ODDLY ENOUGH | Prairie dogs on the lam from Ohio zoo

Prairie dogs on the lam from Ohio zoo

POWELL, Ohio

An Ohio zoo is trying to round up runaway prairie dogs and is asking its neighbors for help.

The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium said Friday that 11 of the critters wriggled their way out of temporary quarters, and so far, only four have been recovered.

Assistant Curator Jeremy Carpenter says in a statement there’s no reason to believe the fugitives have left zoo property. But he says nearby residents are being asked to watch for prairie dogs, just in case.

The zoo says the animals are not dangerous.

They were among a group of 20 prairie dogs that arrived from another zoo in November. The newcomers were kept in quarantine, then moved into the temporary housing two weeks ago. They were to be introduced into the zoo’s regular prairie-dog exhibit in the spring.

Pa. man gets probation in cattle-rustling case

HARRISBURG, Pa

There’s no need for a posse, folks, a Pennsylvania cattle-rustler has pleaded guilty.

Twenty-seven-year-old Damien Motter on Monday admitted he stole four cows that disappeared from two farms in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, in June 2009. Motter was sentenced to 23 months’ probation and ordered to pay $4,500 in fines and restitution.

The Dalmatia man pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property after genetic testing linked one of the stolen cows to a farmer’s herd.

Assistant Public Defender Dana Wucinski says Motter already is on probation for a similar case in Northumberland County.

‘Gurney attorney’ convicted of theft from clients

UNIONTOWN, Pa.

A former attorney wheeled into court on a gurney will be sentenced in March after being convicted of stealing $99,000 from two elderly couples he represented.

Fifty-three-year-old Mark Morrison first appeared in a Fayette County courtroom on a gurney in November, claiming to be mentally incompetent. After a judge sided with experts who believed Morrison might have been faking, Morrison was ordered to trial and appeared last week, still on the gurney, allegedly suffering from infectious diseases.

On Friday, a jury convicted Morrison of theft charges originally filed in 2006.

Morrison’s attorney claimed health issues kept him out of the office and blamed any mishandled funds on Morrison’s wife, who helped him run the office.

He’ll be sentenced March 18.

Associated Press