oddly enough

oddly enough

3 rodeo bulls make a run for it through Idaho town

POCATELLO, Idaho

Rodeo week in Pocatello kicked off with an unscheduled running of the bulls as three of the bucking beasts broke free and headed through town with cowboys and police in pursuit.

The bulls were being unloaded Wednesday afternoon for the Xtreme Bulls event when they made a run for it. The animals were corralled about a mile away from Idaho State’s Holt Arena.

Pocatello Frontier Rodeo Association president Robert Askey said the biggest challenge was keeping people safe and keeping the huge animals calm and off the main streets.

The Xtreme Bulls event went on as scheduled Wednesday night. The Western Frontier Pro Rodeo continues through Saturday with the Wrangler Million Dollar Silver Tour Rodeo performances.

Albuquerque man fails to win restitution by poker, gets prison

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.

An Albuquerque man was sentenced to prison Wednesday after he asked to repay his investment-scam victims through poker tournament winnings, but failed to find luck at the card table.

“This was long overdue,” said J. Dee Dennis Jr., the superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. “This individual wanted to con us into believing that keeping him out of prison would help his victims get their money back. ... We’re calling his bluff. It’s about time we sent him to prison.”

Samuel McMaster Jr. stayed out of prison after prosecutors agreed to a request from his attorney to delay sentencing so that he could earn money to repay his victims. The former insurance agent was accused of stealing nearly $450,000 from 23 investors over several years.

The way he chose to attempt earning money for restitution was through gambling, said Phyllis H. Bowman, lead prosecutor with the state Securities Division.

Bowman said she was not aware of other attempts to make restitution by gambling, although she noted that others have tried to earn money through real-estate speculating.

Duck found nesting at Chick-fil-A in New Jersey

AUDUBON, N.J.

A duck has chosen an odd place to lay her eggs: a fast-food drive-thru in New Jersey.

The duck is nesting in landscaping near a drive-thru menu at a Chick-fil-A in Audubon.

Restaurant employee Karen Montone said Thursday that she noticed the duck a couple of days ago. Gardeners had recently replanted the area bordering the store in a suburban strip mall.

Montone thinks the duck had been hidden beneath old plants but is now exposed by the new landscaping. She’s worried the fowl is too far afoul of its natural environment and has placed water and food nearby.

It’s not clear how many eggs the duck has or when they might hatch.

Associated Press