Pig Withstands Tasers, Cops on U.S. 41
Friday, September 15, 2006 8:48 AM EDT
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) A pig withstood taser shots from police officers and eluded authorities for more than an hour after wandering onto Green Bay's major highway. The 150-pound pig was spotted by a passing driver on U.S. 41 at 6 p.m. Wednesday night, Green Bay Police Lt. Todd LePine said.
The animal reportedly went into traffic several times, creating a hazard, he said.
Officers located the pig about 7 p.m. and made two attempts to subdue it with a stun gun, he said, but it fled both times after pulling out the Taser probes.
A passerby who described himself as a former pig farmer tried to wrestle the animal, but the animal pulled away from him as well, LePine said.
Three tranquilizer darts were finally used to bring the pig under control, and it was placed in blanket and lifted into an animal control van, LePine said.
The animal was taken to the Bay Area Humane Shelter that evening. Police said a local attorney planned to claim the pig Thursday. The name of the pig's owner was not disclosed.
Widow Rented Rotary Phone for 42 Years
Thursday, September 14, 2006 4:13 PM EDT
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio (AP) A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now outdated phone.
Ester Strogen, 82, of Canton, first leased two black rotary phones the kind whose round dial is moved manually with your finger in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was new and owning telephones was unaffordable for most people.
Until two months ago, Strogen was still paying AT&T to use the phones $29.10 a month. Strogen's granddaughters, Melissa Howell and Barb Gordon, ended the arrangement when they discovered the bills.
"I'm outraged," Gordon said. "It made me so mad. It's ridiculous. If my own grandmother was doing it, how many other people are?"
New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies, a spinoff of AT&T that manages the residential leasing service, said customers were given the choice option to opt out of renting in 1985. The number of customers leasing phones dropped from 40 million nationwide to about 750,000 today, he said.
"We will continue to lease sets as long as there is a demand for them," Skalko said.
Benefits of leasing include free replacements and the option of switching to newer models, he said.
Gordon said she believes the majority of people leasing are elderly and may not realize they are paying thousands of dollars for a telephone.
Skalko said bills are clearly marked, and customers can quit their lease any time by returning their phones.
Strogen says she's not a big fan of her new push-button phone.
"I'd like to have my rotary back," she said. "I like that better."
Arkansas Cow Has Fourth Set of Triplets
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 4:58 PM EDT
The Associated Press
HARRIET, Ark. (AP) For the fourth time, an Arkansas cow has given birth to triplets and it's the ninth time she has given birth to more than one calf at a time. The Charolais-mix cow named Faith has given birth to 22 calves in nine pregnancies each of them multiples.
"Our vet says she belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records," owner Jenny Williams said. "She's amazing." Veterinarian Dr. G.C. Blair confirmed the 10-year-old's amazing fertility.
According to researchers at Oklahoma State University, beef cattle have triplets in 1 out of about 105,000 pregnancies, and have twins in 1 out of about 250.
Faith gave birth to her latest set on Friday. Of her previous 18, 15 grew to maturity three died after birth, including one Friday, and one was carried off by a bear.
Faith lives at the Cedar Creek Ranch and Cattle Co., which is owned and managed by Bob and Jenny Williams, and Jenny's mother Laura Ewing. The farm purchased Faith and her mother from a neighbor a decade ago.
"She is a really sweet cow," she said. "We don't keep a cow unless she is."
Faith gave birth two twins in her first two pregancies and accidentally killed one of her first by rolling on the calf. The farm kept a heifer from the second set, Hope, and she has produced only single births.
Faith's triplets are almost the size of single birth calves, out of commercial cows bred to Limousin bulls. Jenny noted that Faith is a large cow, probably weighing 1,200 pounds while nursing a calf.
"She is huge before giving birth," she continued. "We can tell if she will gave twins or triplets by her size. In 2003 we said twins, and in 2004 we said triplets."
Tank Foils Mich. Robbery Suspect
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 11:20 PM EDT
The Associated Press
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) A man charged with robbing a 7-Eleven might have avoided capture if he'd spent some of the loot at a nearby gas station.
David K. Booth, 44, of Royal Oak, was arrested early Tuesday while sitting in the getaway truck, its gas tank empty, police said. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in 44th District Court to one count of unarmed robbery.
Booth entered the 7-Eleven, implied he had a weapon and demanded the money in the cash register, police said. The clerk complied, then called 911 after the robber drove away, police said.
An officer responding to the call noticed a pickup parked on the side of a road about a mile away. The suspicious officer checked inside, saw a man matching the robber's description, arrested him and, for good measure, found the allegedly stolen cash.
"We recovered everything," Deputy Police Chief Chris Jahnke told The Daily Tribune.
District Judge Terrence Brennan set bond for Booth at $50,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Aug. 18, a court clerk said.
Crossing-Dressing Bandit Gets Six Years
Friday, August 4, 2006 6:32 PM EDT
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A cross-dressing bandit on skates who robbed a bank across the street from his home was sentenced to prison Friday.
Nino Leo Lanu, 32, was wearing a skirt, wig, makeup and fake breasts as he brandished a replica gun while robbing a National Australia Bank branch in the southern city of Melbourne in February, a prosecutor told the County Court of Victoria state.
Lanu, a regular branch customer, rolled away on inline skates with 24,000 Australian dollars ($18,260) in cash.
Lanu pleaded guilty to armed robbery, a firearm offense and growing cannabis. He was sentenced to six years in prison with a non-parole period of 42 months.
Judge John Smallwood described the crime as premeditated and serious, although he accepted Lanu was an "emotionally and socially disconnected young man."
