Local briefs

Driver not injured when car hits utility pole

A Tecumseh teen-ager escaped injury early Thursday morning when the car he was driving struck a utility pole on East 23rd Street near Barker Avenue, Lawrence Police said.

Jason A. Brown, 17, was driving a 1986 Ford Mustang west on 23rd when he struck the north curb, lost control and struck a utility pole, Police Sgt. Mike Pattrick said. The vehicle was seriously damaged.

The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m.

Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical responded to the accident, but Brown was not injured, Pattrick said.

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Higher education: Graves signs bill giving regents more authority

Topeka The Kansas Board of Regents will have more oversight in governing higher education under a bill signed into law Thursday by Gov. Bill Graves.

The law puts the regents in charge of planning for higher education, and gives that board more authority in dealing with community colleges, vocational-technical schools and Washburn University in Topeka.

The legislation was sought by the regents after a consultant’s report said Kansas needed a more unified system of governing higher education.

The law also includes a provision that will require some faculty and unclassified employees to file financial disclosure statements if they serve as consultants.

The provision was added by lawmakers who complained that some professors have failed to disclose their links to businesses when providing testimony to the Legislature on issues that could affect those businesses.

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Crime: Convenience store, ATM burglarized in Williamsburg

Williamsburg Franklin County Sheriff’s officers and the FBI are investigating a burglary at a convenience store and its automatic teller machine.

An employee reporting for work about 6:15 a.m. Thursday at the Texaco Save, Rest and Shop store, 460 John Brown Road, discovered the burglary, Undersheriff Kevin Kimball said.

The store’s front door was forced open to gain entry, Kimball said. An ATM was opened and money was taken. Investigators are trying to determine how the ATM was opened.

A similar burglary and theft from an ATM was reported May 19 at a convenience store in Princeton.

Employees at a bank in Tonganoxie reported May 20 that a drive-up ATM had been opened and money removed, police in that city said. Those cases remain unsolved.

FBI spokesman Jeff Lanza said investigators thought the three incidents might be connected.

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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 locations in the city, including Citgo at Ninth and Iowa streets, Conoco at Sixth Street and Crestline Drive, and Citgo, Total and Conoco on North Second Street.

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.