Author: Brandon Peoples

A research building on the Kansas State University campus had to be evacuated for a brief time Wednesday afternoon. The Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched shortly before 3 p.m. to Burt Hall at 1220 North 17th Street for a reported chemical spill. Crews located a small chemical container that had over-pressurized on the building’s second floor. Two people possibly exposed to the chemical were evaluated by Riley County EMS and released. As a result of the hazardous materials alarm, Burt Hall was evacuated as a precaution while crews identified and neutralized the chemical. The building was deemed safe and the…

Kansas utility customers behind on their utility payments can avoid disconnection now through March 31 thanks to the Cold Weather Rule. First enacted by the Kansas Corporation Commission in 1983, the rule prevents utility companies from disconnecting a customer’s natural gas or electric service during periods of extreme cold. KCC Public Affairs Director Linda Berry explains. Customers must notify their utility if interested in participating in the repayment plan. Berry says utility companies in the KCC’s jurisdiction are prohibited from disconnecting service when temperatures are forecast to be at or below 35 degrees. More information is available by visiting the…