Register Citizen's Strange But True

Gun advocacy group tours Idaho zoo while armed

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:59:00 +0000

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho members of a group that advocates for the right to openly carry handguns in public are turning heads by touring Zoo Boise while packing guns on their hips.
Ten members of OpenCarry.org were allowed into the zoo Saturday after some initial confusion at the entrance about whether it was legal to bring an unconcealed handgun inside.
Group member Carol Schultz of Nampa says: "Coming to the zoo was something we could do together, like any family would."
Schultz says she’s never without her handgun that she keeps in a holster attached to a heart-studded belt.
Zoo visitor Alex Lundgren of Boise questioned the group’s decision to bring firearms.
He says: "Legal and appropriate are two different things."

Woman attacked by kangaroo saved by pet dog

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 15:56:00 +0000

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) — An elderly woman was attacked by a large kangaroo on a farm in Australia and was lucky to be alive after a pet dog leapt to her aid, her son said Saturday.
The 6-foot-5-inch kangaroo lunged without warning at 65-year-old Rosemary Neal as she went to check on some horses in a paddock on the property near Mudgee, 160 miles northwest of Sydney on Friday, son Darren Neal said.
The kangaroo "just jumped up and launched straight at her," Darren Neal said. "He hit her once and she just dropped and rolled. My dog heard her screaming and bolted down and chased him off.
"It wasn’t for the dog she’d probably be dead."
Rosemary Neal was hospitalized for for deep cuts to her face, hands and back and a concussion, he said.
Kangaroos are widespread across Australia and there are dozens of species in the family, ranging from tiny, 17-ounce potoroos to Red Kangaroos, the world’s largest marsupial that can grow past 6 feet tall and weigh more than 200 pounds.
Most species are not considered aggressive toward humans, and attacks are extremely rare. But males fight each other for mates, rearing up on their tails to scratch at the soft belly flesh of their rivals with the powerful legs they more commenly use for their trademark leaps.
Darren Neal said mobs of kangaroos had become common on their farm and his mother thought nothing of walking through them in the paddock. Usually, they just jump away.
"My mum is 65 years old and about five-and-a-half foot," he said. "Her whole body is sore where she has dropped to the ground."

Man robbed buying drugs calls cops, is arrested

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:23:00 +0000

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped charges filed against an East Hartford man who called police to report he had been robbed during a drug deal.
Max Minnefield called police Monday to report that he had paid a man and a woman $8 for some crack cocaine that he never received.
Police charged him with criminal attempt to commit possession of narcotics.
During his arraignment Tuesday, Judge Bradford Ward asked Minnefield, "Did you really think the police were going to go after the people?" He added that his question was rhetorical.
Laura Weslund, Minnefield’s public defender says the state made the right decision to dismiss the charges, because no drugs were found.

Man accused of faking heart attacks to avoid bills

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:08:00 +0000

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — A 52-year-old Milwaukee-area man has been accused of faking heart attacks to avoid paying restaurant bills and cab fares.
Police say the Waukesha (WAWK’-uh-shaw) man took a cab to a mall Monday and pretended to have a heart attack. The cab driver left unpaid.
Authorities say the man then ran up a $23 bill when he had a steak dinner at Applebee’s. He again pretended to have a heart attack.
This time the fire department took him to a hospital. A doctor there recognized the man as having pulled the same stunt in the past few weeks.
He was charged Thursday with defrauding a restaurant as a habitual criminal. He could get up to nine months in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Man out-spits father, claims pit-spitting title

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:06:00 +0000

EAU CLAIRE, Mich. (AP) — Brian "Young Gun" Krause has out-spit his father to claim his seventh championship at the International Cherry Pit Spitting Championship.
Krause’s winning spit on Saturday was 56 feet, 7½ inches.
That’s 6½ inches better than his father, the second-place finisher and defending champion, 54-year-old Rick "Pellet Gun" Krause of Tuba City, Ariz., who spit 56 feet, 1 inch.
Thirty-year-old Brian Krause, of Dimondale, currently holds the Guinness World Record after spitting a pit 93 feet, 6½ inches in 2003.
Amanda Jennings of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the first woman to place in the top three, did not qualify for championship competition but retained her title as women’s champion with a spit of 43 feet, 11 inches.

