oddly enough

oddly enough

Settlement reached for boy kicked out of class

MIAMI

The mother of a Florida child who was kicked out of his kindergarten class after the teacher held a vote among fellow students about his disruptive behavior has reached a $350,000 settlement with St. Lucie County education officials.

Federal court documents show the county school board and teachers union agreed to pay the settlement to Melissa Barton and her son, Alex.

The Stuart News reported Wednesday that the settlement was reached Nov. 24 in Miami. A review by a third party designated to consider the best interests of the child is required before the agreement can be finalized in court.

Barton and education officials declined to comment.

Barton said that in 2008, her son was forced to stand in front of his peers and be told why “they hated him.”

Clerk foils robbery with pastries

DEMING, N.M.

Robbers, beware of clerks wielding pastries.

Police in Deming, N.M., say a clerk foiled a robbery last week when she hit the culprit on the back of the head with a package of empanadas, a type of Latin American pastry.

Police say the masked man didn’t say a word when he grabbed the cash register at Amigo’s Mexican Food and tried to flee.

Deming police Capt. Brandon Gigante says the man dropped the register when the clerk threw the pastries and hit him.

Barbara Orquiz, who owns Amigo’s with her husband, Arnold, says the cash register’s cord got caught when the man tried to take it. The clerk saw him grab it, screamed and got him with the empanadas.

Orquiz says the man was covering his head as he ran away.

13 charged in scheme to ship pot with TP

COLUMBUS

Federal authorities have charged 13 people in an alleged scheme to sell tons of marijuana shipped to Ohio between packages of toilet paper.

Tony Marotta, the top Drug Enforcement Administration official in Columbus, says the nearly 8,000 pounds of marijuana found in two locations had a value of about $4 million.

The 13 defendants had initial appearances Monday in federal court on a preliminary charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 3,000 pounds of pot.

Marotta says about 6,000 pounds of marijuana was found hidden in a delivery of toilet paper rolls Saturday at a warehouse in Columbus.

He says an additional 2,000 pounds of pot was found in a vacant condominium in suburban Hilliard.

Associated Press