Posted: Tuesday, December 23, 2008 12:00 am
Q. What functions does the post office do on federal holidays?
A. Waterloo Post Master Greg Barnes said it depends if it's a widely observed federal holiday or not. During a widely observed federal holiday like Christmas, when the vast majority of people don't work and businesses or closed, post office operations are shut down. During holidays that aren't widely observed and many businesses are still open, like Veteran's Day and Columbus Day, postal employees will collect and process mail. However, home delivery doesn't occur and customer service counters are closed.
Q: Is there any action on the Pronto ethanol story that had been in the Courier before? My understanding is they're are saying it's dismissed and on the court records it doesn't show a dismissal. Just wondering if there was any more to report?
A: Court records show the civil case is still pending but a settlement may be near. The suit, brought by the Iowa Attorney General's Office, alleges the operator of stations in Sumner and Fairbank sold E85 fuel as regular unleaded or 10 percent fuel.
Q. Does the Salvation Army screen people requesting help at Christmas time or do they just give it out upon request?
A. The Salvation Army requires people present a legal ID, Social Security number, proof of income and a list of expenses, said Captain Rob Whitney. He said the organization is re-evaluating how it decides eligibility for assistance, so this year it is evaluating applications on a case-by-case basis.
Q. Are there any places in Cedar Falls, Waterloo or the local area taking Toys for Tots donations?
A. There are dozens of locations, including the following stores: Dollar General, Hy-Vee, Kmart, Kwik Stop, Midas Muffler, Theisen's and Wal-mart. For more information contact Joanne Heath of Cedar Falls at 266-4099.
Q: What day are the soaps now being published in the paper? Do you run them regularly?
A. We run the "Soap Dish" summaries every Sunday on the same page as the Ask Amy and Dr. Gott columns. It's often page F2.
Q. On KWWL, who is the person behind the voice that always says it's 10 p.m. and time for the news?
A. John Young is the name of KWWL's voice talent. He works with Atlas Talent Agency and he lives the Atlanta, Ga., area. He began as a disc jockey in high school and while programming major radio stations across America also received several national awards as DJ of the year. In 1982 Ted Turner changed his life, inviting him to be the exclusive voice for all movie sports and news promotional spots for national TBS Superstation with additional time serving from the same building TNT, TNT Latin America, CNN, Headline News, CNN International and TNT.