Checkpoint yields 39 citations, arrests

Lawrence police cited 39 people for speeding and made a handful of arrests during a special traffic patrol and checkpoint Friday night.

During a citywide “saturation patrol” from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., the department’s traffic unit also six tickets for hazardous moving violations. Four people were cited for not wearing seat belts.

The traffic unit then set up a DUI checkpoint in the 700 block of north Second Street from 11 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday. They stopped 300 vehicles and arrested one person for drunk driving, one person for drug possession and one person for an outstanding warrant. They also cited four minors for possessing alcohol and three drivers for license violations.

Parking meter stolen

Police say a two-headed parking meter was stolen last week from the 700 block of Vermont Street.

The meter disappeared, pole and all, between 4 p.m. Thursday and 9:30 a.m. Friday, according to a report. The meters were valued at $1,000 total.

Parking meters have been a popular target for thieves in recent years.

In late October, police arrested a Topeka man suspected of using a homemade key to break into downtown parking meters. The same suspect had been arrested seven years earlier for a similar offense.

Downtown meters also were hit in June 2001.

Lawrence resident falls prey to Internet scam

Another Lawrence resident has reported falling victim to an Internet-related financial scam.

The 53-year-old man told police he lost $6,594 on July 5 after deposting a money order in his bank that had been sent to him by a scam artist posing as someone who wanted to make a donation to the Lawrence man’s church. The Lawrence man cashed the money order, withdrew it from his bank and followed the scam artist’s e-mailed instructions to wire half of the money to Belgium – purportedly to another church.

The Lawrence man later learned that the money order was worthless but that he, not his bank, is responsible for the money.

A Kansas University student reported a similar scam earlier this month. In that case, the student had been contacted by email from someone claiming to want to sublease his apartment.

Motorists to be stopped on U.S. 24-40 for survey

If you travel U.S. Highway 24-40 today or Wednesday you might be asked to participate in a survey about travel habits.

The survey will be conducted by the Kansas Turnpike Authority and the Kansas Department of Transportation in Tonganoxie and at the highway intersection with the turnpike entrance in North Lawrence.

Motorists will be randomly stopped at the two locations and asked about their origin, destination, trip frequency and general purpose of travel. The survey will be taken between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and will take about a minute, state officials said.

The Survey data will help determine current travel patterns within and through Leavenworth County and the feasibility of a potential new turnpike interchange in the county.