More Weird News Blips

More weird news:

Sometime next year, if all goes well, Brett Holm of Chaska, Minn., will begin selling his Season Shot, an improvement over current shotgun shells because its pellets dissolve on contact in the game meat and, more important, automatically flavor it for cooking. Holm told the Chanhassen (Minn.) Villager newspaper in August that he will initially offer lemon pepper, mesquite, Mexican, and Creole flavors, but, he said, chemists are at work right now to expand the selection. [Chanhassen Villager, 8-3-06]
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In a September raid, sheriff's deputies in Vista, Calif., seized jars of urine from the home of a suspected methamphetamine user. Deputies said the user appeared to be saving his own urine in order to extract, and reuse, the meth he had already used. A Drug Enforcement Administration agent said he was unsure whether the practice was widespread. [North County Times (Escondido, Calif.), 9-15-06]
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In a remote region of China, relatives shower graves with objects that supposedly make the deceased's afterlife more pleasant, and some families of dead bachelors even buy corpses of unmarried females and bury them with their sons in posthumous "weddings." Ironically, according to a September New York Times dispatch from Chenjiayuan, since men outnumber women in the region (in part due to abortions of girl fetuses), families of these dead women are able to command high "dowries." [New York Times, 10-5-06]

Oh No!

Oh no!

Andy Griffith Runs for Sheriff

Andy Griffith decides to run for sheriff


(10/20/06 - PLATTEVILLE, WI) - A local music store co-owner is putting a touch of Mayberry in the race for sheriff in western Wisconsin's Grant County. The former William Fenrick changed his name earlier this year to Andy Griffith the name of the actor who portrayed the fictional Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry on TV's "The Andy Griffith Show" in the 1960s.
He said his goal was to focus attention to a sheriff's race that otherwise gets little.

"Nobody knows who's running or what the issues are, if there are any issues or how the people differ," Griffith said.

He's running as an independent in the Nov. 7 election against incumbent Sheriff Keith Govier, a Republican who's held the job for 10 years, and Democrat Doug Vesperman, who's worked in the sheriff's department 16 years.

Griffith, 42, said when contacted Tuesday night that he's worked in the past in private security and knows how to set priorities and make the best use of a limited budget and manpower.

Part of his motivation, he said, came when drug officers acting on an anonymous tip launched a drug raid in Dodgeville last May but went to the wrong address, then picked up some young people in the apartment next door for having marijuana.

Oh No! Grandma's a Terrorist!

Grandmother mails fruitcakes, sues USPS for rude treatment


(10/13/06 - WILMINGTON, DE) - Lucille Greene, an 88-year-old grandmother, takes baking and mailing about 30 family recipe fruitcakes as Christmas gifts seriously. Seriously enough that she sued the U.S. Postal Service for emotional distress after alleged rough treatment and accusations of being a terrorist from a postal clerk, according to her federal lawsuit.

In December 2002, Greene showed up at the Magnolia, Del., post office to mail fruitcakes to relatives and friends when, her lawsuit states, a postal worker asked her, "What kind of explosives do you have in here?" before shaking the box.

In the lawsuit, she said others in the post office laughed at her, leaving her upset and in tears. She said she tripped over a concrete parking barrier outside and fell, breaking her glasses and chipping a tooth.

The judge dismissed her allegations two weeks ago, and her appeal for $250,000 compensation, because Greene had a prior eye condition, and contradictory testimony.

But U.S. District Judge Sue Robinson wasn't entirely unsympathetic. She wrote the clerk "was likely being less than courteous" despite following standing procedures for suspicious packages.

Despite having to go to a post office farther away from her home, Greene said she hasn't given up on fruitcakes as Christmas gifts.

"My lawyer got a couple this year," she said.

Jobless man asks judge for jail time

Jobless man asks judge for jail time
POSTED: 2:55 p.m. EDT, October 12, 2006


COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- A man who couldn't find steady work came up with a plan to make it through the next few years until he could collect Social Security: He robbed a bank, then handed the money to a guard and waited for police.

On Wednesday, Timothy J. Bowers told a judge a three-year prison sentence would suit him, and the judge obliged.

"At my age, the jobs available to me are minimum-wage jobs. There is age discrimination out there," Bowers, who turns 63 in a few weeks, told Judge Angela White.

The judge told him: "It's unfortunate you feel this is the only way to deal with the situation."

Bowers said he had been able to find only odd jobs after the drug wholesaler he made deliveries for closed in 2003. He walked to a bank and handed a teller a note demanding cash in an envelope. The teller gave him four $20 bills and pushed a silent alarm.

Bowers handed the money to a security guard standing in the lobby and told him it was his day to be a hero.

He pleaded guilty to robbery, and a court-ordered psychological exam found him competent.

