Month: December 2015

Postal deadlines coming up for holidays

Postal deadlines are coming up quickly for mailing packages and cards in time for the holidays.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, here are some deadlines for mailing in order to reach locations in the United States by Dec. 25:

• Tuesday, Dec. 15: Standard post. Ground service for less-than-urgent deliveries and oversized packages.

• Saturday, Dec. 19: First-class mail. Service for standard-sized, single-piece envelopes and small packages weighing up to 13 ounces with delivery in 3 business days or less.

• Dec. 21: Priority mail. Domestic service in 1, 2 or 3 business days based on where the package starts and where it’s being sent. A variety of flat rate options are available.

• Dec. 23: Priority mail express: Fastest domestic service, guaranteed overnight scheduled delivery to most locations. Some restrictions and exceptions apply. Priority mail express postage refund eligibility is adjusted for shipments mailed Dec. 22 through Dec. 25.

Deadlines for sending international mail are generally earlier.

Wyandotte County residents should check the collection times listed on the blue U.S. Postal Service collection boxes at various places in the community. Some of them have changed recently, moving up collection times a couple of hours earlier.

For more information, view “Mailing and shipping services” at www.usps.com.

California man pleads guilty to money-laundering charge in Kansas

A California man pleaded guilty Monday to a federal money laundering charge in Kansas, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said.

Andris Cukurs, 69, Glendale, Calif., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In his plea, he admitted that on Nov. 14, 2014, he was carrying $314,855 in cash in his car when he was stopped on I-70 by the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department.

Cukurs had an agreement with another person to deliver the money, which he knew was derived from the distribution of drugs.

Sentencing is set for March 3. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 30 months in federal prison. Grissom commended the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Assistant U.S. Attorney Debra Barnett for their work on the case.

Minivan rolls over on I-635

A Chrysler minivan rolled over at 11:04 a.m. Dec. 13 on I-635 just south of Metropolitan Avenue in Kansas City, Kan., according to a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper’s report.

The minivan was southbound on I-635 when it lost control because of the weather conditions, the trooper’s report stated. It was raining Sunday. The vehicle traveled to the left and rotated counterclockwise, according to the trooper’s report.
It then traveled to the shoulder where it struck a concrete barrier wall and then overturned, the trooper’s report stated. It slid to a stop on its roof, facing south and east in the inside southbound lane, the report stated.

The driver, a 35-year-old Kansas City, Kan., woman, was injured and taken to a hospital, according to the report.

A 4-year-old Kansas City, Kan., girl riding in the minivan also was injured and taken to the hospital, the report stated.