Postal service

Broken belt on machine causes short mail delay

Mail deliveries in Lawrence were delayed about an hour Friday, one of the U.S. Postal Service’s busiest days of the year.

Bill Lawrence, station manager at the main post office, 645 Vt., said the delay was caused by a broken belt on an automated machine.

Mechanical failures like these are common, he said, occurring once every two or three months. It’s just that Friday’s failure came on the day after a holiday, always a heavy-volume day for the post office, Lawrence noted.

Winter

KU issues reminder on inclement weather plan

As winter approaches, Kansas University officials are reminding employees and students of KU’s inclement weather policy.

Delayed start or cancellation of classes will be announced by 6 a.m.

The announcement will be made on KU’s Inclement Weather Policy Line, 864-SNOW; through KU Info, 864-3506; on www.ku.edu; or on local broadcast media, including KANU 91.5 FM, KLWN 1320 AM, KLZR 105.9 FM and KJHK 90.7 FM. It also will be posted on the Journal-World’s Web site, www.ljworld.com, and on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.

For more information on KU’s policy, visit www.ku.edu/~provost.

Grants

Communities, agencies sharing $1.24 million

Topeka — One hundred and one communities and local agencies are sharing $1.24 million in federal grants.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ press office announced the grants this week.

Nearly $782,000 will go to 17 schools, school districts and local agencies for anti-drug programs. The largest grant was $91,261 to Emporia’s school district.

Also, 82 law enforcement agencies will share 365,000 for crime prevention. The top amount — $9,000 — went to the sheriff’s departments in Cherokee, Ellis and Harvey counties and the Garnett Police Department.

The Junction City and Halstead fire departments received homeland security funds; Junction City, $68,000, and Halstead, $29,000.