Friday, September 15, 2006 8:48 AM EDT
The Associated Press
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) A pig withstood taser shots from police officers and eluded authorities for more than an hour after wandering onto Green Bay's major highway. The 150-pound pig was spotted by a passing driver on U.S. 41 at 6 p.m. Wednesday night, Green Bay Police Lt. Todd LePine said.
The animal reportedly went into traffic several times, creating a hazard, he said.
Officers located the pig about 7 p.m. and made two attempts to subdue it with a stun gun, he said, but it fled both times after pulling out the Taser probes.
A passerby who described himself as a former pig farmer tried to wrestle the animal, but the animal pulled away from him as well, LePine said.
Three tranquilizer darts were finally used to bring the pig under control, and it was placed in blanket and lifted into an animal control van, LePine said.
The animal was taken to the Bay Area Humane Shelter that evening. Police said a local attorney planned to claim the pig Thursday. The name of the pig's owner was not disclosed.
Widow Rented Rotary Phone for 42 Years
Thursday, September 14, 2006 4:13 PM EDT
The Associated Press
CANTON, Ohio (AP) A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now outdated phone.
Ester Strogen, 82, of Canton, first leased two black rotary phones the kind whose round dial is moved manually with your finger in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was new and owning telephones was unaffordable for most people.
Until two months ago, Strogen was still paying AT&T to use the phones $29.10 a month. Strogen's granddaughters, Melissa Howell and Barb Gordon, ended the arrangement when they discovered the bills.
"I'm outraged," Gordon said. "It made me so mad. It's ridiculous. If my own grandmother was doing it, how many other people are?"
New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies, a spinoff of AT&T that manages the residential leasing service, said customers were given the choice option to opt out of renting in 1985. The number of customers leasing phones dropped from 40 million nationwide to about 750,000 today, he said.
"We will continue to lease sets as long as there is a demand for them," Skalko said.
Benefits of leasing include free replacements and the option of switching to newer models, he said.
Gordon said she believes the majority of people leasing are elderly and may not realize they are paying thousands of dollars for a telephone.
Skalko said bills are clearly marked, and customers can quit their lease any time by returning their phones.
Strogen says she's not a big fan of her new push-button phone.
"I'd like to have my rotary back," she said. "I like that better."
Arkansas Cow Has Fourth Set of Triplets
Wednesday, September 6, 2006 4:58 PM EDT
The Associated Press
HARRIET, Ark. (AP) For the fourth time, an Arkansas cow has given birth to triplets and it's the ninth time she has given birth to more than one calf at a time. The Charolais-mix cow named Faith has given birth to 22 calves in nine pregnancies each of them multiples.
"Our vet says she belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records," owner Jenny Williams said. "She's amazing." Veterinarian Dr. G.C. Blair confirmed the 10-year-old's amazing fertility.
According to researchers at Oklahoma State University, beef cattle have triplets in 1 out of about 105,000 pregnancies, and have twins in 1 out of about 250.
Faith gave birth to her latest set on Friday. Of her previous 18, 15 grew to maturity three died after birth, including one Friday, and one was carried off by a bear.
Faith lives at the Cedar Creek Ranch and Cattle Co., which is owned and managed by Bob and Jenny Williams, and Jenny's mother Laura Ewing. The farm purchased Faith and her mother from a neighbor a decade ago.
"She is a really sweet cow," she said. "We don't keep a cow unless she is."
Faith gave birth two twins in her first two pregancies and accidentally killed one of her first by rolling on the calf. The farm kept a heifer from the second set, Hope, and she has produced only single births.
Faith's triplets are almost the size of single birth calves, out of commercial cows bred to Limousin bulls. Jenny noted that Faith is a large cow, probably weighing 1,200 pounds while nursing a calf.
"She is huge before giving birth," she continued. "We can tell if she will gave twins or triplets by her size. In 2003 we said twins, and in 2004 we said triplets."
Tank Foils Mich. Robbery Suspect
Wednesday, August 9, 2006 11:20 PM EDT
The Associated Press
ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) A man charged with robbing a 7-Eleven might have avoided capture if he'd spent some of the loot at a nearby gas station.
David K. Booth, 44, of Royal Oak, was arrested early Tuesday while sitting in the getaway truck, its gas tank empty, police said. He pleaded not guilty Wednesday in 44th District Court to one count of unarmed robbery.
Booth entered the 7-Eleven, implied he had a weapon and demanded the money in the cash register, police said. The clerk complied, then called 911 after the robber drove away, police said.
An officer responding to the call noticed a pickup parked on the side of a road about a mile away. The suspicious officer checked inside, saw a man matching the robber's description, arrested him and, for good measure, found the allegedly stolen cash.
"We recovered everything," Deputy Police Chief Chris Jahnke told The Daily Tribune.
District Judge Terrence Brennan set bond for Booth at $50,000 and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Aug. 18, a court clerk said.
Crossing-Dressing Bandit Gets Six Years
Friday, August 4, 2006 6:32 PM EDT
The Associated Press
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A cross-dressing bandit on skates who robbed a bank across the street from his home was sentenced to prison Friday.
Nino Leo Lanu, 32, was wearing a skirt, wig, makeup and fake breasts as he brandished a replica gun while robbing a National Australia Bank branch in the southern city of Melbourne in February, a prosecutor told the County Court of Victoria state.
Lanu, a regular branch customer, rolled away on inline skates with 24,000 Australian dollars ($18,260) in cash.
Lanu pleaded guilty to armed robbery, a firearm offense and growing cannabis. He was sentenced to six years in prison with a non-parole period of 42 months.
Judge John Smallwood described the crime as premeditated and serious, although he accepted Lanu was an "emotionally and socially disconnected young man."
VIEW 23 of 23 COMMENTS
dancer29:
On the nose! Thank you!
billiejoe:
