This week in odd news: Florida man gardens in the nude, bear gets head stuck in globe – Lompoc Record
From a clumsy bear cub getting stuck in a globe rather than a honey pot, to a neighborhood miffed at a man for doing yard work in the nude, here’s a look at some of this week’s strangest headlines.
This photo taken Sept. 16, 2018, shows rescuers working to remove a hard plastic globe stuck on the head of a bear cub near Balsam Lake, Wis. (Deputy Jeff Hahn/Polk County Wis. Sheriff’s Office via AP)
BALSAM LAKE, Wis. (AP) — A bear cub in Wisconsin had a Winnie the Pooh moment, but it wasn’t a honey pot that got stuck on its head. It was a hard plastic globe.
Authorities rescued the cub Sunday after a passer-by spotted it near Balsam Lake with the mother bear nearby.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office used a squad car to keep the mother away while authorities and two bear hunters worked on the globe as the cub was contained in a net.
Sheriff’s Sgt. Brent Waak (wahk) says the thick globe resisted pliers, tin snips and pruning shears. It finally slipped off after bolt cutters were used.
The sheriff’s office posted a photo of the rescue on its Facebook page.
Waak says it’s unknown where the cub got the apparently ornamental globe.
STUART, Fla. (AP) — Being in touch with nature is one thing. But gardening au naturel is quite another for some neighbors of a Florida man who’s been doing yard work in the nude.
The miffed residents tell news outlets they’ve called the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, but the man continues to do yard work naked.
Sheriff William Snyder tells WFTV he believes the man’s refusal to wear clothes has breached two statutes: lewd and lascivious behavior and breach of peace. He says authorities will begin taking statements from neighbors.
Neighbor Melissa Ny tells WPBF the man was bent over winding up a garden hose on Sunday evening when she put the trash out.
Neighbor Aimee Canterbury says she’s just taught her six kids to look the other way if the neighbor is naked.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — This was a sub worth diving into.
Eleven sandwich shops in Maine combined forces to create a 160-foot-long (49-meter-long) Italian sandwich.
The ginormous sandwich disappeared as quickly as it was created Thursday, devoured by hungry passersby in Portland’s Monument Square.
Hold the black olives, please.https://t.co/ogOB2yU9QR pic.twitter.com/sAU3SOSaG5
Organizer Jim Britt said details will be sent to Guinness World Records, which will consider creating a new category for Maine’s sandwich. This was a trial run for another effort next year with a representative of Guinness World Records on hand.
As the story goes, the Italian sandwich was invented in Portland by Giovanni Amato, who began selling sandwiches by pushcart after opening a bakery in 1902. There are now dozens of sandwich shops selling Italian sandwiches in Greater Portland alone.
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware’s Division of Motor Vehicles has installed “Safe Selfie Zones” at its four locations, to allow newly licensed drivers to share the news — and not their personal details.
WBOC-TV reports that the zones feature a bright backdrop in front of which people can take pictures of themselves to share on social media, in lieu of sharing photographs of their driver’s licenses.
According to a DMV informational image, the top of the backdrop is emblazoned with the words “Look who’s driving now!!”
The station reports that the idea is the brainchild of Dover DMV employee Willie Goldsboro.
Last year, Delaware issued around 36,500 new licenses to minors and adults.
LONDON (AP) — British police are asking the public to help identify two men suspected of stealing the ashes of an elderly woman’s husband along with cash, bank cards and jewelry.
Police released images of the suspects Sunday. Detective Robert Costigan called it a “particularly harrowing crime” that has had a devastating impact on the 83-year-old victim.
Police said a man posing as a plumber convinced the woman to let him into her home in the southeastern London borough of Greenwich, saying there was a leak.
When the man left, the woman realized that items had been stolen, including a heart-shaped locket and a heart-shaped box that both contained her husband’s ashes.
Police believe a second man entered the home while the victim was distracted by the man pretending to be a plumber.
This Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018 booking photo released by the Salem Police Department shows Anthony Helinski, of Lawrence, Mass., arrested after turning himself in, and who faces charges after being accused of using a toddler to steal prizes from the inside of a toy vending machine game at a mall in Salem, N.H. (Salem Police Department via AP)
SALEM, N.H. (AP) — A Massachusetts teacher has been charged with putting his toddler into a game machine at a New Hampshire shopping mall and using her to steal prizes.
Police in Salem say 34-year-old Anthony Helinski, of Lawrence, Massachusetts, turned himself in Wednesday, five days after witnesses at the Mall at Rockingham Park recorded video of a man encouraging the girl to hand out prizes from within the KeyMaster game. The video then shows the toddler climbing out of the machine.
Andover Public Schools tells WCVB-TV that Helinski has been placed on leave from his job as a middle school teacher.
Helinski is charged with theft, trespassing and child endangerment. He does not have a listed phone number and it was unclear whether he has an attorney.
FILE – This Thursday, July 19, 2012 file photo shows a Chick-fil-A fast food restaurant in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada elementary is trying to save a teacher position through a unique fundraiser — selling chicken.
KVVU-TV reports parents at Lamping Elementary in Henderson, Nevada, held a fundraiser Wednesday at a Chick-Fil-A in Las Vegas with the hopes of funding at least one teacher job.
Some Clark County schools are facing serious challenges due to teacher shortages to budget cuts.
Lamping Elementary Principal Robert Solomon says the school had to cut three positions due to lack of enrollment or decrease in enrollment. He says the school saw an additional $83,000 budget cut.
Parent Lori Biunno says parents want to keep classroom sizes small.
Proceeds from the Las Vegas Chick-Fil-A sales go to the school.
MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, Md. (AP) — A driving lesson went off the deep end in Maryland when authorities say the car jumped a curb, crashed through a fence and landed in a swimming pool.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer tells The Washington Post the driver and passenger were uninjured Saturday, albeit soaking wet. He says the occupants were a man and a woman in their 50s or 60s, but it’s unclear who was behind the wheel when the drive turned into a dive.
He says one was teaching the other to drive that afternoon.
The car landed in the North Creek Community Center Pool, which was closed for the season.
Piringer says the man and woman were standing poolside, having extricated themselves, by the time rescuers arrived.
Further details weren’t immediately released.
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