time issues in excel.JPG

I have 2 problems here.
This is a screenshot of a time sheet my dept uses.
X means they were here all day, A is absent all day. L TT:MM is for arriving late and E TT:MM is for leaving early.

1) How can I separate the Time from the letter for the Leave Early and Arrive Late cells?

2) I want to be able to figure out how much time they missed during the workday. (not shown) I have a key in BJ1 8:00 AM, BJ2 4:30 PM, and BJ3 for a 30 minute lunch.
So, I have cell E8 which shows they arrived late at 9:30. How can I tally the time lost? (from 8:00 to 9:30)
Or cell c14 where they left at 10:30 am. How can I calculate that time and subtract out the 30 minute lunch as well. I know it should be 5 1/2 hours. I'd prefer the result as 5.5 when displayed.

I'd prefer to stay away from Macros on this.

Thank you - if you can't see the image, let me know and I will attach it again.