Test results expected today for cause of apartment fire

Fire investigators hope to have test results back today on materials from Saturday’s apartment complex fire.

No cause for the fire at Chase Court Apartments, 1942 Stewart Ave., will be released until the test results are known, said Mark Bradford, deputy chief with Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

The fire destroyed a three-story building under construction and damaged two other buildings, one of which was occupied. Two firefighters suffered minor burns, but no one else was injured. The fire caused a total of $600,000 damage.

Investigators completed interviews with 10 people, Bradford said Thursday. Those interviewed were primarily construction workers and contractors for First Management Inc., the firm that owns the complex, Bradford said.

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Environment: Cleanup effort continues at site of gasoline spill

Ottawa Residents who were evacuated Wednesday after an 84,000-gallon gasoline spill southwest of Ottawa were allowed back home Thursday as cleanup efforts continued.

Kenneth Ray, spokesman for Conoco Inc.’s Ponca City, Okla.-based refinery, said Thursday’s rain had slowed cleanup a bit but that crews had collected several dozen more gallons of the spilled product.

The leak in the 8-inch Conoco pipeline has been blamed on seam failure within the pipe.

Crews on Wednesday were able to recover about 8,400 gallons of fuel. About 40 percent of the fuel evaporated, Ray said. The rest likely soaked into the soil and will have to be removed during the next few days.

Conoco crews installed a new section of pipe and were looking to reopen the line Thursday evening or Friday morning.

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Politics: KU alumnus seeks S.D. post

A Kansas University graduate has announced he will run for state treasurer in South Dakota.

Scott McGregor, the state’s deputy treasurer since April 2000, graduated from KU with a master’s degree in public education in 1976 and a law degree in 1982.

McGregor, a Democrat, lives in Rapid City, where he was city attorney for 18 years. He also has worked for two former South Dakota governors.

Term limits bar current Treasurer Dick Butler from seeking a third four-year term.

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Law enforcement: Police racial profiling study months behind schedule

A study into whether racial profiling is occurring in Kansas has fallen behind schedule.

The nearly $390,000 project was supposed to be done by January, in time for lawmakers to consider it during the 2002 legislative session.

But the session has come and gone, and the study remains unfinished.

The study has been delayed because one of the 10 law enforcement agencies enlisted in compiling information for the study failed to follow directions on how to collect the data, according to Herman Jones, director of administration for the Kansas Highway Patrol.

He refused to say which department had caused the delay. He said he expected the study to be finished during the summer.

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Gasoline prices: Pump Patrol seeks best deal

The Journal-World has found a gasoline price as low as $1.26 at several Lawrence stations.

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.