The Manhattan Mercury from Manhattan, Kansas • 1

THE MANHATTAN $1.00 48 pages sections MANHATTAN, KANSAS June 15, 2008 1 AT nn CUffl Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is still dealing with high waters because of flooding. Page A 5 mm. A fast rundown of the topics of Briefing interest tnHav Dial: Work could start shortly Mark Scott rmcottiSthemercury com A Dial Realty official expects construction to begin on the Manhattan Marketplace north end project within a month regardless of whether a local downtown redevelopment udvo-cacy group decides to appeal a court ruling handed down last week in favor of the city and he developer. Riley County District Court Judge Meryl Wilson ruled in favor of the city on three claims raised by the plaintiffs Manhattan Citizens for Sustainable Downtown Redevelopment and several other groups and individuals. The plaintiffs were attempting to overturn the Manhattan City Commission's January 3 2 vote in approval of the amended Manhattan Marketplace PUDi which allows a 78,000 square-foot HyVee grocery store in as the anchor of the north end project.

"Our financier and tenants are SEE NO. 3, BACK PAGE VA i "Presidential campaign Our last report Record high prices for gasoline probably won't drop before the November election. Republican John McCain said Wednesday, Although the GOP presidential candidate didn't address of raising taxes on oil companies, he said the companies "absolutely" should return some profits to consumers. Today's news: Many black conservatives are saying they aren't sure who will get their vote in November. Democratic candidate Barack Obama, who is black, has engendered conflicting emotions among black Republicans, who revel over the possibility of a black president but wrestle with the thought that the Illinois senator doesn't sit beside them ideologically.

A7 Next Republican presidential candidate John McCainhas taken steps to lure black voters, telling Essence magazine that he would attend the NAACP's annual convention next month and pointing out that he recently traveled to Selma, and "talked about the need to include 'forgotten Americans." Staff photo by Luke Townsend The Miller Ranch area was filled with multiple groups of volunteers that paraded the area with red buckets bringing water and food to other home owners and volunteers Saturday. Volunteers turn out to help with tornado recovery Lauren Epps leppsOthemercury.com More than two hundred volun Brownback on McCain train Bill Felber bfelberthernercury com I Coming Monday i How a Manhattan couple has used their resources to honor a place where they have some history. I tV Quietly for now, perhaps more visibly later. Sen. Sam Brown-back has set himself a mission ary task.

That task involves persuading the so-called "religious right," his core constituency, to behtnd 'the John McCain presidential candidacy. As with any missionary effort, teers signed up with the city of Manhattan Friday to helpclean up neighborhoods that suffered damages in the tornado and heavy storms Wednesday evening. Jerry Snyder of the Manhattan Fire Departmentsaidtheconcentra-tionfortheworkcrsFrtdaywasinthe Timberland to Denison areas along with about three blocks on either side of Anderson Avenue. "We're focusing on clearing the debris field and treedamage, getting tree limbsheiuicbj" Snydersaid. 4 the volunteers have come out in surprising numbers.

Several volunteers buzzed around thestationattheBrarhlageColiseum parkinglot waitingforthenextbusto take them to their destination. One volunteer group of ladies called the "Manicurists" signed up for the bus that ran in the morning to the College Heights area to pick up downed limbs and debris for residents in that area. Only two of the group members previously knew each other Connie Sullivan and Brenda Parker had been longtime friends and decided to help out with the organized effort after helping friends in the Amherst area all day Thursday. The group's other members, "Hoof and Karina, worked moving large tree branches along with smaller twigs and debris from people's lawns. They came across one man who had a fallen tree on the side of his house.

He was cutting the Staff photo by Luke Townsend Jenell Mosley, reflected in the center of the mirror, is reflected in a mirror of a small money box where the top floor of a house used to be. Mosley is a part of the Broken Arrow Day Camp out of Olsburg. it is not an easy sell. But Brown-back, a believer, expects his case will be persuasive. He also acknowledges, however, that his is merely the prophet's role.

Eventually, McCain himself has to close "Twister Our last report Officials estimated the damage in Chapman at more than $20 million and said the tornado destroyed or heavily damaged 65 buildings, including homes. The storm also caused extensive damage at Kansas State University in Manhattan and killed one person in the tiny town of Soldier. Today's news: Volunteers have been out in force in and around Manhattan since the storm. City Clerk Gary Pees said the city had 175 registered volunteers Saturday, plus many more who were oot registered. There were 225 registered volunteers Friday.

