tuesday night, after receiving a 911 call regarding a stabbing. Officers found Smith suffering from severe lacerations. She was transported by Riley County EMS to Mercy Regional Health Center where she died.

Washam was taken into custody on the second degree murder charge. Bond has been set at $100,000.

A Topeka man will be thinking twice about trying to break into some Aggieville businesses after being taken in by the Riley County Police Department Monday on a warrant for multiple charges. RCPD arrested Kurtz Poore of 535 NE Sumner in Topeka for charges stemming from a string of incidents occurring in September and October of 2009.

According to the RCPD, some time between September 14th and 15th, Poore attempted to break into the The Dusty Bookshelf used book store in Aggieville, as well as Premier Car Wash in Aggieville. Also on the warrant was criminal damage to property at the Dusty Bookshelf for the same incident.

Furthermore, some time between October 5th and 6th, Poore committed a burglary at Dusty Bookshelf, and some time between October 11th and 12th, Poore burglarized Acme Gift in Aggieville, also causing criminal damage to property. Bond was set at $15,000.

A recent set of permits were issued last week for a number of new items around town. According to Brad Claussen, Manhattan Building Official, permits were issued for the Manhattan Conference Center as well as a new Hilton Garden Inn, both part of the South End Redevelopment project. Claussen also highlighted a few single family home permits, which Claussen says should continue to be steady this time of year.

Memorial services for longtime Manhattan Broadcasting General Manager Lowell Jack will be held on Thursday, Sept. 9th at 10:00 a.m. at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home in Manhattan.

Jack led Manhattan Broadcasting Company for 35 years and member of the Kansas Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame has passed away. He died Sunday night after a battle with cancer. He was 85 years old.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Riley County Historical Society Publishing Fund. Contributions can made through the funeral home office.

The following is the obituary released by Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home:
Lowell E. Jack, 85 of Manhattan, died August 29, 2010. He was born August 14, 1925 in Donnellson, Iowa. His parents were Merrill B. and Lurena E. Jack.

During World War II, he served in the islands of the South Pacific as a coxswain of a LCM, a small landing craft. He later became part of the U.S. Navy ROTC program at the University of Idaho. Following the war, he graduated to the Pasadena Institute for Radio in Pasadena, California.

He worked as an announcer for radio station KBUR in Burlington, Iowa. While in Burlington, he met and married Phyllis Machholz. He worked at the U.S. Weather Bureau at the Burlington airport and Lowell often introduced her as she gave the latest weather report over KBUR.

Later he ran the Perry, Iowa studios of KWBG and in 1954 came to Manhattan to serve as general manager of KMAN and vice president of Manhattan Broadcasting Company. He later established an FM station, KMKF. His most satisifying job at KMAN was helping to gather the local news and to deliver the Noon News. He estimated he delivered over 9,000 newscasts on the station.

He was active in the community and state serving as president of the Jaycees in Perry, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, Manhattan Lions Club, Kansas Association of Broadcasters, the Manhattan/Riley County Bicentennial Committee, president and co-founder of the Tuttle Creek Lake Association, and co-publisher of the Tuttle Creek Review. He served as president of the Riley County Historical Society. He helped to develop the Johnny Kaw statue and bring it to “life” in City Park.

He helped found the Riley County Mental Health Association, served on the advisory boards of a number of organizations including the Flint Hills Job Corps Center and the Manhattan/Riley County Sesquicentennial Committee.

He received the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Distinguished Service Award in 1986 and was named Citizen of the Year by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce in 1974 and 1984. He was inducted into the Kansas Association of Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame in 2000 and in 2004 received the UFM Grassroots Community Education Award.

A Manhattan Mercury panel named him one of the five All Time Best City Commissioners. He had served on the Manhattan City Commission for four years and was the city’s mayor for one of those years.

When he was chairman of the board of the Chamber of Commerce, he formed The Ambassadors Club in early 1968 and remained and Ambassador for the Chamber until recent years when he asked for emeritus status.

Lowell led KMAN into heavy Tuttle Creek Reservoir-related programming following completion of the dam. As a result, the station was named state Conservation Communicator of the Year in 1966 by the Kansas Wildlife Federal and in 1967 he attended the National Wildlife Federation convention to receive the National Conservation Communicator of the Year award. In 1969, he was named Conservationist of the Year by Sikar Safari International.

He was voted the number one Local Historical Person and Volunteer of the Year and appeared twice on the Manhattan Mercury’s Most Admired List.

One of his most satisfying achievements was heading the Parks Improvement Task Force, which raised a quarter of a million dollars to build the Larry Norvell Band Shell in City Park. One of Lowell’s special hobbies was restoring and refinishing antique clocks for a local clock shop, and he restored many pieces of furniture for his family’s use.

Following retirement in 1989, he work for the Chamber of Commerce part time until 1997. When the chamber was searching for a new president Lowell served 5 months as president and CEO of the organization and was in that position when the Chamber bought its new building at 5th and Poyntz.

He had a long time interest in local history and gave hundred of service club talks on Manhattan and Riley County history. In his second retirement, he published six historical calendars and two books, A History of Manhattan and Neighbors of the Past. The latter was a collection of 52 columns he had written for the Manhattan Mercury during the Manhattan Sesquicentennial.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother Lewis of Donnellson, Iowa. Survivors include his wife Phyllis of the hom, a son, Steven Jack and wife Randi, Lawrence, and a daughter, Diane Concelmo and her husband Robert, of Gainesville, Florida. Also surviving are grandchildren Andrew and Rachel Jack and Daniel and Matthew Concelmo. Survivors also include a brother, Richard and wife Joann of Alhambra, California, and a sister, Louis Richers and husband Robert of Wapello, Iowa.

Cremation is planned with memorial services planned for Thursday, September 9th at 10:00 A.M. at the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Chapel with Reverend Ben Duerfeldt officiating. Inurnment will follow will full military honors in the Kansas Veterans Cemetery at Fort Riley. The family of Mr. Jack will receive friends from 6:00 until 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, September 8th at the funeral home.

Memorial contributions can be made to the Riley County Historical Society Publishing Fund. Contributions can be left in care of the Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home, 1616 Poyntz Avenue, Manhattan, KS 66502