ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Bear breaks into Idaho kitchen

KETCHUM, Idaho

A black bear in search of a late-night snack broke into an Idaho house and licked leftover Chinese food from a cast-iron pan on the stove.

David Edwards of Ketchum told the Idaho Mountain Express that his dog’s barking awakened him around 3 a.m. one recent morning. When he went to investigate what had his Irish setter-Lab mix so upset, he saw the bear on its hind legs, licking a pan.

Edwards’ wife, Sara, had fallen asleep on the couch and his first instinct was to get his wife away from the kitchen area. He said, “I couldn’t tell her there was a bear in the house because she would have just lost her mind. She gets very upset over spiders.”

So he woke her up and led her into the bedroom without telling her about the furry dish washer.

Edwards went back into the kitchen to find the bear was gone and the pan was clean. Edwards credits his dog, Stanley, for waking him up before the bear got farther into the house. “If it weren’t for Stanley, who knows what would have happened,” Edwards said.

Billboards give incorrect date for Detroit election

DETROIT

Billboards promoting Detroit’s upcoming general election offered up some erroneous information about when to go to the polls.

The Detroit Free Press reported that many of the 14 billboards gave a September date for the election. The vote will take place Nov. 5.

City Clerk Janice Winfrey says the billboards were updated Saturday with information about the general election, and she calls the September date “a mistake” by the business that handles the billboards. Winfrey says she was told the billboards would be fixed by Tuesday.

The November election includes races for Detroit mayor and city council.

Fugitive snake on the run?

KINGSTON, Mass.

The hunt is on for a slithering fugitive in Kingston.

State wildlife officials say they are investigating reports of a snake seen near the Independence Mall.

Fisheries and Wildlife assistant director Tom French says based on descriptions, they’re probably looking for a Burmese python, a legal species, or a reticulated python, which is illegal in Massachusetts.

If it’s found and is a reticulated python, the incident will become a law-enforcement investigation.

French told The Patriot Ledger it’s possible the snake is as long as 16 feet. He said eyewitnesses reported seeing a snake extend across a narrow road behind the mall area, but didn’t measure it. He said the python most likely escaped when the owner set its cage outside in the sun.

Associated Press