LA reservoir covered with balls to protect water

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:24:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of shimmering black plastic balls were dumped into one of the city’s last open-air reservoirs to prevent a sunlight-fueled chemical reaction that can harm the water supply.
Workers on Monday unleashed 400,000 of the hollow, 4-inch "shade balls" down a slope to cover the surface of the Ivanhoe Reservoir, which provides water to parts of downtown, central and south Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power drained two of its six remaining open-air reservoirs because a rare sunlight-and-chlorine reaction tainted the water with bromate, a cancer-causing chemical. The amounts were small and didn’t violate federal water regulations, but the water was dumped as a precaution.
The plastic spheres are "a cost effective method of creating shade without elaborate construction, parts, labor or maintenance," the department said in a statement.
The balls are a temporary fix while the city completes an underground water storage project to replace the open-air reservoirs within several years.

Pa. man walks 25 miles to court for DUI sentencing

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:23:00 +0000

CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — A man facing sentencing on a drunken-driving conviction couldn’t get a ride to court. So he start walking.
And walking.
Stephen Shoemaker was scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday for sentencing.
Shoemaker, 33, of Shippensburg, doesn’t have a car or driver’s license. So he started hoofing it to the courthouse at dawn. He kept walking for about 25 miles in 90-plus-degree heat.
Shoemaker arrived about 3:30 p.m. — after a detour to a hospital, where he was treated for dehydration.
Judge Edward Guido had issued an arrest warrant when Shoemaker failed to appear. But he agreed to defer sentencing until July. Guido said he hesitated only because "that means he’ll have to walk back to Shippensburg."
Deputy Public Defender Anthony Adams volunteered to give Shoemaker a ride home.

Missing Cape Cod lighthouse located in Calif.

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 13:26:00 +0000

WELLFLEET, Mass. (AP) — Local historians for decades thought the 30-foot tall lighthouse that once overlooked Wellfleet Harbor had been taken down and destroyed in 1925.
Turns out, it had just been moved to the California coast.
The fate of the cast-iron tower was uncovered last year by lighthouse researchers and reported by Colleen MacNeney in this month’s edition of Lighthouse Digest.
MacNeney told the Cape Cod Times in Wednesday’s edition it was her most exciting discovery.
Wellfleet historian Helen Purcell says the discovery of the lighthouse at Point Montara at the southern end of San Francisco Bay was a genuine shock.
MacNeney says she discovered correspondence that proved the lighthouse, first erected in 1881, had been moved by the Coast Guard from Wellfleet to Yerba Buena, Calif., and eventually to Point Montara.
There is no known documentation explaining how it was moved across the country, MacNeney said.
But Jim Walker, chairman of the Cape Cod Chapter of the American Lighthouse Foundation, speculates that because it is metal, it could have been disassembled bolt by bolt, with the pieces then transported by rail.
The lighthouse is still used as a navigational aid and a hostel.

Fan wins funeral at minor league baseball game

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:50:00 +0000

GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas (AP) — Elaine Fulps is thrilled about the prize she won at a minor league baseball game. But she’s hoping she doesn’t have to collect on it anytime soon.
Fulps, 60, won a $10,000 paid funeral at Tuesday night’s Grand Prairie AirHogs game.
The prize won’t expire until after Fulps does, said Ron Alexander, the sales manager at Oak Grove Memorial Gardens, which partnered with the team and Irving’s Chapel of Roses Funeral Home to sponsor the event.
"I almost croaked many times," said Fulps, who was wearing a neck brace — the most recent effect of about 20 surgeries she’s undergone for various medical problems. "God still has me around for a reason. To win a funeral."
Fans in this Dallas suburb were eager to join in the grim fun.
Some finalists for the prize arrived dressed in black or looking like death. The finalists participated in a pallbearer’s race, a mummy wrap and a eulogy delivery.
Fulps, randomly chosen as the winner at night’s end, said she’ll choose a casket and plot as soon as she recovers.
"I’m going to pick a spot under a tree out of the Texas heat," she told The Dallas Morning News. "And let’s hope it’s a pet-free cemetery. I don’t want to get watered on."

