ODDLY ENOUGH | Burglar took empty gumball machine

ODDLY ENOUGH

Burglar took empty gumball machine

MARTINS FERRY, Ohio

Police in Ohio are puzzled by a burglar who they say broke into a convenience store and took nothing but an empty gumball machine.

Detective Bob Walton in Martins Ferry says the machine held no coins or gumballs. He also points out that the thief early Thursday didn’t touch liquor bottles or cartons of cigarettes displayed nearby.

WTOV-TV in nearby Steubenville reports surveillance video shows the man hurling a brick or sandstone through a store window, then entering and running directly to the 4-foot-tall gumball machine at the back of the store. He fled through the same window.

Walton says police in the eastern Ohio community along the Ohio River can’t figure out a motive.

School punishes kids with sandwiches

HARRISBURG, Pa.

School officials say the students at a Pennsylvania school are getting sandwiches for lunch for failing to appreciate the hot meals the district provides.

The Harrisburg Patriot-News reports the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students at Camp Curtain School have received cold sandwiches this week as punishment for misbehavior, including failure to clean up after themselves.

An administrator tells the newspaper that behavior has improved. The official says the lunches still include fruit and vegetables.

Hot meal service will resume at the school today.

UK taps gov’t wine cellar to boost funds

LONDON

They master languages, cultures and the art of discretion — now Britain’s foreign office says its diplomats must acquire a new skill: Wine speculation.

Foreign office minister Henry Bellingham said Friday the department must generate new funds by selling off the most valuable bottles in its well-stocked wine cellar.

Bellingham says no public money will be spent over the next five years on supplies for the store — used to provide refreshments for government receptions and events. Instead, officials must use the “targeted sale of high-value stock” to fund future purchases and keep guests’ glasses full.

The ministry holds stocks of dozens of exclusive vintages — including a $4,000 per bottle Chateau Petrus 1978.

Associated Press