Sunday, December 08, 2013

Broken kitten

Coco the dog searches for imaginary squirrel


YouTube link.

Belgian man breaks world record

On Friday night, Joris (George) Goens, 53, better known as the town-crier of Furnes, smashed the world record for 'grape catching with the mouth in three minutes' while appearing on Belgium's Got Talent.

Joris, aided by his 'pitcher' Freddy, who underwent six heart bypass operations only last month, managed to catch 223 grapes in the allotted time, beating the previous record of 213 held by American Ashrita Furman, to win a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.


YouTube link.

Police file report against shoplifting husky

Employees at a Dollar General store in Clinton, South Carolina had a bit of a surprise when they caught a shoplifter in the act. The culprit was Cato, a husky who lives nearby. On Wednesday morning, Cato got off his leash and took off. And not long after his escape, the Dollar General store on South Broad Street was robbed.



“We didn’t know it happened because he just snuck in with the customers,” said store manager Anastasia Polson. Polson said it happened twice within a few minutes. She said someone had stolen pig ears, beef bones, dog food and treats off the shelf. She knew their surveillance cameras were rolling, so when she watched the film, she saw they had a shoplifting dog.



Video shows Cato walk up to the doors at 9:38am, but they shut in his face before he can get in. But he waits for the opportunity to go in with a customer, then back out in less than a minute. Then he’s back once again and inside for about three minutes before leaving. “We had to lock the door to keep him from coming back in,” Polson said.


YouTube link. Original news video.

Cato’s crime spree was quick lived. And he took the goods and buried them nearby. Cato’s owner Holly Darden, said police told her it was their best arrest ever. Cato did spend time at the pound, but he’s now back home resting. And police officers, tickled by Cato's spree, even filled out a police report on the incident.

Man finds Jesus on block of wood

Committed Christian Robert Hamilton has been woodworking for over 25 years and does custom woodwork in Evergreen, Colorado.



He was putting several pieces together for a lamp he was making out of cedar wood.

On one of the scraps he found what he says looks like a profile of Jesus.



Hamilton admits that some people he's shared his finding with do not see the same thing he sees.

Possible voodoo curse victim filed police report 'just in case'

A Florida man thought someone put a voodoo curse on him, telling police he wanted it documented in case he experienced "ill effects from the voodoo" in the future.

The 35-year-old man told Fort Pierce police he thought "others in the Haitian community had turned against him and placed a voodoo curse on him." The man said he thought the curse was designed to glean his personal information.



He suspected the curse had been in place for about a year, though indicated he hadn't experienced any identity theft type issues. "(The man) explained other Haitian people were jealous of him, and that is the reason they burdened him with the curse," the police report states.

The man, whose listed address is on South 17 Street in Fort Pierce, appeared "normal," according to the document. "(He) said he did not want to harm anyone else or himself, and added that he loved everybody." The man said he wanted the situation documented in case "he were to suffer ill effects from the voodoo at some point in the future."

Deputy principal accused of getting girls drunk so they would vandalise home of headmaster

A deputy principal at a high school in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia allegedly plied three female students with alcohol, then encouraged them to vandalise the home of their headmaster.

Andrew Peter Minisini, 59, was suspended from duties at Orara High School this week after police charged him over an alleged incident last month. Police allege that on November 29, Minisini took female students, aged 16 and 17, to a motel room and gave them alcohol until they were drunk.



It is alleged he had struck up a friendship with one of the students and suggested she bring two friends along to a gathering. Police allege that once the girls were intoxicated, Minisini drove them to the home of the headmaster, where he encouraged them to graffiti obscene works and illustrations on the brickwork and fence.

The headmaster was not home at the time but reported it later. Detectives searched Minisini's home and office, arresting him on Thursday night. He was questioned and charged with two counts of recruiting a child to engage in criminal activity, one count of malicious damage and one count of supplying a minor with alcohol. He will face Coffs Harbour Local Court on January 20.

Thieves stripped entire field of Brussel sprouts from nun’s farm

A group of thieves broke into a convent garden in Wicklow, Ireland to strip an entire field of Brussel sprouts. The thieves stole the sprouts, which would have been worth around €300, from the Dominican Farm and Ecology Centre on Wednesday night.



Sister Julie Newman from the farm said she is ‘very upset’ over the thieves’ cull, which she said is a huge setback for the staff who have tended to the sprout plants over the last two years. The theft was deliberate, according to the nun, and she believes the sprouts will now be sold as high-end organic produce for the Christmas market.

“We went up this morning, and they were all gone - completely stripped - the stalks and everything,” she said. “We had just been saying that we’d start harvesting this weekend for the farm shop and then continue harvesting right up until Christmas. It’s not just the monetary value. It’s when you think of the effort that people went to in caring for them.” The vegetables are biennial, so it takes two years to bring Brussels sprouts to full maturity.



While some produce at the farm has been stolen before, Sister Newman says the thievery was never on this scale. “I feel sorry for our staff. They have minded them and cared for them all along, and someone came in the dead of the night and stole all of them. We would have the odd bit of pilfering of potatoes and onions, but this was deliberate. It wasn’t just someone looking for a few vegetables for their dinner.”

Fine waived after police accept that snail ate tax disc

When Jon Roles of J H Norman and Sons Ltd in Yeovil, Somerset was asked to fix a van, he did not expect to embark in a battle with the police due to the actions of a snail. When he came to move the white Peugeot, which had broken down, he discovered a £100 penalty notice for failing to properly display a tax disc. Enlisting the help of father Steve, 70, on closer inspection the culprit for the missing disc was identified as a snail. It was caught in the act, at the scene of the crime, sat on the dashboard happily munching through the certificate.



Steve Roles said: “It’s almost unbelievable. I had a bit of a chuckle as I just couldn’t believe what I saw. I think snails like glue and ink so maybe that’s why it ate the disc. But we still had the penalty notice to deal with.” Mr Roles, who helps his son out at work on occasion, said they felt it was their duty to contest the fine. He said: “As the vehicle was in the care of the garage at the time we felt the liability rested with us so we appealed on the customer’s behalf.

“Jon asked for my advice and I suggested we talk to the police. We explained the situation but they weren’t too keen to see the evidence. They said it was still an offence as the disc was not properly displayed. As it had been partially eaten by the snail, it only said ‘August’ and you couldn’t see the year. But we knew for a fact the customer had taxed the vehicle.” Mr Roles said in a second attempt they wrote to the police explaining the situation in full with photos.



He said: “We felt it was unjust. We tried to make the letter light-hearted but also explain that this all happened by chance.” To the pair’s delight, Avon and Somerset Police have now waived the fine. In a letter a member of the central ticket office said: “After consideration of all the facts I have decided to excuse payment of the fixed penalty. Please feel free to interrogate the offender, preferably with a teaspoon of salt.” Mr Roles said they were grateful for the letter, which showed the police also a sense of humour. A new tax disc has now been applied for. Sadly the offending snail has now died.

Police seek owner after stolen prosthetic arm discovered in second hand shop

A stolen prosthetic arm has been discovered in a second hand shop sparking a search for its owner.

The unusual and distinctive arm is a Nasco Life/Form Advanced Injection Arm and is primarily used for training people to take blood samples.



Detective Constable Adam Woolman, of Bournemouth CID, said: “During the course of an investigation police recovered a number of items from a second hand shop, including this arm. I believe this item may have been in a vehicle, either on or around November 25.

“Enquiries have already been made with local hospitals. It is an unusual article and we hope that someone recognises it and can help us to find the rightful owner.” Last week officers arrested two men on suspicion of burglary and now a 32-year-old man has been charged with burglary and is awaiting trial.