SMALL BITS and PIECES in the News

I have been busy helping a friend put up a new deck.

I have neglected my blog I will post new ones tomorrow.
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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

While holding illegal drugs, drive carefully

Do not forget to buckle your seat belt

Do not travel over the posted speed limit.

Do not drive a car that has been stolen.

Do not drive with a suspended license.

Speeding and not wearing a seat belt resulted in a West Palm Beach man facing criminal drug charges, according to a Sheriff's Office arrest report.

Deputies stopped Timothy Simmons, 34, who was traveling seven miles over the speed limit and not wearing a seat belt while driving a 2006 white Lincoln sedan.

During the course of the traffic stop; deputies found marijuana and prescription pills. Simmons didn't have a prescription for most of the pills.

Simmons is charged with grand theft auto, possession of a controlled substance, marijuana possession under 20 grams and driving with a suspended license with knowledge.

After checking the car's registration, deputies learned it was reported stolen from Boca Raton.

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Man knocks out wall, pulls plane from basement

Lots of houses have a two-car garage. Dan Reeves' had a one-airplane basement.

The central Pennsylvania man had to remove a basement wall to get it out.

Reeves spent the past nine years building a two-seat airplane in the basement of his Cumberland County home. The plane arrived in pieces via mail but eventually it became way too big to get up the steps.

So Reeves dug a trench down to the foundation and took out a wall. Reeves pulled the plane out using a truck, a chain and some neighbors.

Onlookers were drawn to the spectacle by the "Airplane Removal Wednesday" put up on Reeves' porch. Reeves says he spent $40,000 on the plane and about $5,000 on the excavation.

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Deputies shut down illegal mouse racing

Sheriff Deputies was in Danville, Iowa, taking aim at unregulated gambling -- mouse racing. Officers raided the Bucktail Lodge in search of code violations and shut down the popular races.

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"We don't consider it gambling at all, its just people having fun. The money goes back to them. If you win, you win; if you lose, you lose," said Scott Beach, owner of the Bucktail Lodge.

When the mice aren't competing, they are adored as pets in the family's apartment above the bar. For now, the races are on hold, but the mice racers said they will be in court to fight for the right to their rodent-race night. They said the incident makes it clear that the local police have little to do.

"There's no meth heads or makers around here, you just gotta mess with the mouse racers," said Beach.

VIDEO

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Man's $1 million rare coin collection flies out his car window

A man's rare coin collection worth about $1 million was scattered along Interstate 95 when the collector's car was involved in a rollover crash near mile marker 250.

A Boca Raton couple was heading north to a coin show in Jacksonville when the back passenger-side tire blew out in Volusia County. The SUV rolled, flipping at least five times, police said.

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The rare collection went flying out of the car, spilling across the median.

The collector's wife's arm was fractured in the crash. The coin dealer's injuries were much worse.

The man initially refused to leave the scene. "He was in pain, but he was more worried about the money," Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Darryl Haywood Jr. said.

Rescue crews convinced the dealer, who they said has heart problems, that he needed to go to the hospital. "The pain started setting in. I think his adrenaline kicked in when it first happened," Haywood said.

The man tapped into his network of collectors in the area to help recover the coins. "Eight people came out with metal detectors."

Troopers stayed to help, too, and a tow truck driver found $46,000 in bills in the trees.

Haywood said those trying to cash in by searching for more coins can get a ticket for stopping along the interstate and that troopers are watching the area.

VIDEO

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The Great Escape

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Hit and Run

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Stadium's T-shirts policy ‘sucks’

Melton Little loves the Rays, and he hates the Yankees. He owns a T-shirt that captures these sentiments perfectly, especially when worn at Tropicana Field. It is white with blue block letters, and it expresses fans' derision for the New York team in two simple words: YANKEES SUCK.

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The usher told him the shirt violated stadium policy because it included a "profanity." He could either flip it over, put on a different shirt, or leave. Little left.

Tell it has it is News Bloopers

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How to do a backwards flip on a treadmill

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Finally $100 Million to Be Split Between Descendants

More than 90 years after a Saginaw lumber baron's death, his family members are finally getting their share of his money.

Wellington R. Burt died in 1919 as one of the wealthiest men in Michigan and the U.S. Since then, there has been an ongoing dispute over how his roughly $100 million estate will be divided up. This year, the courts helped make a final decision.

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In the early 1900s, lumber baron Wellington Burt wrote his will. It's been at the Saginaw County Courthouse since his death. In the will Burt spelled out that it would be years before his fortune was handed out.

In fact, Burt, who is buried in Saginaw's Forest Lawn Cemetery, decided it wouldn't be until 21 years after his last surviving grandchild's death that the money would be distributed.

That woman died in 1989. Soon 12 heirs will get their share of that money. Most don't even live in Michigan anymore.

