oddly enough

oddly enough

$17,000 diamond donated to Pa. charity

HARRISBURG, Pa.

A retired jeweler sorting through items donated to a Pennsylvania charity spotted one fabulous find: a 2.6-carat diamond and platinum ring.

Officials from Goodwill Industries say the ring has been appraised at $17,600, making it the most-expensive item ever donated to Goodwill Industries Keystone Area.

The ring was discovered last week by retired jeweler Barry Landis, who has sorted through donated jewelry in Goodwill’s Harrisburg distribution center for the last two years. Most of it is costume jewelry, but the donated diamond shone through.

The ring has a two-carat European-cut diamond, surrounded 14 smaller diamonds.

Goodwill officials aren’t sure why the ring ended up being donated. No one has come forward to take credit.

Thongs are banned at ‘Mayberry’ beach

KURE BEACH, N.C.

A North Carolina town that the mayor called “Mayberry with a beach” has banned swimmers from wearing thongs.

Kure Beach Mayor Dean Lambeth says “we’re going to keep this as close to Mayberry with a beach as you can keep it,” referring to the idyllic Southern community portrayed on the 1960s TV series “The Andy Griffith Show.”

The Star-News of Wilmington reports that the town council voted last week to add a ban against the revealing swimwear to its existing ordinance against nudity.

The move came after the police chief received an e-mail earlier in the week asking if the town’s existing nude-bathing ordinance allowed thongs.

The ordinance bans nudity or “insufficient clothing,” and the man wanted to know if thongs were allowed for both men and women.

Montana teen fined for trying to scare child

STEVENSVILLE, Mont.

An 18-year-old in Montana apparently thought it would be funny to yell “I’m going to kidnap you” at a 7-year-old girl, but the joke cost him a $185 fine for disorderly conduct.

The girl told police April 15 that she heard the man yell the threat from a car as she walked on a sidewalk in Stevensville.

She helped police in the small town south of Missoula create a sketch, and police Chief James Marble says Justin Stockdale turned himself in Monday after seeing his likeness on fliers distributed around town.

Stockdale pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, was fined $185 and given a 10-day suspended jail sentence.

Marble says the teenager apparently thought it would be funny to scare the girl, but it appears he has learned a valuable lesson.