US-24 highway overlay project to work into Topeka

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 30, 2002 by Capital-Journal

Question: They have put an overlay on US-24 highway from St. Marys to Silver Lake. Will that work continue on east into Topeka? --- R.G., Silver Lake.

Answer: Yes, that project will continue on US-24 to where it becomes a four-lane highway near the US-75 highway junction in northwest Topeka, said Kim Stich, an information specialist with the Kansas Department of Transportation.

Preliminary work to continue the project is under way now, she said.

"The bituminous overlay project to extend the life of the road should be completed in August," she said.

The roadbed near the junction of the two highways is in good condition, Stich said, except for a short stretch of about a third of a mile about half of a mile east of US-75. That short stretch also will receive the overlay.

When the major work begins on the two-lane stretch of US-24, traffic through the area will be guided by a pilot car, Stich said, and announcements will be made to the news media when that change is implemented so motorists will be aware of possible delays.

"Work on that short stretch on the four-lane segment will not require a pilot car," she said. "We will be able to close a lane at a time so traffic can continue to flow through the construction."

Question: Is the American Red Cross still accepting items for forwarding to the Air National Guardsmen on overseas duty? What kind of items do they want? --- K.W., Topeka.

Answer: That project is ongoing, said Kathryn Allen, director of emergency services for the Kansas Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross.

"We now collect unwrapped items and send them to deployment areas in Bosnia, Somalia, Kuwait and Afghanistan, among others, which then forward them to the bases," she said.

Because of the anthrax scare after Sept. 11, the Red Cross no longer will accept wrapped items, she said.

Items most popular among the servicemen and women are playing cards, board games, novels, recent magazines, greeting cards they can send to relatives, other writing materials, stamps, wrapped gum and hard candy, puzzle books, videos, toothpaste and brushes, heavy socks and gloves, and wrapped packages of coffee, hot chocolate, tea and other snacks, Allen said.

Hometown newspapers also are a favorite.

Items can be delivered to the local Red Cross chapter at 1212 S.W. 17th from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Question: On behalf of hearing-impaired people who depend on closed captioning of television programs, can you find out why KSNT Channel 27 takes off the caption when they run public service announcements? --- C.H., Greenleaf.

Answer: Gary McNair, station manager at KSNT, said he believes you are referring to weather warnings that scroll across the bottom of the screen that block out the captions.

"It's not technically possible to prevent it at the present time ," he said.

He explained that emergency warnings take precedence over entertainment.

"We have an automatic weather warning system and when it issues a storm warning, it scrolls over the captions," McNair said. "We always give priority to such life-and-death warnings."

He said the situation also occurs in the winter during storms that force school closings.

If you have a question for retired Capital-Journal newsman Dick King, call 295-5610 and leave

a message, or write to Dick King, The Topeka

Capital-Journal, 616 S.E. Jefferson, Topeka, 66607.