Thursday, November 13, 2014
Man rescued from store's walls after being trapped for three days
A man trapped for three days between two walls of a business in Longmont, Colorado, unsuccessfully attempted to pass distress notes outside.
One of them was written on his probation officer's business card.
"You can't make this stuff up," Longmont police Sgt. Cage said.
The Longmont Fire Department spent about a half hour on Tuesday morning freeing Paul Felyk from a vacant space between interior and exterior walls at the Marshalls Store, eventually employing a K-12 saw and cutting a large hole in the side of the building. Marshalls employees told police that they had heard a man yelling on Monday but didn't know where he was. On Tuesday, they again heard the man yelling and determined he was yelling through a hole in a back wall.
He sounded like he was in pain, and a manager called police. Cage said Felyk was unable to push the notes under the interior wall, and they were later found by first responders. "They were hard to read, but they definitely said 'help,'" Cage said, adding that Felyk, 35, had ineffectively attempted to describe his position inside the building in one of the notes. "I'm not sure he knew where he was," Cage said. Felyk dated one of the notes Nov. 8, leading police to believe that he had been stuck in between the walls since Saturday.
YouTube link.
After firefighters opened the hold in the exterior wall, Felyk crawled out, lay down on a gurney and was whisked away to Longmont United Hospital. Cage said the incident is being investigated as a possible burglary or trespassing and that charges are pending. Felyk, who has so far not been charged with any crime in relation to the incident, has prior convictions for robbery, trespassing, assault, driving while ability impaired, theft and criminal mischief.
The Longmont Fire Department spent about a half hour on Tuesday morning freeing Paul Felyk from a vacant space between interior and exterior walls at the Marshalls Store, eventually employing a K-12 saw and cutting a large hole in the side of the building. Marshalls employees told police that they had heard a man yelling on Monday but didn't know where he was. On Tuesday, they again heard the man yelling and determined he was yelling through a hole in a back wall.
He sounded like he was in pain, and a manager called police. Cage said Felyk was unable to push the notes under the interior wall, and they were later found by first responders. "They were hard to read, but they definitely said 'help,'" Cage said, adding that Felyk, 35, had ineffectively attempted to describe his position inside the building in one of the notes. "I'm not sure he knew where he was," Cage said. Felyk dated one of the notes Nov. 8, leading police to believe that he had been stuck in between the walls since Saturday.
YouTube link.
After firefighters opened the hold in the exterior wall, Felyk crawled out, lay down on a gurney and was whisked away to Longmont United Hospital. Cage said the incident is being investigated as a possible burglary or trespassing and that charges are pending. Felyk, who has so far not been charged with any crime in relation to the incident, has prior convictions for robbery, trespassing, assault, driving while ability impaired, theft and criminal mischief.
Man accused of pointing rifle at female teenage relative during argument over game of Battleship
A man was arrested after deputies tracked several 911 calls using GPS and found him fighting with a teenage relative on Saturday evening, according to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred at around 8pm near West Mountain at Utah Lake. Dispatch received several 911 calls, but the caller didn’t respond to dispatchers and the call was dropped several times, the sheriff’s department said. Dispatchers said they heard a possible fight between a male and female and deputies traced the call to a campsite with a truck and trailer.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they heard yelling and a pounding noise from inside the trailer. Deputies found John Valenzuela, 68, and a 17-year-old female inside the trailer. During the investigation, deputies learned that Valenzuela and the teenage girl “were playing a game of Battleship when she accused him of cheating and the two engaged in a verbal argument.” During the argument, Valenzuela allegedly prevented the teen from leaving the trailer several times.
The 17-year-old told police she hit her head on the wall when he stopped her from leaving and that he threw her on the couch. The teen also attempted to call 911 several times, but Valenzuela “grabbed her wrist and forcefully took the phone from her,” the statement said. The teen told police she eventually made it out of the trailer and began running, but Valenzuela “caught up to her and knocked her to the ground, pushing her face into the rocks before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back into the trailer.”
