Local Briefs

Sneak peek offered for charity art auction

The Douglas County AIDS Project’s annual art auction isn’t until Dec. 1, but the public can get an early peek at the artwork and chat with the artists today at a reception.

The event will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the old Carnegie Library, Ninth and Vermont streets.

The works, including the untitled clay piece by Pam Loewenstein shown above, will continue on display from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 4 p.m. Sundays at the Carnegie Building.

Doors open for the art auction at 6 p.m. Dec. 1. Tickets are $20. All proceeds will benefit DCAP.

Last year’s auction raised $11,800 for the nonprofit organization that serves Douglas County residents with HIV/AIDS and their families.

Crime: Chase ends in arrest

A 22-year-old Lawrence man was arrested early Friday after a short chase.

An officer stopped at Ninth and Iowa streets heard squealing tires coming from a parking lot in the area shortly before 2 a.m.

The officer tried to pull over a truck, but the driver drove through a grassy area onto Yale Road, police spokesman Sgt. Mike Pattrick said. The driver then drove through at least four intersections without stopping for stop signs, before finally pulling over near Crestline Drive and Westdale Road.

The suspect was booked into Douglas County Jail on charges of attempting to elude police and having no proof of insurance.

Agriculture: Cause of collapse of storage bin found

An improperly installed loadout spout caused the Oct. 31 collapse of a grain storage bin, said Adrian Derousseau, general manager of Midland Co-op Elevator.

The inside of the spout didn’t have baffles in it, Derousseau said. Baffles allow the grain to be drawn out of the tank in an even manner. Without the baffles, the grain had gathered in an area causing pressure on a seam, he said.

The spout was installed in 1997 or 1998, when the elevator at 1419 N. 1941 Diagonal Road was operated by Lawrence Farmer’s Co-op, Derousseau said.

Another one of the 15 remaining bins has a similar problem that now is slated to be fixed.