oddly enough

oddly enough

Snake bites man in car after yard-sale purchase

DUNCANSVILLE, Pa.

Police say a Pennsylvania man picked up more than he bargained for at a yard sale.

Duncansville Police Chief James Ott told the Altoona Mirro that a small snake bit Donald Forshey on the leg Wednesday as he and his girlfriend were driving home from a yard sale.

Ott said the snake likely slithered into a milk crate containing items the couple had purchased.

The pair bailed out of the car on Interstate 99 and called 911. A state trooper was unable to help them find the snake, which Forshey tried to pin to the floor with a crutch he uses.

An ambulance was called as a precaution, but Forshey is OK.

Authorities believe it was either a garter snake or a copperhead that didn’t inject any venom when it struck.

Judge: Creek can’t block Pa. school-district exit

PITTSBURGH

A judge said 400 feet of creek can’t keep a tiny, upscale Pittsburgh suburb from switching school districts.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review said Allegheny County Judge David Wecht’s ruling Wednesday is the first step Rosslyn Farms residents needed to leave the Carlynton School District and join Chartiers Valley instead.

Carlynton officials oppose the move by Rosslyn Farms, whose 371 tax-paying citizens pour about $1 million into the district annually.

State law requires a community to border a school district in order to join it. Carlynton officials say the only contiguous section of Rosslyn Farms and Chartiers Valley is a short section of creek with no roads or bridges — making it a barrier, not a border.

Wecht disagreed and said Rosslyn Farms can move forward with the switch, which still must be approved by state education officials.

Bat causes stir at NH selectmen’s meeting

EPPING, N.H.

Maybe the bat just wanted to air its concerns to the board.

The Board of Selectmen in Epping, N.H., was discussing road signs this week when the meeting was interrupted for about two minutes by a bat that swooped and flitted over the panel, causing members to duck and chuckle.

The bat eventually was chased out the door.

Selectman James McGeough calls the wildlife encounter a comedy of errors and jokingly suggested police shoot it.

Board Chairwoman Karen Falcone told WMUR-TV the meeting became a “frenzy.”

Town officials have long known that bats live in the tower above town hall, but this was the first time one made an appearance at a meeting.

Associated Press