Friday, October 31, 2008

Overdue With Grace

TULSA, Okla. - A library book checked out from a Tulsa high school in 1947 has been returned - with a $250 check to cover overdue fees. Holland Hall School librarian Betty Niver says the book "New Word Analysis: Or School Etymology of English Derivative Words" was mailed to the school by Martha McCabe Jarrett.

Jarrett, of Venice, Fla., was Martha McCabe, a sophomore, when she signed out the book 61 years ago at what was then Holland Hall School for Girls. She recently found it while cleaning out her other home in Rome, Ohio.

"It was just there, with the things I enjoy and my kids don't," she said Friday.

In a note sent with the book, she included the check to pay any fines. But she wasn't sure how she wound up with the book. "I don't know if it was something the library was getting rid of, or my Latin teacher had given me, or if I just kept it," she said.

"I sent it back just because I value the education I got at that school," she said.

School officials said they were not sure what they will do with the $250 because there is no specific overdue book fund. It might be put toward student scholarships.

2 For the Price Of 1

ATLANTA - Being a cheapskate could get you in trouble with the law. Fulton County authorities arrested 40-year-old Dan Linscomb of Texas City, Texas, last week for refusing to pay his tab at the all-you-can-eat Iron Skillet buffet in northwest Atlanta. Officials say Linscomb ate at the buffet and let his girlfriend eat from his plate.

The restaurant charged him for two $7 meals, which he refused to pay. Linscomb was taken to the Fulton County Jail on a charge of theft of service. Fulton County Sheriff's Sgt. Nikita Hightower said Linscomb was released two days later after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.

Linscomb could not be reached for comment. Restaurant officials declined comment.

Imagine Election Day.....

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Shawn Turschak of Chapel Hill was tired of someone stealing McCain-Palin campaign signs from his yard. Turschak, with a degree in electrical engineering, hooked up a third sign to a power source for an electric pet fence Monday and also put up a surveillance camera.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported that a 9-year-old boy with an Obama-Biden sign grabbed the McCain-Palin sign and got a jolt on Tuesday.

The boy's father, Andrew Noble, upset that his son had been shocked, showed up at Turschak's door. Soon an Orange County sheriff's deputy also showed up at the Turschak's home.

Noble said his son just wanted to see how the sign was put together. Turschak said the boy intended to swap out the signs.

Sheriff Lindy Pendergrass said he doesn't plan to file charges.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Take That Gas Pump!

NAUGATUCK, Conn. - A man who police said fired gun shots into a gasoline pump on Saturday morning was expected to be charged with three felonies when he's released from a local hospital.

Police said the man went to the Sunoco gas station on New Haven Road and fired a shotgun at a gas pump several times while customers stood nearby.

Luckily, nobody was injured and the pump did not explode.

The man drove off and struck two cars and was injured in a crash following the shooting incident.

Police have an arrest warrant for the man and his hospital room is being guarded 24-hours a day by two police officers.

Love Thy Neighbor

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man has been accused of trying to hurt his neighbor with a dangerous weapon - centipedes. Prosecutor Mazri Mohamed said Wednesday that R. Prabakaran has been charged with attempting to cause harm with a dangerous weapon after allegedly unleashing four centipedes and bugs in his neighbor's bed last week following an argument.

Prabakaran, 21, allegedly climbed on to the roof to enter his neighbor's house where he committed the offense, Mazri said.

Prabakaran pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a court in the southern city of Johor Baru and has been released on bail, Mazri said.

It was not clear what species the centipedes were. Some species are poisonous.

If found guilty, Prabakaran faces up to three years prison and a caning.

To Give Is To Receivce

HONOLULU (AP) - The best bargain at the Salvation Army thrift store in Kailua-Kona was a Richard Simmons videotape. But Mikela Mercier, 11, decided to pass up the chance to buy the tape for a few coins after she found a surprise inside: $1,000 in $100 bills.

Mikela said that when she discovered the money while browsing through the used tapes, she immediately looked for her mom who was inside the dressing room and told her they needed to turn it in.

Store manager Jimmy Thennes put out a news release on the discovery, praising Mikela for her honesty.

Her mother, Jodi Mercier, said she is very proud of her daughter who she says knew it belonged to the Salvation Army so the agency can help more people in need.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Soiled Sausage

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Customs inspectors scored the makings of a barbecue when a 21-year-old South Texas woman declared several soiled baby diapers at a U.S.-Mexico border crossing.

Suspicious of the chunky diapers, inspectors with U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the international bridge in Hidalgo found several links of spicy pork sausage, or chorizo, inside. The diapers had been folded to look soiled, according to a customs agency statement.

The Mission resident, who was not identified after the Friday night incident, was fined $300 and her chorizo was seized.

'Almost Ranged The Phone Off The Wall....'

DETROIT (AP) - Michigan Democrats trying to arouse interest in absentee voting have accidentally directed people to a phone-sex line.

State party spokeswoman Liz Kerr says a flier that included two absentee ballot applications had a misprint in the number for a campaign hotline.

The flier came from the Michigan Democratic State Central Committee and featured photos of presidential candidate Barack Obama and U.S. Sen. Carl Levin.

The error was first reported by WJBK-TV in Detroit. Kerr says the party apologizes for the misprint.

Monday, October 27, 2008

New Menu Item

HAMBURG, N.Y. (AP) - Health officials shut down a suburban Buffalo restaurant after an inspector found employees butchering a dead deer inside the business. Erie County Health Department officials said they got a tip Friday about a dead deer in the China King restaurant in the town of Hamburg, just south of Buffalo.

An inspector soon arrived and saw the deer being butchered in the kitchen.

State health laws prohibit butchering an animal inside a restaurant.

Officials don't know whether the deer had been killed by a hunter or a vehicle. They said there was no indication the deer meat was served to any customers.

The message on the restaurant's answering machine Monday says it was closed because of "family emergencies."

Follow That Pooch

BOSTON (AP) - Choochy the poodle is a "runway runaway." Boston's Logan International Airport officials say Choochy escaped from her kennel as she was being unloaded after a flight from Detroit Saturday night and scampered across runways and taxiways.

Airport spokesman Phil Orlandella says the poodle evaded airport personnel for more than 17 hours and delayed at least eight flights.

About 15 state police, firefighters, operations personnel and even electricians chased Choochy late into the night, delaying flights for up 30 minutes.

Orlandella says the poodle was frightened, tired and hungry when she was finally lured to safety with food early Sunday afternoon.

The dog was treated for minor injuries at an animal hospital and returned to her family.