Oregon fishing town loses namesake tuna statue

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:48:00 +0000

CHARLESTON, Ore. (AP) — Sorry, Charlie. You’re a crime victim.
The blue, 8-foot wooden statue of a tuna stood for two decades at the end of a bridge, welcoming folks to the coastal fishing town of Charleston.
Now the tuna, named Charlie, is missing. Because the chain holding the statue in place was cut, Charlie is presumed stolen.
Mel Campbell of the local merchants association says Charlie was last seen wearing an orange hat and glasses, similar to StarKist’s pitch-fish.
She says the group has another tuna statue, a 12-footer at the information center. But Charlie was more popular, and, she says, "looked cute at the end of the bridge."
The local sheriff’s office has notified police departments to keep an eye out for Charlie.

Pa. police: Ohio truck rigged to steal fuel

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:13:00 +0000

HERMITAGE, Pa. (AP) — Police have linked the large-scale theft of diesel fuel from a western Pennsylvania convenience store to a specially equipped pickup truck trailer with a trap door and a vacuum hose.
No one has been charged, but the truck and trailer were found on the property of a man who owns a small asphalt and trucking company in Ohio, police said.
"It’s a very ingenious way of doing things and I’ve never seen anything like this," said Hermitage Deputy Police Chief Edward Holiga.
Holiga said his department is investigating whether the truck is linked to at least three thefts since 2005. In the latest, about $4,500 worth of diesel fuel was reported stolen April 28 from the underground tanks of the Tic Toc Food Mart in Hermitage.
Police issued a surveillance photo of the pickup and trailer believed to be involved in the thefts and received a tip that led them to a property in North Bloomfield, Ohio, about 30 miles northwest of Hermitage.
Police spotted the truck and trailer on the property Tuesday and obtained a search warrant that was executed Wednesday.
The trailer contained a straw wall that concealed a wooden partition. The partition hid a siphoning mechanism and an empty 15-foot long propane tank.
Police believe someone inside the trailer would siphon diesel fuel from underground tanks at fuel stations by lowering a hose through the trap door and using the pickup’s engine to power a vacuum that drew the fuel into the tank, Holiga said.
Police also found several storage tanks on the Ohio property, including a 5,000-gallon tank containing about 500 gallons of diesel fuel.
Holiga said police in Ohio are investigating at least one theft there, too.
Because police are continuing to investigate the thefts, Holiga said he doesn’t expect his detectives to file charges until next week.

New York town repeals ban on clotheslines

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:12:00 +0000

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Town board members who had drawn the line at hanging clothes outside to dry are cutting residents some slack: It’s OK for them to use clotheslines now.
The Southampton Town board has lifted a ban on clotheslines that had stood since 2002, when some homeowners complained the laundry on their neighbors’ lawns was making the tony Hamptons town look shabby.
But no one objected when the town board voted Tuesday night to repeal the ban.
Town Councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst said being able to hang her children’s clothes outside instead of drying them in a machine will keep her electricity costs down.
"If you have three teenage sons like I do, your energy bill is going through the roof," she said.
Other residents said they had ignored the ban despite a possible $1,000 fine or six-month jail term. No Southampton resident had been sanctioned for hanging a clothesline.

Houston to spend $150K to defend police beard ban

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:12:00 +0000

HOUSTON (AP) — City officials are apparently willing to dig deep to defend the police department’s ban on beards.
The Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously authorized spending up to $150,000 to defend the city in a lawsuit challenging the no-facial hair policy.
"The lawsuit is pending and we have to defend ourselves," Councilman Ron Green said. "But we’re basically saying we want new police officers, but we don’t want police officers with beards."
Four police officers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in November claiming the policy is discriminatory. The officers say the prohibition on beards and goatees is unfair for men who suffer a skin condition that reacts negatively to shaving. The condition can cause severe irritation, rashes and ingrown hair.
The police department instituted the policy in 1993 so uniformed officers would look conservative and professional, according to a city memo.
Officers said the policy unfairly effects their earning potential, both within the department and at secondary jobs.
"If I work an extra job in a dangerous area, I look like a security guard," Sgt. Shelby Stewart.