Deputies located a loaded rifle inside the trailer and the teen told them Valenzuela had pointed it at her and threatened to shoot himself. The teen also told deputies Valenzuela allegedly told her he could “break her jaw and bruise her bad.” A preliminary breath test showed Valenzuela had a blood alcohol content level of .113 during the investigation, deputies said. Valenzuela was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, criminal mischief, unlawful detention, damage and interruption of a communication device and intoxication. Although the teen didn't speak with dispatchers, the 911 calls activated GPS technology and deputies are crediting the technology for the rescue.
With news video. Or you can watch it here.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they heard yelling and a pounding noise from inside the trailer. Deputies found John Valenzuela, 68, and a 17-year-old female inside the trailer. During the investigation, deputies learned that Valenzuela and the teenage girl “were playing a game of Battleship when she accused him of cheating and the two engaged in a verbal argument.” During the argument, Valenzuela allegedly prevented the teen from leaving the trailer several times.
The 17-year-old told police she hit her head on the wall when he stopped her from leaving and that he threw her on the couch. The teen also attempted to call 911 several times, but Valenzuela “grabbed her wrist and forcefully took the phone from her,” the statement said. The teen told police she eventually made it out of the trailer and began running, but Valenzuela “caught up to her and knocked her to the ground, pushing her face into the rocks before grabbing her by the hair and pulling her back into the trailer.”
Deputies located a loaded rifle inside the trailer and the teen told them Valenzuela had pointed it at her and threatened to shoot himself. The teen also told deputies Valenzuela allegedly told her he could “break her jaw and bruise her bad.” A preliminary breath test showed Valenzuela had a blood alcohol content level of .113 during the investigation, deputies said. Valenzuela was arrested and booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated assault, criminal mischief, unlawful detention, damage and interruption of a communication device and intoxication. Although the teen didn't speak with dispatchers, the 911 calls activated GPS technology and deputies are crediting the technology for the rescue.
With news video. Or you can watch it here.
Alpacas bring joy to residents of nursing home
They are soft. They are cuddly. And they are ideal for therapeutic purposes. The residents of the Mana Wedell nursing home in Steglitz, south-west of Berlin, Germany, look forward to the company of three alpacas.
The animals have been kept at the home since August. The initiative came from director Johanna Hormann. "A television report drew my attention to the pretty animals.
YouTube link.
"When I started to let me know in detail about alpacas, I learned that the incredibly well suited for therapeutic purposes and humans to the similarly emphatic are such as dolphins," says Hormann.
The alpacas have their enclosure outside in the garden but every once in a while they come inside the home and cuddle with the elderly residents. They watch TV, take the elevator and provide company. As one of the elderly women in the home said "they are full of love!"
The animals have been kept at the home since August. The initiative came from director Johanna Hormann. "A television report drew my attention to the pretty animals.
YouTube link.
"When I started to let me know in detail about alpacas, I learned that the incredibly well suited for therapeutic purposes and humans to the similarly emphatic are such as dolphins," says Hormann.
The alpacas have their enclosure outside in the garden but every once in a while they come inside the home and cuddle with the elderly residents. They watch TV, take the elevator and provide company. As one of the elderly women in the home said "they are full of love!"
Indian farmers use cuddly stuffed toy tigers to save crops from elephants
Frustrated by marauding herds of elephants plundering their crops and worried for their safety, farmers on the border of the Sanamavu reserve forest in Tamil Nadu have struck upon a singular solution to their problem. They've decided to use an old foe of the Indian elephant, the tiger, or replicas of them, anyway, to frighten the jumbos away.
Around 50 farmers in the area placed in their fields, at vantage positions where elephants can't miss them, large stuffed tigers that they purchased in Bangalore. They've also set up speakers on which they will play recorded growls and roars of the big cat.
Tigers usually do not mess with elephants and it's unlikely that canny wild elephants will be taken in by the trick, given that some of the stuffed tigers have been placed in ridiculously impossible positions, including one reclining on the stump of a coconut tree, its hind legs floating in mid-air, but the farmers have run out of options. "Jumbos last year destroyed ragi, paddy and vegetable crops in many fields," said M R Sivasami, president of farmers' association Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam. More than 100 elephants from Bannerghatta Reserve Forest in Karnataka make the journey every year to Sanamavu Reserve Forest, around 10km west of Hosur town.