City officials Saturday visited several homes that were destroyed or heavily damaged. A1, A2 tlexfc the volunteer effort continues today. Those who wish to help should report to the west parking lot at Bill Snyder Family Stadium near the Cats Closet store between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to be transported to impacted areas.

Volunteers should wear long pants and shirts and bring work gloves if possible. Brownback The group was called the Manicurists because not only were they picking up large limbs and moving them to the curb for crews to later pick up, but they were also picking up leaves and smaller sticks. "I just want to make their yards look good," Parker said. "These smaller piecescouldget a caught in a lawn mower and hurt someone." Sweating in the blazing June sun, the Manicurists moved up and down SEE NO. 1, BACK PAGE limbs to make them easier to get to the street.

The Manicurists swept in and, in a matter of minutes, the majority of the tree was on the curb, along with a large pile of leaves and smaller tree parts. Moving heavy tree parts in the morning was no easy task. Wiping her eyes, Sullivan confessed she was starting to sweat. "I just hate when I start to sweat said as she moved on, looking for more debris to clean up. the deal.

"He's doing some of it," said Brownback in an interview last week. "He just needs to have a strong and aggressive outreach to faith-based voters." Brownback's role to date has been a behind-the-scenes one, SEE NO. 2, BACK PAGE "Afghanistan Our flag was still there Officials: Wheat crop is OK it Sarah Nightingale Our last report Off icials say 3 1 people died in airstrikes in eastern Afghanistan. Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary says most of the 31 people were foreign fighters. But Khalid Farooqi, a lawmaker from Paktika, says at least nine civilians were killed.

todai news: U.S. and Nato troops aided Afghan forces with reconnaissance in a hunt Saturday for 870 inmates who escaped 'prison after a sophisticated Taliban assault that even NATO conceded was a success for the militants. In a separate incident roadside bomb killed four U.S. Marines in southwestern Afghanistan. A7 Next Sayed Agha Saqib, the police chief of Kandahar province, said 390 Taliban prisoners were among the 870 escapees, a number that was revised from an original guess of 1,100.

snicj htingaleOtheme rcury.com Several recent hailstorms and Iran a rare tornado have not "rained out" optimistic wheat forecasts for Riley County and across the state, officials said. Tamie Buckley, county execu--tive director for Riley and Geary County Farm Service Agency said that while a few farmers had suffered "very significant losses" the county as a whole had experienced minimal damage. County extension agent Greg McClure said the yield potential for 2008 is "still looking good." "Despite all the problems we've had, we're still likely to get a good crop," he said. "Most of the damage was to the south and west of Manhattan, especially out toward the airport, McClure said. "We also experienced damage in the Ashland and Hunter's Island areas." According to McClure, several fields near the airport experienced 90 percent crop damage in the recent hailstorms.

"At that point, most farmers collect insurance if they have it," said McClure. "Farmers will harvest and make the best of what they've got, take a hay crop or take out the wheatand plantsomethingelse," McClure said. SEE NO. 4, BACK PAGE Our last report A bomb explosion in a mosque packed wrth hundreds of worshippers in southern Iran killed at least nine people and injured more than 100 Saturday. The semiofficial Farsi news agency said the explosion in the city of Shiraz went off as a dene was delivering his weekly speech against extremist Wahabi beliefs and the outlawed Bahai faith.

A police official was quoted as saying a homemade bomb caused the explosion. news: Iran rejected sin-nation offer of incentives to stop enriching uranium Saturday. In response, President George W. Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy jointly warn Tehran against proceeding toward a nuclear bomb. The series of events unfolded quickly after European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana presented the offer from the United States, France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China.

A7 Next In his remarks. Bush said the Iran, if it kept moving toward nuclear armament would be "incredibly destabilizing," and "a blow to world peace I -t II I Inside Comics Ed.torial TV Weather .06 Staff photo by David Mayes Storm clouds roll behind ripening wheat on a rtctnt morning south of Manhattan. Statt photo by David ayes A flag flies over the remains of Waters True Value Hardware. Saturday was Flag Day in Manhattan and the U.S..