"It's a pretty sad story when someone feels that's their only alternative," said defense attorney Jeremy W. Dodgion, who described Bowers as "a charming old man."

Prosecutors had considered arguing against putting Bowers in prison at taxpayer expense, but they worried he would do something more reckless to be put behind bars.

"It's not the financial plan I would choose, but it's a financial plan," prosecutor Dan Cable said.

Sheriff's Pink Duds Have Inmates Vowing to Reform

Justice's new hue
Sheriff's pink duds have inmates vowing to reform

By MATT PHINNEY, mphinney@sastandardtimes.com or 659-8253
October 8, 2006

MASON - Three county inmates in the jail here lay on their bunks, not saying much.

They wore pink jumpsuits and pink slippers, and one was wrapped up in pink sheets. They were surrounded by pink bars and pink walls.

They were not comfortable.

Despite the cramped condition of the tiny jail, the inmates said sitting there was better than working outside, where they might be seen by people they know. Using pink uniforms in a pink jail is a small step to deter inmates from ever wanting to spend more time in the Mason County Jail, a jail that might be getting too old to operate, said Sheriff Clint Low.

''The county would have more inmate labor without them,'' said one inmate, who did not want to be identified.

''I'm not going outside in these things. It's a good deterrent because I don't want to wear them anymore.''

''You can make that two,'' another inmate said from a different cell.

''You can probably make it three or four,'' the inmate added.

That's exactly Low's point.

Low bought pink jumpsuits soon after taking office in 2005 and painted the jail pink about eight months ago. The jumpsuits are to keep inmates from coming back to jail, and the pink walls are designed to keep tempers and emotions cool in a jail that is tiny by today's standards.

Even if it helps a little, keeps just a few inmates from returning to the Mason County Jail, Low said, it's a success.

Mason County, with about 3,800 residents, is about 100 miles southeast of San Angelo. The jail is in Mason, the county seat.

Low got the idea of pink jumpsuits from a sheriff in Arizona, Joe Arpaio, who bought pink boxers to keep inmates from stealing the underwear and other clothing. In Mason, Low dyed the jumpsuits and slippers pink, and the color later bled to sheets, underwear and other articles during washings.

Low, who was a deputy in Mason before being elected sheriff, estimated the re-offense rate in the county is down 70 percent since he switched to pink jumpsuits for the inmates. He also said there have been no fights between inmates in the jail since it was painted.

''I wanted to stop re-offenders,'' Low said. ''They don't want to wear them. Working inmates get a choice to work outside or sit inside, and some choose to sit inside because they don't want people to see them. They would rather stay upstairs.''

The jail, built in 1894, is a historical site, and Low said he doesn't want to do anything to take away from its historical significance. In fact, it might be a better museum than a jail, he said.

So if another sheriff is elected, he or she can simply repaint the walls.

''It's just an easy step that will hopefully make some progress,'' Low said.

The Mason County Jail is clean and secure, he said. But it's also old, and it's tiny, Low said.

He believes the county needs a new jail, while some county officials have said the cost would simply be more than the rural county can afford.

The Mason County Jail among the oldest working jails in the state. It has a capacity of five inmates - four males and a female - and, on Friday, was at capacity with three more Mason inmates staying at the Comanche jail for $35 per inmate per day.

Comanche is about 100 miles northeast of Mason.

Low doesn't know the size of the Mason jail floor, but said each cell is 18 square feet. There is also a walkway around the cells.

The Mason County Jail is operating under 17 variances under the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. That means it would not pass inspection under today's standards, but those variances allow the jail to stay operational.

Low says that could change any day. It's an 1800s jail facing 2006 problems.

''The problem is we need a new jail,'' he said. ''I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. If the jail commission comes in and closes the jail, I'm the sheriff that got the jail closed. If we build a new jail, I'm the sheriff that raised taxes.''

Low believes the county needs a 36- to 45-bed facility. The county could use the beds it needs and lease the rest of the beds to other counties looking for space. That could defray some of the cost of the jail.

''At some point, the jail commission can come in and say this is wearing thin,'' Low said. ''They could say we have had ample time to do something about it. My job is to protect the community. I can't look at profit and loss.''

As a comparison, Menard County, just west of Mason County, has 2,300 residents, and its jail has a capacity for nine inmates. It was built in 1981.

Low estimates a new jail would cost between $6 million and $9 million.

Adan Munoz, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards, said variances are issued to antiquated jails such as Mason that were built well before state standards were created. He said all Texas jails are inspected at least once a year.

As long as the variances don't become a safety issue for staff or inmates, the variances can be timeless, he said.

Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden said the county doesn't have the money for a new jail and he wants to continue operating the existing jail until jail standards say they can't. Mason County commissioners recently passed a roughly $2 million budget.

