ODDLY ENOUGH

October 11, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

ODDLY ENOUGH

10-10-10: Vegas chapels busy on once-in-century milestone

LAS VEGAS

Churches, banquet halls and other wedding venues across the country were extra-busy Sunday as couples seeking a perfect 10 rushed to tie the knot on a once-in-a-century milestone: Oct. 10, 2010.

In Las Vegas — long a destination for weddings — one marriage-license bureau extended its Sunday hours from 6 p.m. to midnight to accommodate the rush. Hotels and churches in New Hampshire’s Seacoast area were booked long before Oct. 10.

Wedding-related businesses said the day was perhaps the most sought-after wedding date since July 7, 2007, when the lucky 07-07-07 marked the calendar.

Some 10-10-10 couples even chose to take their vows at 10 a.m.

One pastor in Nevada took the rush airborne by planning to join 30 couples at various venues Sunday and aboard a helicopter through the buzz of a headset.

“This is kind of a neat way to spend my retirement years. It keeps me in good health and keeps my mind alert,” the Rev. Jim Hamilton of Henderson’s Sunrise Community Church told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Renee Fletcher, hostess at the Arch of Reno Wedding Chapel, said it was staging more than 40 weddings Sunday.

Megan Powell, a 26-year-old who married a nightclub and restaurant operator, said her Las Vegas wedding was “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get married on 10/10/10.”

Tamara Tom, 28, of Fairfield, Calif., was following a tradition when she married Robert Harper at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno. The couple said they will celebrate 10 years of being together Dec. 10.

At the Antique Angel Wedding Chapel in Reno, owner Beverly Van Dusseldorp said all dates with multiple similar numbers bring out more weddings, but especially Sunday.

Police: Washington man escaped while handcuffed

LONGVIEW, Wash.

A 26-year-old Washington state man managed to escaped from a Department of Corrections car while handcuffed. Police aren’t just looking for him. They also want him to be charged with stealing the handcuffs.

The Daily News of Longview reports that Eric Mitchell Lair was arrested Oct. 1 on a felony warrant. He was handcuffed behind his back but still was able to open the door of the car that was taking him to Cowlitz County jail and run off. A judge issued a warrant Thursday for his arrest on suspicion of first-degree escape.

Police say the handcuffs are valued at $29, and stealing them would constitute third- degree theft.

Associated Press