Thursday, April 28, 2011
ODDLY ENOUGH
Wash. jury acquits man of stealing 99-cent hot dog
CHENEY, Wash.
A man has been cleared of a theft charge after a bemused jury in Washington state found him not guilty of stealing a 99-cent hot dog.
John Richardson got the frankfurter from the self-serve counter of a Cheney, Wash., grocery store in December.
He ate it while he shopped but forgot to include it when he paid for his groceries.
Store managers confronted Richardson and called police.
It took jurors about five minutes to reach their verdict in the February trial.
Juror Patrick Reeves tells The Spokesman-Review someone would “have to be an idiot” not to realize Richardson simply forgot to pay.
Prosecutor Julie McKay didn’t buy that. She says Richardson refused a deal to pay a $200 civil penalty and have the charge dropped.
Store officials have declined to comment.
New Jersey town limits when roosters, hens can hook up
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP, N.J.
A New Jersey town has adopted an ordinance that regulates when chickens and roosters can hook up in backyard henhouses.
Roosters must show they’re disease-free and they better not crow about their conquests.
Hopewell Township residents can have up to a half-dozen hens on half-acre lots. Roosters would be allowed only 10 days a year for fertilization purposes.
Mature roosters are not allowed because they’re too noisy. Any roosters that crow too long can be banned from the property for two years.
Mayor Jim Burd told The Times of Trenton the ordinance is a compromise between today’s lifestyle and the township’s agricultural history.
Sign swiped at Ohio home where Superman was created
CLEVELAND
The Man of Steel may have fallen victim to scrap metal thieves in Cleveland.
A historical marker has been stolen near the house where two high-school classmates created the Superman character in 1933.
The neighborhood’s development corporation tells police a hacksaw was used to remove the plaque from atop a pole two weeks ago.
The Plain Dealer newspaper reports the aluminum marker may have been swiped because its coloring led the culprits to think it was bronze, a popular target of scrap-metal thieves.
The city installed the plaque eight years ago.
Officials say it will be replaced.
Associated Press