''And you don't want to build a jail for 10 people,'' he said. ''So if you build it for 49 people, you have to hire nine more people to run it, and then there is more food and cost.

''It's a domino effect.''

Mason, Menard and McCulloch county officials have talked about created a multicounty jail for all three counties to utilize. Talks have slowed of late because the three counties have expressed concerns about the cost, but Bearden said it's an option that is still available.

For now, Low and others hope small things such as giving inmates pink jumpsuits keeps them from coming back.

''That's not the Holiday Inn they are staying in up there,'' he said.

Woman Uses Baby as Weapon

Another one to add to the list of people who have a special place waiting for them in Hell.

ERIE, Pennsylvania (AP) -- A woman used her 4-week-old baby as a weapon in a domestic dispute, swinging the infant through the air and striking her boyfriend with the child, authorities said.

The baby boy was in serious but stable condition Monday at Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh, police said.

"Never, never, never. I can never remember anything like this," District Attorney Bradley Foulk told the Erie Times-News.

Chytoria Graham, 27, of Erie, was charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and simple assault. She was held Monday in the Erie County Jail in lieu of $75,000 bail.

The infant, whose name was not released, suffered a fractured skull and some bleeding in the brain, authorities said. His head hit Graham's boyfriend, the baby's father, police Lt. Dan Spizarny said.

Authorities removed four other children from Graham's home and placed them with the Erie County Office of Children and Youth, Foulk said.

Abducted by Aliens? Call Now for Compensation!

Abducted by aliens? Call now for compensation

Oct 6, 8:31 AM (ET)


BERLIN (Reuters) - A German lawyer hopes to drum up more business by pursuing state compensation claims for people who believe they were abducted by aliens.

"There's quite obviously demand for legal advice here," Jens Lorek told Reuters by telephone on Thursday. "The trouble is, people are afraid of making fools of themselves in court."

Lorek, a lawyer based in the eastern city of Dresden who specializes in social and labor law, said he hoped to expand his client base by taking on the unusual work.

He has yet to win any abduction claims, but says there are plenty of potential clients, noting that extra-terrestrial watchdogs report scores of alien assaults every year.

"These people could appeal for therapies or cures," he said.

Lorek, 41, is pinning his hopes for success on a German law which grants kidnap victims the right to state compensation.

Asked if he was worried he might look ridiculous by seeking justice for clients haunted by aliens, Lorek was unfazed.

"Nobody has laughed about it up until now."

Suspect Wears Box On Head To Courthouse

Suspect Wears Box On Head To Courthouse

POSTED: 9:13 am CDT September 29, 2006

GREENSBURG, Pa. -- Justin Michael Kalich, 26, came dressed for court, but not in a suit and tie.

He showed up at a courthouse in Greensburg, Pa., Wednesday wearing a cardboard box on his head.

The blue and white box was his lawyer's idea. Attorney Jeff Leonard didn't want a potential witness to be able to recognize Kalich before a preliminary hearing on charges he stole a reel of wire.

Kalich wore the box while he waited outside the office of District Judge James Albert for a 10:45 a.m. appointment.

But after a meeting with the judge, Kalich agreed to pay for the wire, about $600. Charges are being dropped, and so is the box.

Prison Justice at its Finest

EVANSVILLE, Indiana (AP) -- An inmate serving a life sentence for molesting and murdering a 10-year-old girl named Katie was apparently forcibly sodomized and tattooed across the forehead by a fellow prisoner with the words "KATIE'S REVENGE," authorities say.

Anthony Ray Stockelman, 39, was removed from the general prison population for his own safety last weekend after authorities discovered the tattoo, officials said.

Prison officials said an inmate has been identified as a suspect.

A photo of what is identified as Stockelman's forehead appeared this week on a crime blog called "Lost In Lima Ohio" that focuses on news reports about crimes against children and women.

Two prison guards suspected of supplying the picture were fired for making unauthorized copies of an evidence photo, said Rich Larsen, a spokesman for the Wabash Valley state prison in Carlisle, about 70 miles north of Evansville.

Child molesters rank near the bottom of the prison hierarchy and are often brutalized by other inmates. Tattoos are against prison regulations, but inmates often fashion crude tattoo instruments with plastic utensils and needles.

Stockelman's tattoo covers nearly his entire forehead.

"If I had to guess I'd say it's a statement from the inmates," said Collman's father, John Neace.

Stockelman pleaded guilty to abducting, molesting and drowning Katlyn "Katie" Collman, whose body was found in 2005 in a creek about 15 miles from her home in the town of Crothersville.

Police initially believed Katie was abducted and slain because she had stumbled onto a methamphetamine operation in the neighborhood, but that theory was later discarded.

Another man confessed to the killing at one point but was cleared after DNA and other evidence connected Stockelman to the crime.