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Shivering Dog

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“Butt Billboards”

A health board in Washington State has reversed itself and voted against endorsing a colon cancer awareness campaign that uses billboards saying, "What's up your butt?"

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The vote by the Benton Franklin Health District in Kennewick, Wash., was in response to complaints the ads are in poor taste.

The butt billboards were earlier displayed in Yakima to raise colorectal cancer awareness and encourage people to get screened for the disease.

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Nude Gaming

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'Skinny' house for sale for $4.3 million

A house dubbed New York City's "skinniest" is on the market with a hefty price tag: $4.3 million.

The town house at 75 ½ Bedford Street in the West Village has been home to the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, the anthropologist Margaret Mead and the actor Cary Grant.

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It measures just 9 ½ feet wide, has three-bedrooms, four fireplaces and a lush back yard. It was built in 1873. Broker Bo Poulsen at Town Residential says the last buyer paid $2.1 million for the building in 2009 and put in a million-dollar renovation. The kitchen has Italian marble counters and the master bath opens to a balcony overlooking the garden.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Inmate had to crawl from jail after release

Authorities in Multnomah County is investigating the case of a disabled inmate who wound up crawling from the downtown Portland jail when he was released because his wheelchair could not be located.

Sheriff's deputy Mike Shults says this has to be the first "for anyone to crawl out of our custody."

Portland police arrested 37-year-old Scott Hamilton on Sunday evening for sitting in his wheelchair, drinking a beer on public property. He was sought on an earlier arrest warrant for the same offense so officers drove him to the jail, giving him a receipt for the wheelchair

When he was released early Monday, his wheelchair was nowhere to be found. Hamilton wound up scooting on his butt out through the jail lobby doors.

Police spokesman Pete Simpson says the wheelchair was eventually located at the police property warehouse.

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Thieves make off with $1.6 million in wine

Scotland Yard is searching for $1.6 million worth of vintage wine stolen from an east London warehouse.

Police say thieves disabled alarms and security cameras before breaking into the warehouse on Sunday and using a forklift to load up about 400 cases of the precious cargo.

Some of the stolen wine belonged to private investors, one of whom has offered a $7,200 reward for the return of the stolen stock.

Police appealed to the public for information, saying the stolen wine is rare and valuable and could be sold to private collectors or auction houses.

Six men were seen with what police said they believe are the three getaway vehicles. Police said two men have been arrested in connection with the burglary.

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Man dropped ring down toilet gets it back  

A 90-year-old man who accidentally dropped his commemorative high school ring down a lavatory in 1938 has been reunited with it after 73 years. The ring was found 200 miles away in a sewer by a sanitation worker who happened to have gone to the same school and recognized it.

Jesse Mattos had dropped the ring, which bore his initials JTM and the year of his graduation, into a toilet in a butcher's shop where he was working when a high school student in Mount Shasta, California.

Tony Congi, 52, a sanitation worker who graduated from the same high school in 1976, found the piece of jewelry in the sewer system and recognized it immediately.

He had the ring cleaned and then looked at the 1938 year book, discovering there was only one person with the initials on it. He returned the ring to Mr. Mattos

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Daredevil wakeboarder gets unique experience

Duncan Zuur is the last person you will find on the boring morning commute - not content with hurtling along the water being towed by a boat; he hooked himself to a train for his latest stunt.

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 Click to Enlarge

The Flying Dutchman hit 70mph while Mr. Zuur being pulled along on Lake Techirghiol in Romania and claims to be the first person to achieve the feat.

Mr. Zuur, from Amsterdam, showed off jumps and tricks while being dragged along, saying afterwards: ‘I was full of adrenaline. If I have the opportunity, I would do it again.’

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 Click to Enlarge

Rail officials gave the 36-year-old permission to perform the stunt but his team pointed out ‘it’s not as easy to stop a train if anything goes wrong’.

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Presidents Limo Gets Stuck

It might be bullet proof, it might be bomb proof - but not curb proof.

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Original Story

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Man doing yard work is arrested

Police in Bangor, Maine say a man wanted for failing to pay fines accidentally helped officers find him when he repeatedly "pocket dialed" 911 while doing yard work.

Police say 29-year-old James Green was using a backpack leaf blower when he kept calling 911 without realizing it.

Police Lt. Jeff Millard says officers were able to determine where the calls were coming from by triangulating the signal from Green's phone. There were two active warrants for Green's arrest for failure to pay fines.

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Compressed air turns man into 'balloon'

A New Zealand truck driver said he blew up like a balloon when he fell onto the fitting of a compressed air hose that pierced his buttock and forced air into his body at 100 pounds a square inch.

Steven McCormack was standing on his truck's foot plate when he slipped and fell, breaking a compressed air hose off an air reservoir that powered the truck's brakes.