Foresters say as many as 88 elephants have entered the forest this year, including a large herd that came on the night of October 27. Foresters in February had to drive a herd of 45 wild jumbos from Sanamavu Reserve Forest back to Denkanikottai Reserve Forest, 8km away. The rampaging animals caused so much damage that the government gave each farmer a compensation of Rs10 lakh (£10,250, $16,200). More than 300 people from villages in the area blocked the highway between Hosur and Royakottai nonetheless, demanding that the authorities find a permanent solution to the elephant problem. Some farmers gave up on foresters and decided to find a fix themselves.
"We usually burst fireworks and light fireballs when jumbos enter our fields," K Munirajappa, a farmer from Beerjeppalli village, said. "A spark flashed in my mind when I overheard a forester tell a farmer that tigers would scare away elephants." He said he went to Bengaluru the next day and bought four cuddly toys for Rs 3,000 (£30, $50). "When they saw the stuffed tigers I bought, many other farmers went and got themselves the same kind of dolls." The farmers have set up 'machaans' from where they plan to monitor elephant herds that stray into their fields so they can play the tiger growls when they are within earshot. "If it works, I'll purchase more dolls to save my crops," PS Dhimmarayappa, another farmer, said.
Tigers usually do not mess with elephants and it's unlikely that canny wild elephants will be taken in by the trick, given that some of the stuffed tigers have been placed in ridiculously impossible positions, including one reclining on the stump of a coconut tree, its hind legs floating in mid-air, but the farmers have run out of options. "Jumbos last year destroyed ragi, paddy and vegetable crops in many fields," said M R Sivasami, president of farmers' association Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam. More than 100 elephants from Bannerghatta Reserve Forest in Karnataka make the journey every year to Sanamavu Reserve Forest, around 10km west of Hosur town.
Foresters say as many as 88 elephants have entered the forest this year, including a large herd that came on the night of October 27. Foresters in February had to drive a herd of 45 wild jumbos from Sanamavu Reserve Forest back to Denkanikottai Reserve Forest, 8km away. The rampaging animals caused so much damage that the government gave each farmer a compensation of Rs10 lakh (£10,250, $16,200). More than 300 people from villages in the area blocked the highway between Hosur and Royakottai nonetheless, demanding that the authorities find a permanent solution to the elephant problem. Some farmers gave up on foresters and decided to find a fix themselves.
"We usually burst fireworks and light fireballs when jumbos enter our fields," K Munirajappa, a farmer from Beerjeppalli village, said. "A spark flashed in my mind when I overheard a forester tell a farmer that tigers would scare away elephants." He said he went to Bengaluru the next day and bought four cuddly toys for Rs 3,000 (£30, $50). "When they saw the stuffed tigers I bought, many other farmers went and got themselves the same kind of dolls." The farmers have set up 'machaans' from where they plan to monitor elephant herds that stray into their fields so they can play the tiger growls when they are within earshot. "If it works, I'll purchase more dolls to save my crops," PS Dhimmarayappa, another farmer, said.
Investigation after bridge opened with man clinging on
An investigation is to be launched after the Hoornbrug road bridge over the Rhine-Schie canal in Rijswijk in the western Netherlands opened on Monday, leaving a man clinging on.
YouTube link.
Authorities say that the bridge should be clear and gates locked before the bridge is opened.
It is believed that the man and a friend had evaded the barriers and tried to cross as the bridge was opening.
The man's friend successfully crossed, but he was too slow and was forced to hang on as the bridge fully opened then closed again. In light of the incident, bridge guards have been told to be extra alert.
YouTube link.
Authorities say that the bridge should be clear and gates locked before the bridge is opened.
It is believed that the man and a friend had evaded the barriers and tried to cross as the bridge was opening.
