A portion of the Tarkio business district was shut down for a time this (Thursday) afternoon, when a tanker carrying anhydrous ammonia nearly overturned.
 Tarkio Police Chief Tyson Gibbons says the incident happened at around 12:30 Thursday afternoon, when the rear axles of the tanker slid into the ditch at the intersection of Second and Chestnut, between the Hy-Vee and Dollar General Stores.  (play audio  :38)
 Gibbons says the tanker, owned by Girton Propane Services of Clay Center, Kansas, was towed out of the ditch, and was able to continue on to its destination.  He says none of the 40-thousand pounds of ammonia spilled as a result of the accident, and no one was injured. 
 As a precaution, authorities cleared out the surrounding area while the tanker was uprighted.
 That included the Hy-Vee and Dollar General Stores, which were both closed for about two hours. Chief Gibbons says American Recycling and Salvage and a road construction crew that was working nearby were also affected.
 The Atchison County Sheriff’s Department, Missouri State Patrol, Atchison County Emergency Management, Tarkio Fire Department, and Atchison-Holt Ambulance Service assisted the Tarkio Police Department at the scene.