oddly enough

oddly enough

New Jersey farmer gets political with corn maze

CHESTER, N.J.

A New Jersey farmer has cut the faces of Republican Gov. Chris Christie and his Democratic challenger into a corn maze to highlight the state’s gubernatorial election.

The corn was planted in June at the Stony Hill Farm in Chester.

Owner Dale Davis tells Newark’s The Star-Ledger newspaper he chose the maze to get people interested.

He says everybody recognizes Christie, but he doesn’t know whether a lot of people would recognize gubernatorial rival Sen. Barbara Buono.

Christie is far ahead of Buono in public polls and leads among nearly every demographic group.

He’s seen as a viable contender for the 2016 Republican nomination for president.

The Morris County maze will open to the paying public Aug. 31.

The election is Nov. 5.

Utah thieves vacuum coins from machine

SALT LAKE CITY

A pair of enterprising thieves took a car wash to the cleaners: They used a power-ful shop vacuum to suck quarters out of a coin-operated machine, police said Wednesday.

The duo drew the suspicion of a passing police officer and failed to make a clean getaway.

“They had a good plan. They were enterprising. If they were successful, they could have returned night after night,” said Sgt. Gary Young in the Salt Lake City suburb of Cottonwood Heights. “More often, thieves just use a crowbar. They get an A for effort but an F for execution.”

Todd Herburg, 53, and Scott Luker, 55, were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of burglary.

More charges are pending.

What gave the men away was a crude attempt at altering their vehicle’s license plates.

They used a piece of black electrical tape to change a “D” to a “B,” Young said.

The bandits were at work for about 12 minutes, sucking coins out of the coin dispensary of a stand-alone vacuum cleaner at the car wash, Young said.

They used their own shop vacuum to do the work, he said.

It was powered by an inverter rigged inside their Jeep SUV to produce household current.

Police haven’t counted their stash of quarters yet.

Young said the coin-operated machine probably held no more than $30.

Associated Press