Maine town’s jail up for sale for $200,000

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 30 May 2008 12:11:00 +0000

SKOWHEGAN, Maine (AP) — If you’re in the market for a roomy brick-and-stone Victorian — complete with some pretty impressive security features — look no further.
The Somerset County Jail in downtown Skowhegan is for sale. It has a price tag of $200,000.
"It’s an interesting building. It could be used for many, many things," said Philip Roy, chairman of the Somerset County commissioners.
The 14,000-square-foot lockup, which was built in 1897, is scheduled to shut down later this year when a new 200-bed county jail opens in Madison.
One of the selling points, said Tonya Allen, an assistant real estate broker, is that the building is situated in the heart of downtown Skowhegan, with no zoning or permit-use restrictions.
Roy said some ideas for the old jail include turning the property into a restaurant, an art gallery, a gift shop or even a bus station.
The razor-wire fencing comes included.

Lost parrot returned to owners after reciting name, address

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Wed, 21 May 2008 13:03:00 +0000

TOKYO (AP) — When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor’s roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.
He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
"I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we’ve found Yosuke," Uemura said.
The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.
But Yosuke apparently wasn’t keen on opening up to police officials.
"I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said.

Romp in woods ends in charges for airline workers

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Wed, 21 May 2008 12:58:00 +0000

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A pilot’s nighttime romp in the woods with a flight attendant has ended with both suspended and under arrest, police said.
Jeffrey Paul Bradford, 24, and Adrianna Grace Connor, 24, both employees of Pinnacle Airlines Inc., were at a diner on Sunday night before they apparently decided to take a walk, police said.
"They told the officer they wanted to go do it in the woods, essentially," said Lower Swatara Township Police Sgt. Richard Brandt. "That’s the best answer they had."
Things went awry when people who live in the neighborhood summoned police around 9:30 p.m., saying they had seen a naked man and an intoxicated woman.
A helicopter with heat-seeking equipment was called in, and Bradford was discovered hiding behind a shed shortly before midnight.
His only attire was a pair of flip-flops and a wristwatch.
Bradford, of Pittsburgh, was charged with indecent exposure, public drunkenness and other offenses. Connor, of Belleville, Mich., was charged with theft, public drunkenness and other offenses; police said she took a flashlight from a neighbor’s vehicle.
The office of District Justice Michael John Smith, where Bradford and Connor were arraigned, said they were not represented by lawyers. Telephone listings for them could not be located by The Associated Press.
A spokesman for Pinnacle Airlines said the two were suspended while the company investigates.

Christmas tree finally untrimmed in Winsted

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:09:00 +0000

WINSTED (AP)— Town officials say it was not procrastinating that caused the lights on the town Christmas tree to stay up four months after the holiday was over.
There were a lot of reasons why it took town employees until last week to remove lights, decorations and the star.
Training, busy schedules and uncooperative weather delayed the removal of decorations, according to a fire officials.
Capt. Geoff Bleiler said the annual chore was delayed in large part because rain left the ground too soft to support the heavy aerial ladder truck required to reach the top of the tree.
Bleiler said firefighters with big ladder truck were finally able to remove the lights and star topping the tree last week.

Mont. gov. speaks at commencement for class of one

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:07:00 +0000

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — Jeff Greenwood is in a class by himself.
He was the only student to graduate from Opheim High School this year, but the small event Friday drew a big name. Gov. Brian Schweitzer gave the commencement address.
Greenwood, who plans to attend Dickinson State University in North Dakota, said the high school is the "hub of activity" for rural Opheim, a town about 10 miles south of the Canadian border.
"The student-to-teacher ratio is pretty good," said Greenwood, who is the student body president and, of course, the senior class president.
Greenwood had a few classmates before high school, but his last remaining classmate moved to Utah during freshman year. He took some classes alone his senior year while sharing others with juniors at the school.
"You get to know everybody and you’re friends with everybody," Greenwood said. "At the same time, you can’t get away with anything."
Principal LeRoy Nelson, who has also been school superintendent, said he thought this was the first time the school graduated just one student. Six students graduated last year and 12 are on track to graduate in 2009.
Nelson said he thinks single-member classes will become more common as enrollment drops at rural schools. Last year, one other Montana school had one graduate. Schweitzer spoke there as well.