The man's friend successfully crossed, but he was too slow and was forced to hang on as the bridge fully opened then closed again. In light of the incident, bridge guards have been told to be extra alert.
Heroic cow swam three miles through choppy waters looking for her lost calf
A heroic cow swam three miles through choppy and dangerous water searching for its calf on one of the worst nights of the year.
The 615kg blonde Charolais, who has been nicknamed Sirenia – meaning sea cow – crossed Kenmare Bay in County Kerry, Ireland, in a daring freezing water swim.
David Baker, 59, was out walking his dog with his nurse wife Brigid, 41, when they spotted the animal.
The couple stopped to rest on a bench when Brigid saw something in the water at around 8.30am.
They thought it might be an otter or a seal but as they got closer they saw it was the white cow stranded on Lackeen Blackwater, afraid to climb the rocks. David contacted local farmer Geoff Mahoney, who knew straight away the animal was not his. Local people started to gather, amazed the cow had managed to swim in such weather. Geoff said: “There was a high spring tide, there were big waves in the water, unsuitable for fishing at that time.”
Along with a crowd of others they cut back the undergrowth and attempted to pull Sirenia out but the cow seemed to be scared of the rocks. Instead they gave her some food and left her alone. They returned at around 4pm to find her up on the bank and eating ivy in the woods. David said: “She came out in her own time. She’s a beautiful animal.” Thanks to records it was found she belonged to farmer Timmy O’Sullivan, who lived across the bay in Tuosist.
David said: “Timmy just couldn’t account for her, he thought maybe she was taken.” The farmer, who had been frantically searching his side of the bay, was shaken when he realised how far his prize cow had travelled in the freezing water. But David said Sirenia, who is worth between €1,200 and €5,700, was calm despite her ordeal and was in good health. He added: “I think it’s a great story of survival. I think she’s a great hero.” Geoff explained: “When cows are weaned they quite often go looking for their calves – she might have heard my cows.”
There's a radio interview with David and Geoff here.
They thought it might be an otter or a seal but as they got closer they saw it was the white cow stranded on Lackeen Blackwater, afraid to climb the rocks. David contacted local farmer Geoff Mahoney, who knew straight away the animal was not his. Local people started to gather, amazed the cow had managed to swim in such weather. Geoff said: “There was a high spring tide, there were big waves in the water, unsuitable for fishing at that time.”
Along with a crowd of others they cut back the undergrowth and attempted to pull Sirenia out but the cow seemed to be scared of the rocks. Instead they gave her some food and left her alone. They returned at around 4pm to find her up on the bank and eating ivy in the woods. David said: “She came out in her own time. She’s a beautiful animal.” Thanks to records it was found she belonged to farmer Timmy O’Sullivan, who lived across the bay in Tuosist.
David said: “Timmy just couldn’t account for her, he thought maybe she was taken.” The farmer, who had been frantically searching his side of the bay, was shaken when he realised how far his prize cow had travelled in the freezing water. But David said Sirenia, who is worth between €1,200 and €5,700, was calm despite her ordeal and was in good health. He added: “I think it’s a great story of survival. I think she’s a great hero.” Geoff explained: “When cows are weaned they quite often go looking for their calves – she might have heard my cows.”
There's a radio interview with David and Geoff here.
Wheelchair-bound woman banned from going inside cafe for being smelly
A wheelchair-bound woman says she is being discriminated against after she was banned from going inside a cafe in Sidcup, south east London, for being "smelly".
Kelly Sawyer, of Foots Cray, ate lunch regularly at Star Burger in Sidcup High Street, before being told she could no longer sit inside the eatery.
During the summer months the 34-year-old sat in a seated area outside, but she decided to move indoors last Wednesday because of the cold weather.
Ms Sawyer, who suffers from spina bifida - a congenital disorder that affects the spinal cord and has left her paralysed from the waist down - says she was told, almost immediately, to get out. She said : "Basically I went into a cafe, it's one that I always go to except during the summer I've been sitting outside. It wasn't great weather so this time I sat inside. I got to my table where I normally sit. I made sure I was out of the way of everyone else. Despite this the guy working there, he basically said to me you cannot sit inside because the customers have complained about you.
