Lawrence firefighters were scheduled to begin training on a newly delivered truck which cost about $290,000. The truck featured an enclosed cab and a 105-foot ladder that could operate at a low-level angle, meaning that even with 200 pounds at the end of the fully-extended ladder, the truck would not tip over. The new ladder truck was a bright lime-green hue instead of the traditional red, a color trend that was being followed around the nation.

A California court issued an order preventing Culture Farms Inc. of Lawrence and Activator Supply Co. Inc. of Pahrump, Nev., from withdrawing money from banks in that state. A high number of credit-card transactions on their accounts, combined with a recent cease-and-desist order, caused the bankers to be nervous about the possibility of the firms closing their doors and credit-card customers refusing to pay what they had charged, leaving the banks unable to collect from the companies.