He fell hard onto the brass fitting, which pierced his left buttock and started pumping air into his body.

"I felt the air rush into my body and I felt like it was going to explode from my foot," he told local media from his hospital bed.

"I was blowing up like a football," he said. "I had no choice but just to lie there, blowing up like a balloon."

He was rushed to the hospital with terrible swelling and fluid in one lung. Doctors said the air had separated fat from muscle in McCormack's body, but had not entered his bloodstream.

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Lawnmower race season begins

The qualifying session for the Spanish Grand Prix was on most motorsports enthusiast’s minds this weekend - but a dedicated few in Britain found their adrenalin fix in the new lawnmower race season.

In this motorsport, mowers race on an even field. The machines are only allowed minor modifications although for obvious safety reasons, all the blades are removed.

VIDEO

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Police arrested man who falls through ceiling

Authorities say an Athens, Ga. man hid in an attic to avoid officers who had come to arrest him, then fell into their arms when the ceiling collapsed.

Officers had a warrant for the arrest of 41-year-old James Vernard. Smith and they went to a home looking for him.

Officers said they found Smith in an attic. Police said he was crawling toward the officers when part of the ceiling gave way, and he fell partially through the ceiling. Police said the officers helped lower Smith to the ground and arrested him.

Police said Smith faces several charges including burglary, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, failure to appear in court, and two counts of violating probation.

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DUI suspect hits patrol car with another DUI suspect inside

A suspected drunk driver ran her car into a Washington state patrol car while the trooper was getting ready to arrest another DUI suspect.

The accident happened after 3 a.m. on Highway 167. The trooper had already put the 36-year-old Auburn woman in the back seat of his patrol car, and was in the front seat waiting for a tow truck for her Ford Focus.

Then a BMW driven by a 24-year-old Auburn woman crashed into the back of the trooper's car, while it was sitting on the right shoulder with its lights flashing.

Authorities say the trooper sustained minor injuries and was taken to Auburn General Hospital.

Both women have been booked into King County jail on suspicion of driving under the influence.

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Drunken parrots acting up in Australia

Raucous parrots have been accused of being drunk and disorderly by residents living in Palmerston, Australia. 

The birds are thought to get into their inebriated state by eating a particular plant that makes them exhibit all the tendencies of having overdone it on the sauce.

According to Ark Animal Hospital vet Dr Stephen Cutter, the birds act in a drunken manner and then fall over: ‘It's probably a plant with alcohol, or toxins in a plant making it worse’.

The birds typically start out by making a lot of racket, followed by more loud drunken behavior before they eventually fall over.

The morning after is said to be very bad for the seriously hungover parrots, who can be sick for up to three days.

It’s not the first time that this phenomenon has occurred, with the birds noted for engaging in their drunken antics around early May.

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Bubble made from dry ice

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Prankster

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How do the super rich prepare for hurricane season?

One answer comes from Gov. Rick Scott, whose worth upwards of $200 million has a spare roof, in storage, for his Naples home. Yes, that's right, he has a second roof, he said this week at the Governor's Hurricane Conference at the Broward County Convention Center.

He didn't say how much the spare roof cost, except that it was "expensive." The Collier County property appraiser's website shows the home has a market value of $9.2 million.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Maybe a slow day at the paper
The Beast: Barack Obama's bullet-proof limo gets stuck on US embassy ramp. The US Presidential Cadillac, nicknamed "The Beast" for its bombproof features, fails to make it out of the US embassy in Dublin as it gets stuck on a ramp

Barack Obama and his wife, en route to his ancestral home in County Offaly, had to abandon the car after the collision in front of waving crowds in Dublin.

Specially built for Mr. Obama, the General Motors vehicle boasts its own oxygen supply in case of chemical attack and armor-plated doors.

Video

Just FYI everyone “Comment”

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Boy retaliates after he gets 'mean mugged'

A 15-year-old boy was arrested May 13 on charges of battery.

A man told deputies, according to an Okaloosa County Sheriff's arrest report, that he was walking home from the Fort Walton Beach Skating Center when he was stopped by the teen.

The boy asked if the man wanted to fight and the man told him no. The boy then began to punch the man on his arm and face.

The boy later told deputies he punched the man because he "mean mugged" him, which meant he stared at him.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Man remodels his house -- for his Ferrari

A British Ferrari enthusiast in Sheffield England says he has converted his garage into a den -- not for himself but for his car, a $56,000 Ferrari F355 Spyder.

John Ryder, 28, worked for month and spent about $1,500 to convert the garage into a den and TV room but kept the garage door in place so he can park the bright yellow 1996 Spyder in the middle of the room.

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Condom maker wants upscale market

The maker of the world's most expensive condoms says $65 a dozen is pretty fair considering the quality of the product.