"I said: 'so you are barring me? That's discrimination' and he said: 'Yes, I am barring you'. At this point I did swear, I did call him a wanker. I was quite angry and I expressed my anger." Ms Sawyer has eaten at the cafe twice a week for the last 10 years, usually enjoying a toastie or a chicken burger. She added: "It is quite disappointing and it is wrong. I don't feel like I can go back now. I would like to go back but this is a clear case of discrimination. They're doing it because I'm in a wheelchair. I go there and have food a couple of times a week, I've been doing that for the last 10 years and I've never had this problem before."
A spokesman for the restaurant said: "She wasn't very clean. She had a very bad smell. That was the reason we told her she couldn't sit in the restaurant. We have lots of customers in the restaurant. The reason she's not allowed to come inside is because of her very bad smell. We offered to put her outside and to serve her there but she came inside. The restaurant was full. People started to complain." Ms Sawyer responded to these claims, saying: "I don't think that's fair. I am clean, and they've let me in the restaurant before."
Ms Sawyer, who suffers from spina bifida - a congenital disorder that affects the spinal cord and has left her paralysed from the waist down - says she was told, almost immediately, to get out. She said : "Basically I went into a cafe, it's one that I always go to except during the summer I've been sitting outside. It wasn't great weather so this time I sat inside. I got to my table where I normally sit. I made sure I was out of the way of everyone else. Despite this the guy working there, he basically said to me you cannot sit inside because the customers have complained about you.
"I said: 'so you are barring me? That's discrimination' and he said: 'Yes, I am barring you'. At this point I did swear, I did call him a wanker. I was quite angry and I expressed my anger." Ms Sawyer has eaten at the cafe twice a week for the last 10 years, usually enjoying a toastie or a chicken burger. She added: "It is quite disappointing and it is wrong. I don't feel like I can go back now. I would like to go back but this is a clear case of discrimination. They're doing it because I'm in a wheelchair. I go there and have food a couple of times a week, I've been doing that for the last 10 years and I've never had this problem before."
A spokesman for the restaurant said: "She wasn't very clean. She had a very bad smell. That was the reason we told her she couldn't sit in the restaurant. We have lots of customers in the restaurant. The reason she's not allowed to come inside is because of her very bad smell. We offered to put her outside and to serve her there but she came inside. The restaurant was full. People started to complain." Ms Sawyer responded to these claims, saying: "I don't think that's fair. I am clean, and they've let me in the restaurant before."
London Olympics borough is the most physically inactive in England
More people are physically inactive in an east London borough which hosted the Olympics in 2012 than anywhere else in England, research has revealed.
Almost two in five (39.17%) people in Newham take no exercise at all, according to a report from ukactive, which represents fitness organisations.
It recorded that statistic in 2013, soon after the 17 days of Olympic action in 2012 at venues in the Olympic Park, which is partly in the borough. The findings raise doubts about whether the event organisers’ much repeated pledge that it would “inspire a generation” to participate in sport and be active will be realised.
Barking and Dagenham, another of the London boroughs which were meant to benefit from the Olympics, had the second highest number of totally sedentary residents. Some 38.82% of people there did not undertake any exercise whatsoever, the report says. The level of activity recorded in both boroughs fell between 2012 and 2013.
Almost two in five (39.17%) people in Newham take no exercise at all, according to a report from ukactive, which represents fitness organisations.
It recorded that statistic in 2013, soon after the 17 days of Olympic action in 2012 at venues in the Olympic Park, which is partly in the borough. The findings raise doubts about whether the event organisers’ much repeated pledge that it would “inspire a generation” to participate in sport and be active will be realised.
Barking and Dagenham, another of the London boroughs which were meant to benefit from the Olympics, had the second highest number of totally sedentary residents. Some 38.82% of people there did not undertake any exercise whatsoever, the report says. The level of activity recorded in both boroughs fell between 2012 and 2013.
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