Company to reprint yearbooks after head switching

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:06:00 +0000

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — School officials say they are appalled by altered photos — including heads on different bodies — in hundreds of McKinney High School yearbooks delivered this week.
Besides the head and body switching, some necks were stretched, one girl’s arm was missing, and another girl’s head was placed on what appeared to be a nude body, with the chest blurred.
A spokeswoman for Minnesota-based Lifetouch National School Studios Inc. said the alterations were "an unfortunate lapse in judgment" by an employee but didn’t believe it was malicious.
The high school had required Lifetouch to make heads the same size and eyes at the same level in all student photos, company spokeswoman Sara Thurin Rollin said Saturday. The request was "unusual and definitely very particular, but that’s not to suggest what happened here is acceptable," she said.
Rollin declined to say if the company fired or reprimanded the employee who altered the images. She said Lifetouch is taking full responsibility for the altered pictures, about 30 in all, and will pay to have the publication reprinted before the seniors graduate.
Lori Oglesbee, the school’s yearbook adviser at McKinney High School, said the yearbook staff would spend the weekend rebuilding the yearbook.
McKinney is about 20 miles north of Dallas.

Veggie Pride Parade urges "Give Peas a Chance"

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:04:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — The veggies your mom implored you to eat are getting their own celebration in New York City: The Veggie Pride Parade.
Rain or shine, the parade is expected to wend its way through Manhattan’s old meatpacking district on Sunday before ending at Washington Square Park.
Along the route, costumed bride and groom Penelo Pea Pod and Chris P. Carrot will exchange veggie vows and ask observers to "Give Peas a Chance" and "Go Vegetarian!"
Parade organizer Pamela Rice says the mission of the parade is to promote vegan and vegetarian lifestyles and the ethical treatment of animals. It was inspired by a similar parade in Paris, France.

14 tons of spilled Oreo cookies snarl Ill. traffic

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:03:00 +0000

MORRIS, Ill. (AP) — Got milk?
Police say a trailer loaded with 14 tons of double-stuffed Oreos has overturned, spilling the cookies still in their plastic sleeves into the median and roadway.
Illinois State Police Sgt. Brian Mahoney says the truck’s driver was traveling from Chicago to Morris on Interstate 80 around 4 a.m. Monday when he fell asleep at the wheel and slammed into the median.
"The boxes came out of the trailer and boxes were ripped open," he said.
The crash about 50 miles southwest of Chicago remains under investigation.
Mahoney says no charges have been filed but both lanes of traffic remain closed while authorities remove the cookies.

Wis. man won’t buy gas for 31 days

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:28:00 +0000

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (AP) — Brian LaFave couldn’t care less how high gasoline prices climb these days — he’s parked his pickup truck and is refusing to buy gas for a month, possibly longer.
"The goal is to not use one drop of gas for 31 days," LaFave said, calling it his personal stand against the oil companies.
Now LaFave, 31, is riding his bicycle or walking everywhere he goes. He won’t even let friends pick him up unless they already planned on being in the neighborhood.
"If they’re not going out of their way, I can take the ride," he said. "But if they’re going out of their way, then ... I’m still consuming gasoline so it kind of defeats the purpose."
LaFave started the effort May 11. He bikes to his third-shift job at Aldrich Chemical in Sheboygan Falls, a 9-mile commute.
"I did like a practice run ... two days in a row to make sure I could do it," he said. "I’m not in the greatest shape. The mornings are the worst. It feels like it takes forever. I get like a mile down the road and I want to die."
It’s a big change for someone who put 300 miles on his truck the week before he stopped driving it.
LaFave fills out a chart each day listing how many miles he bikes, the destination and the gas price that day, among other things. He plans to compute his savings and donate that amount to a charity that provides food to children in Africa.
"I think just with the gas prices being so high, everybody complains about it but no one ever really does anything about it," LaFave said. "People continue to drive nonstop and not think about it, but I just wanted to take a stand and say, ‘I’m not gonna pay this much money for gas."’