Jud Ireland, CEO of Naked, tells his condoms include a high-priced lubricant and are made with latex that is both thinner and softer than most brands found on drugstore shelves in the United States.

And, according to Ireland's sister, Marie, they have a visual appeal. "I'd rather have sex with someone who has a Naked condom," "The guy looks better, I think."

While Naked sells for $5 per unit as opposed to $1 for Brand X, the market for upscale condoms is growing. Ireland called Naked's target audience "edgy, hip and rich."

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Ohio pair served time in pool instead of jail

An Ohio couple found themselves up to their ankles in trouble for rafting on a flood-swollen river without life preservers and lying about it afterward.

A judge sentenced them to stand in a tiny swimming pool while wearing life jackets and handing out water safety brochures at a festival in Painesville, 30 miles northeast of Cleveland.

Grace Nash and Bruce Crawford both are 22-years-old pleaded guilty to misdemeanor misconduct during an emergency. Searchers spent hours looking for them last month after they were spotted on the Grand River. They made it to land but lied to an official about being in the water.

They chose the pool punishment and community service over 60 days in jail.

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Kitten vs. Workman

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Hay prank closes school 4 days

Officials in Durango, Colo. say an extremely effective senior prank has managed to cancel classes for four straight days at southwestern Colorado high school.

Pranksters spread over 30 bales of hay around Durango High School's common areas. School was canceled again Thursday as cleanup swept and dusted the debris left behind. The cleaning expenses are expected to top $100,000.

School officials say hay is one of the worst things you can bring into a building because of the respiratory problems it causes in enclosed spaces. Several employees have sought medical attention after reporting respiratory discomfort.

Air quality tests show mold spore counts from the hay were four times higher than recommended levels. Officials are awaiting a second round of test results before deciding whether to resume classes.

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Bill for Ferrari wrecked by FBI agent: $750,000

An FBI agent wrecks a rare Ferrari during a short ride in Kentucky, and the U.S. Justice Department is refusing to pay $750,000 to a Michigan insurance company that owns it.

In a recent court filing in Detroit, the government says it's immune to tort claims when certain goods are in the hands of law enforcement.

The 1995 Ferrari F50 was being stored in Lexington, Ky., as part of an investigation of stolen vehicles. A prosecutor says he was invited by an FBI agent to take a ride in May 2009. He says the agent lost control, and the car landed against bushes and a small tree.

Motors Insurance Co. is suing the government, saying the Ferrari is a total loss. The next court hearing is June 13 in Detroit.

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Woman flees jail by kicking hole in wall

The Garrett County sheriff says an inmate escaped from jail by kicking a hole through a wall.

Sheriff Rob Corley explained how 31-year-old Alisa Shafer of Friendsville escaped Thursday afternoon. Deputies apprehended her that evening.

Corley says Shafer kicked a hole through the half-inch drywall of a bathroom to escape from a holding area into the jail lobby. He says neither cameras nor correctional officers observed her as she turned her black-and-white-striped jail outfit inside-out and fled.

Corley says blueprints for the holding area do not specify such flimsy material. He says the poor construction is inexcusable.

Shafer had been arrested earlier on a second-degree assault charge. Corley says no employees were at fault in the episode.

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Warning: This is not family entertainment.

EXXXOTICA Expo, the annual sex toy/adult video/porn star meet-and-greet show returned again for the sixth time on Saturday in Miami Beach, reports The Miami Herald.

The show features scantily-clad women, pole dancing demos, vibrator alarm clocks and cucumber-scented, environmentally-friendly “lovin’ wipes,’’ for ummm, well, you get the picture...

If you don't, here's more: The schedule includes a burlesque show, a fetish & kink performance by Rubberdol, bondage performance and Petty Things Peep Show.

There's also a Ms. EXXXOTICA Competition.

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Girl injured dog with power screwdriver

A 13-year-old girl from Jensen Beach was arrested following accusations she "used" a cordless screwdriver on the family dog and scratched her mother, according to a report released.

The girl's mother told Martin County Sheriff's officials her daughter "used" the cordless screwdriver on the family dog, leaving a roughly one inch open wound, the sheriff's report states.

The mother said she tried to stop the girl from further injuring the dog, but she "kept laughing, thinking that it was funny that the dog was hurt."

The mother and daughter started to argue, and the girl said she was "'going to cut her,'" and "'rearrange her ugly face.'" The daughter is accused of scratching her mother. The mother said she's found knives and a BB gun hidden in her room in the past.

The mother asked if her daughter could be involuntarily committed for a mental health evaluation under the state's Baker Act.

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Student drugged teacher over scolding

A 13-year-old Osceola County middle school student was booked into the a juvenile detention center without bond after he drugged his teacher's cup of coffee after she allegedly yelled at him in class.

