Local briefs

City bus passes may soon be sold at grocery stores

Eunice Ebert-Stallworth, shown above, loves the T. But she has often wished it were easier to buy a monthly pass for the city bus system.

After all, the passes are sold only between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at City Hall the same hours Ebert-Stallworth has to be at work.

That soon won’t be a problem. Karin Rexroad, the city’s transit administrator, said Friday the T was working on arrangements to sell monthly passes at Lawrence grocery stores.

Rexroad said she hoped the passes would initially be available at The Community Mercantile at Ninth and Iowa streets, followed by Dillons and Hy-Vee locations. She said the passes could be available at the stores by the end of summer.

Animal Control: Police awaiting results of rabies test on skunk

Lawrence Police should know next week whether a skunk an officer killed Friday morning in west Lawrence had rabies.

Police received a call from a business in the 5000 block of West 15th Street about a skunk behaving unusually, Police Sgt. Doug Bell said. Police first sent a pest control company to investigate, but once it was determined the skunk probably was sick, animal control and patrol officers responded, Bell said.

The skunk was walking toward officers, Bell said, while most wild animals will avoid humans. An officer shot the skunk, Bell said, and a local veterinarian sent the animal’s head to Kansas State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for testing. Bell expects results next week.

Two cases of rabies were confirmed in May in Lawrence one in a skunk in North Lawrence and one in a bat in the 1200 block of East 21st Street. No human exposure was reported in either of those cases or Friday’s possible rabies case.

Gasoline Prices: Pump Patrol seeks best deal

The Journal-World has found a gasoline price as low as $1.24 at Citgo, Ninth and Iowa streets.

If you find a lower price, call us at 832-7154. Be prepared to leave the name and address of the business and the price.