Hungry bear and cub take refuge on roof

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:25:00 +0000

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — A mother bear and her young cub stopped traffic and caused panic Thursday in central Romania after they roamed through gardens in search of food and finally climbed the stairs of a 4-story building and broke onto the roof.
A rescue team tranquilized the mother after failing to steer her toward a nearby forest, officials said.
Residents had reported that the bear and her cub were wandering through gardens and breaking fences in search of food in downtown Brasov. Traffic was stopped for two hours as a team tried to get the animals back to the wilderness.
"The bear cub was very small and could not keep up with its mum, and she did not want to go back to the forest without it," said Flavius Barbulescu, head of the animal protection service.
The animals finally took refuge in a building, climbing the stairs to the attic, breaking a window and then clambering onto the roof. "That was when we decided to tranquilize the mother," Barbulescu said.
Rescuers shot the bear with a dart gun. Once she was asleep, they removed her and her cub from the roof and took the pair to the zoo in an operation shown live on TV. Officials said the animals would be sent to a nearby bear reservation.
Brasov, some 150 kilometers (95 miles) northwest of Bucharest, is one of Romania’s largest cities and a very popular tourist destination. Sightings of bears are common, especially in the district of Racadau, where the animals rummage through garbage container in search for food.
Thursday’s adventure was the second in recent weeks in downtown Brasov. Romania is home to about half of Europe’s brown bears.

Michigan Girl Scout sells 17,328 boxes of cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:16:00 +0000

DETROIT (AP) — A Girl Scout sold 17,328 boxes of the group’s signature cookies this year by setting up shop on a street corner, shattering her troop’s old mark and probably setting a national record.
Jennifer Sharpe, a 15-year-old from Dearborn, plans to travel to Europe with her troop with the proceeds from her feat.
"It’s always been one of those goals I wanted to accomplish," Sharpe said Wednesday.
The two bakeries that make the cookies said Sharpe sold more than anyone this year, according to Dianne Thomas, spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts of Metro Detroit.
Michelle Tompkins, spokeswoman for the New York-based national organization, called the figure "amazing" but said there’s no national record on the books.
"We’re thrilled for the girls who take it to such a great level, but so far, we don’t track it at the national level," she said.
Sharpe sold cookies every day on a street corner with help from her mother and troop leader, Pam Sharpe.
"We were always there; we never closed," Pam Sharpe said. "At one point, Jenny got really sick and we did shut down early, and we heard about it the next day."
Jennifer Sharpe’s Troop 813 raised about $21,000 in cookie sales, paying for its 10-day trip to Europe this winter. Troops get only part of the proceeds from their members’ sales.
The cookie program has helped push Jennifer out of her shell, Pam Sharpe said.
"It’s made her really confident," she said. "I remember when she first started selling, she was very shy and quiet and you had to push her out to talk to customers, but now she’s right out there, first to the door."
One thing that hasn’t changed, despite selling thousands of boxes for the past few years, is Jennifer Sharpe’s feelings about the cookies.
"I love them," she said.

Giant beetles seized at Pennsylvania post office

noreply@blogger.com (Register Citizen Staff) — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:13:00 +0000

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Customs agents seized more than two dozen giant beetles — some the size of a child’s hand — from an overseas package after postal workers heard the insects making scratching noises.
The large bugs arrived last week from Taiwan at a post office in Mohnton, about 50 miles northwest of Philadelphia, in a box whose contents were labeled as toys, gifts and jellies, officials said Wednesday.
But the postmaster suspected the package contained live organisms and notified authorities, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. The package was sent to Philadelphia, where it was X-rayed and then opened.
"The specimens were some of the largest of their kind, and some of the largest I’ve ever seen, averaging five to six inches in diameter," John Plummer, an agency agriculture specialist, said in a statement Wednesday. "They are highly destructive insect pests that can cause extensive damage to fruit and vegetable crops, trees, shrubs and turf grasses."
In all, authorities found 26 Hercules, rhinoceros and Goliath beetles. It is illegal to ship live beetles into the United States without a permit from the Department of Agriculture.
Seven of the beetles were in containers labeled by gender, which means they could have been intended for breeding, customs agency spokesman Steve Sapp said Wednesday.
The sender and recipient have been identified, Sapp said. An investigation is under way, but no decision has been made whether to file charges, he said.