The arrest report showed the 0.2 mg pill of clonidine — a medication prescribed for treating high-blood pressure or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) — caused Discovery Intermediate teacher Danielle Jones on Monday to become "nauseous, very thirsty and she couldn't keep her eyes open," according to the arrest report.

The boy said three students witnessed him drugging his teacher's coffee. The word quickly spread around the school.

Why did he do it?

He "wanted her to go to sleep," deputies said.

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Road sign hacked: 'Live nudes ahead'

Delaware highway officials say a portable road-message sign was hacked to read "Live nudes ahead" instead of advising motorists about a coming road closure near Greenville.

Department of Transportation spokesperson Sandy Roumillat says the computerized sign is password-protected, but the contractor that owns the sign was using a password that was easy for his staff to remember, and apparently easy to guess. Roumillat says the password will be reset.

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The Letter Carrier Failed!

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Butt naked man sits on ant hill

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Man admits having sex with 1,000 cars

A man who claims to have had sex with 1,000 cars has defended his "romantic" feelings towards vehicles.

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Edward Smith, who lives with his current "girlfriend" – a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, insisted that he was not "sick" and had no desire to change his ways.

He added: "I'm not sick and I don't want to hurt anyone, cars are just my preference."

Mr. Smith, 57, first had sex with a car at the age of 15, and claims he has never been attracted to women or men.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Man found $45,000 in cash in his new home

When Josh Ferrin closed on his family's first home, he never thought he'd make the discovery of a lifetime -- then give it back.

Ferrin picked up the keys earlier this week and decided to check out the house in a Salt Lake City suburb.

As he walked into the garage, a piece of cloth clinging to an attic door caught his eye. Inside, he found eight boxes full of cash -- about $45,000.

Ferrin says he thought about everything he could do with the money, but knew he had to give it back. And that's exactly what he did.

He called the previous owner's son and returned the money. That man says he knew his father had stored cash in the home but never imagined it was that much.

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Teacher accused of peeing in classroom

A substitute teacher at Riverdale Elementary School in Clayton County Ga. is charged with child molestation after students said he urinated into a trash can inside a classroom.

The teacher, 60-year-old Coleman Eaton Jr., was being held without bond Thursday in the Clayton County Jail.

Riverdale police Major Greg Barney says Eaton reportedly walked to the back of the class on Wednesday, told the fourth-graders not to turn around and urinated into a garbage can. He says one of the students went to the school office and made a complaint.

Barney says officers went to the school and interviewed the students and Eaton, then placed him under arrest.

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2 men steals 12 tons of snails

Two men Warsaw, Poland were arrested in northern Poland in connection with the theft of 12 tons of snails, police said.

The two men allegedly broke into a warehouse in Wegry and stole the snails, estimated to be worth about $6,530.

The men were detained by police after they sold a portion of their catch - about 2.5 tons - to a buyer in nearby Malbork.

The 28-year-old and 33 year-old face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

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Kindergartner takes heroin to school

Police and school officials in western Pennsylvania say a kindergarten student brought stamped bags of heroin to a Pittsburgh school and may have given some to other students.

Investigators said the 7-year-old brought the drugs to Roosevelt Primary School. Officials say teachers found 18 white packets with a stamp of a bunny coming out of a hat, which kids are calling "the magic ticket."

Police spokesperson Diane Richard said the boy didn't know what the substance was. Officials say the boy told police he gave the small bags to three friends.

Richard says one parent has returned a stamp bag to the school, and any parent who finds one should call 911. She says police are investigating how the boy got the drugs.

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Man Caught With Pants Down Behind Soda Machine

Oklahoma City police said while they were responding to a shoplifting call at a metro grocery store, a man was caught with his pants down behind a soda machine.

Police arrested 31-year-old Marshall David Osbrone on indecent exposure charges after someone alerted police to a man touching himself behind a soda machine at the store's entrance.

The person told police they saw a pair of legs sticking out from behind a soda machine, according to the police report.

When police went to investigate, they said, Osbrone had his pants down to his ankles touching himself.

Police arrested and handcuffed, and took him to the Oklahoma County Jail.

When police went to process the shoplifter at the jail, the officer returned to find Osbrone with his pants down and touching himself, all while handcuffed to the bench, the police report stated. Police added another charge of indecent exposure to Osbrone's arrest.

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Chewing gum found on Tesco pizza

A Birmingham boy has been put off Italian food for life after biting into a Tesco pizza and discovering a half-eaten piece of chewing gum.

Mother-of-three Jamie Fowler, aged 30, said she already struggled for what to cook her 13-year-old son Callum, who has cystic fibrosis and needs a diet rich in fat, salt and calories.

But now his favorite dish is off the menu after he nearly swallowed the masticated gum.

“I think it’s disgusting,” said Jamie, who is a full-time carer. “I’d cut the pizza in half and given half to Callum and half to my other son Ollie.

“I was upstairs when Callum shouted up, ‘Mom, there’s something on my pizza.’

“I came downstairs and I couldn’t believe it when I saw it. It was a chewed up piece of gum. It’s disgraceful.

“Obviously the person making the pizza was munching away and it fell out of their mouth. I can’t believe they just left it there. “Callum said he’ll never eat another pizza. Just the thought of it makes him ill.”

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9-1-1 Calls

Man faked illness 17 times for ambulance rides

Cecil County Md. authorities say a man repeatedly called 911 for an ambulance when there was no emergency to get a ride to another town.

Forty-four-year-old Devin Henson of Chesapeake City was arrested Friday and charged with false alarm, harassment and telephone misuse. He is being held on $4,000 bond.

The Cecil County Sheriff's Office says Henson called 911 17 times this year faking an illness. After being taken to Union Hospital in Elkton, officials say Henson would leave the facility before being treated and had been spotted in areas of Elkton where drugs could be purchased.

Authorities say on Friday, Henson allegedly called for an ambulance but when police accompanied paramedics, did not accept the ambulance ride. Officials say Henson called 911 a second time Friday and was arrested.

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Man calls 911 80 times in one day

Although 911 is supposed to be for emergencies, authorities say a Volusia County man kept calling the number for everything except emergencies.

In fact, they said he averaged one call every three minutes.

Port Orange police arrested 57-year-old John Calvery Friday for misusing the 911 system.

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Officials said Calvery called dispatchers at the R.C.C. Center around 80 times last week in a five hour period. The center dispatches firefighters and police in southeast Volusia County,

R.C.C. Director Dave Bubb said Calvery calls both 911 and the center's non-emergency phone number.

"The same people answer the same calls so it takes them away from doing their emergency work, or taking legitimate calls on seven digit lines,” Bubb said.

In the affidavit, Calvery told dispatchers, "I'll be on my porch with a gun, and I don't give a rats ass if they are the cops." 

"You violated my rights," Calvery told 911.

Officials said Calvery believes he is being unfairly being target by Port Orange police.

“Anybody that abuses the system or tries to, again take our folks away from handling true emergencies to me is an abuse of the system," Bubb said.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Burglary suspect calls for ride, cop answers

Police in Whittier, Calif. say a burglary suspect made a bad call when he dialed a friend to ask for a ride and an officer answered.

Police in Whittier had detained four people they thought were trying to break into cars around 4 a.m. Tuesday, when a suspect's cell phone rang.

Sgt. Brent Anderson says an officer answered. The caller told him that he had loot from another burglary and needed to be picked up.

Police obliged.

Altogether, three men, a woman and a 16-year-old male were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen property.

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2 accused of setting live chicken on fire

Authorities in Augusta, Ga. say two suspects are accused of setting a live chicken on fire to post on YouTube and Facebook.

The Richmond County grand jury has indicted the suspects on charges of aggravated cruelty to animals.

Authorities said they set the chicken on fire by using a blowtorch and flammable liquid.

Court records show that one of the suspects is a teenager. If convicted, authorities said they could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.

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Smell of french fries catches grease thieves

Police in Lincoln, Nebraska say they've nabbed a pair of suspected grease thieves, thanks in part to the smell of old french fries.

Christy Harris, of Everton, Mo., and Jesse Moore, of Springfield, Mo., is charged with larceny. They're suspected of siphoning used cooking oil from a bin outside a Lincoln restaurant. Police think they may be involved in several other grease thefts.

Some businesses buy used grease for biodiesel fuel.

Harris and Moore were arrested early Wednesday after police stopped a pickup truck hauling a big tank. Officers say the tank smelled like "old, stale french fries." Police say the truck also had no rear license tag.

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300 Gold Coins Unearthed

An excavation contractor in Western Australia has confirmed it has handed a large quantity of historic gold coins to the owner of a building they were working on.

Workers say they found about 300 gold sovereigns, dated 1800, buried under concrete in a car park next to a building in Albany on the south coast.

Coin experts estimate their value at more than $500,000.

The Chief Executive of Wauters Enterprises, Brett Joins, says the construction company has given the coins to local businessman Paul Lionetti.

"I can confirm that items of value were found on the site and handed over to the client," he said.

"An exhaustive search was completed of the site and no other items were found."

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Urine found in ice cream truck

Suburban Philadelphia police say a DUI stop involving an ice cream truck led to the discovery of water bottles filled with urine, including one in the freezer where treats are kept.

Police say 46-year-old Yassir Hassan was visibly drunk when he was pulled over in Middletown Township, Bucks County. When police searched the Trenton, N.J. man's truck, they say they found boxes of wine along with the bottles of urine.

Middletown Township Lt. John Michniewicz tells WPVI-TV a passing motorist called police after seeing the ice cream truck driving erratically.

Hassan faces a June 1 hearing on misdemeanor drunk-driving charges. A phone listing for him could not immediately be located.

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Ohio bank robber lowers hood when told to

The FBI says an Ohio bank robbery suspect left authorities with good surveillance photos because he lowered his hood when an employee told him to.

FBI Special Agent Harry Trombitas says the man in his mid-20s entered a Columbus PNC Bank on Wednesday with his dark hood up, covering most of his face. Trombitas says in a statement that the bank has a "no hats, no hoods" policy, so a bank employee told the man to pull his hood down, and he complied.

The FBI says when the suspect got to the counter, he handed the teller a note saying he had a gun and to give him money or he would shoot. He fled with an undisclosed amount of cash. Columbus police haven't announced an arrest.

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Police said they may have destroyed $8,000 in cash

A Pennsylvania police official said his department may have accidentally burned the $8,000 missing from its evidence room.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the money, which was seized in 2009 from a home where a domestic dispute was reported and officers found the cash along with crack cocaine and marijuana, had been kept in a lock box accessible to only a few people within the department.

However, Chitwood said a court ruled the search was illegal and ordered the money returned, leading officers to discover the cash was not in the box.

"Everything was in the evidence box but the $8,000," he said. "We have searched the entire evidence room twice."

Chitwood said an evidence technician told investigators he recalled being called away for an emergency while counting the money and the envelope of cash may not have ended up in the right lock box. Chitwood said the envelope may have been burned, as the department frequently incinerates unnecessary evidence.

The city wrote an $8,000 check to replace the cash, Chitwood said.

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Peat moss behind $2M fire

It was a gardener's nightmare in Calgary, Alberta, when three homes burned down in a fire officials traced to an innocuous flower planter containing peat moss.

Fire officials say in addition to the three houses lost, two others were badly damaged Sunday when high winds helped flames and embers jump from house to house in a subdivision in the city's northwest.

No one was injured and damage was determined to be at least $2 million.

Late Tuesday, fire officials said they had determined the source of the fire to be a flower planter on the back deck of one of the burned-out homes.

There was evidence the planter had been full of peat moss, which like hay, can smolder and self-ignite when mixed with organic material and moisture.

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Busted by GPS devise

Michael Fiorell, 44, hid in a bathroom stall at the Southpoint Marriott hotel in Jacksonville and watched women for about 30-minutes — until one of his unsuspecting victims caught him and he fled.

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The woman did manage to somehow follow him and get his license plate number.

That brazen act by his victim, along with the wonders of modern technology, led to his capture: Authorities could pinpoint his exact location at precise times.

Police nailed Fiorelli with the help of a GPS ankle bracelet he had been ordered to wear as a probation condition — for prior voyeurism convictions.

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Man gracefully gets out from tumbling jeep

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Migrants found in two US-bound trailer trucks

Several of the 513 Mexican migrants dehydrated after traveling for hours in dangerously crowded conditions

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Police in Mexico's southern Chiapas state have found 513 migrants inside two trailer trucks bound for the US, and said they had been transported in dangerously crowded conditions.

Some of the immigrants were suffering from dehydration after traveling for hours clinging to cargo ropes strung inside the containers to keep them upright and to allow more migrants to be more crammed in on the floor.

The trucks had air holes punched in the tops of the containers, but migrants interviewed at the state prosecutors' office said they lacked air and water

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The final frontier with space-age beer

Australian entrepreneurs looking to capitalise upon space tourism have tested prototype in zero-gravity flight

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Ohio governor, pink licenses has to go

Ohio Gov. John Kasich said his recent comments about doing away with the states pink driver's licenses were made.

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Kasich said Tuesday during a speech at the "Dayton's Legislation Day in Columbus" event he is planning to "eliminate the pink driver's license."

"I just got mine the other day, and it's going," the governor said.

"I just got my ... license the other day, and everybody says, 'Can you change it from pink?'" Kasich said. "And then I looked at it and I went, 'Whoa.' So I think we're thinking about whether we can have a better color.

"I have the authority apparently to do it, so we'll see. We're thinking about it," Kasich said.

The licenses, which feature a dark salmon background and light pink coloring elsewhere on the card, were phased in during former Gov. Ted Strickland's administration in 2009.

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Train passenger arrested for 16-hour phone conversation

A woman has been arrested for refusing to stop talking on her phone while traveling in a train's quiet carriage.

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Lakeysha Beard was speaking loudly on her mobile phone for 16 hours on the journey between Oakland, California, and Portland, Oregon.

It seems passengers complained to train staff about Beard's chattering, but time and time again the 39-year-old chose to ignore requests for her to be quiet.

Beard then said to have been involved with a 'verbal altercation', resulting in workers for train operator Amtrack calling police to come and remove her.

The train was called to a halt at a crossing just outside Salem, Oregon, where cops boarded to remove the talkative traveler. She has now been charged with disorderly conduct.

Ms Beard said she felt 'disrespected' by the incident. She admitted to talking on her phone, but saw no reason why she should have been escorted from the train.

However, while 16 hours seems a long time to be talking on the phone, Beard still came nowhere close to the current world record.

Sunil Prabhakar of Kailash Hills New Delhi recorded a 51-hour call in September 2009, smashing the 41-hour record set by British man Tony Wright in 2007.

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Small Bits of News You Didn’t Know You Needed

Found wallet leads to owner's arrest

A Good Samaritan turning in a lost wallet isn't always good news for the owner.

An 18-year-old man has been arrested after someone found his wallet and turned it in to authorities -- who say they found three other men's identification cards inside.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler says deputies also found drugs in the teen's car.

The Aledo man has been charged with fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, and possession of a controlled substance and marijuana. Stewart was released Monday after posting $8,500 bail at the Parker County Jail in Weatherford, about 30 miles west of Fort Worth.

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Man arrested for tp toss during graduation

Police said a University of Iowa student was arrested after trying to "lighten up" a graduation ceremony by throwing toilet paper into the crowd.

Investigators said Robert Koehler, 22, who was not graduating, was arrested after tossing toilet paper into the crowd of students during the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts commencement.

Koehler said he was trying to "lighten up the erroneously long graduation ceremony and stimulate a unified celebration for all the graduates at the commencement."

Koehler has pleaded not guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct.

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Smile for the Camera

Litchfield Police say it was a smile the teller flashed to the masked robber that helped tip them off that a robbery at New Milford bank was an inside job.

The teller, 21-year-old Serena Viccaro was ordered held on $25,000 bond when she was arraigned in Bantam Superior Court on charges she conspired to commit first-degree robbery and first-degree larceny.

Police say Viccaro and Preston Hanlon, the man that they robbed the Webster Bank, were involved in a relationship, and that both planned the robbery.

They say that when the 28-year-old Hanlon pointed a toy pistol at Viccaro and demanded money, she smiled at him, then handed him $2,100 in cash.

Viccaro denied involvement.

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Fake doctor used toothpicks on patient

Police in Niles, Illinois say a man reported someone posing as a doctor used toothpicks for acupuncture and gave him expired medication.

Niles police said the man responded to an ad in a Bulgarian-language newspaper and met with the man claiming to be a doctor at a closed medical clinic.

The victim told police the man used toothpicks to give him acupuncture on his chest and gave him pills labeled "Prosperous Farmer Dietary Supplements," which had expired in February 2002.

The man paid $200 for the appointment, police said.

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Pee-eww

Man poured bleach on renter's body instead of reporting death, deputies say

Body was discovered 8 hours before authorities were notified, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said.

A DeLand man who didn't tell anyone that his boarder had died in a room over the garage has been arrested on a charge of failing to report a dead body.

William Hendrix Jr., 55, found the body at 4 p.m. Monday, left it there while he mowed his lawn, then returned to pour bleach on the body to cover the odor of decomposition, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday.

He told deputies he was afraid to report the death because his girlfriend, who owns the property didn't want him to take in boarders, authorities said. The girlfriend called deputies about 12:25 a.m. Tuesday as soon as Hendrix told her about it.

The dead man has been identified as Daniel Ferris, 46. Foul play is not suspected. Hendrix knew Ferris for years and took him in because he was down on his luck, deputies said.

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While I’m Here Arrest Me

Woman arrested while visiting boyfriend at jail in pot farm case

She came to see her boyfriend, who was being held after marijuana found at couple's Millwood home.

Katherine R. Gurley, 49, was busted while visiting her boyfriend, Michael Wayne Mancil, in jail in Ware County.

Authorities had seized at least $1.4 million worth of pot last week at the couple's Millwood home on 33-acres of land they had shared together for four years.

$1.4-million worth of pot is a whole lotta weed.

Deputies found it everywhere: Pot packaged and ready for sale, plus live plants from seedlings to mature weed. Pot was also growing inside the couple's home.

‘She said she had no idea that [marijuana cultivation] was going on out there,’ Sheriff Randy Royal said.

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Sears employee wore stolen boots to work

An employee at Sears in DeSoto Square Mall reportedly got caught wearing evidence that he shoplifted.

Sheriff's deputies say the 18-year-old worker was seen on surveillance stealing a pair of boots earlier this month.

A supervisor said the employee was also seen on surveillance tape wearing the stolen boots to work.

When searched by a deputy, the employee reportedly had a handgun concealed in his boot.

The man, who allegedly admitted to stealing two pairs of boots from the store, faces charges of retail theft and carrying a concealed weapon.

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