oddly enough

oddly enough

Yuma cat somehow gets head caught in dog-food can

YUMA, Ariz.

It wasn’t the kind of rescue Yuma firefighters usually handle. This one involved a cat with its head stuck in a dog-food can.

Yuma Fire Department spokesman Mike Erfert says the cat was brought to Fire Station No. 4 by two women who found the cat in the street.

Phoenix TV station KNXV says the women told fire crews the cat was walking blindly and was nearly hit by a car.

They picked it up and brought it to the fire station to see if they could get some help.

Firefighter Ladd Elwood was able to cut off the can and free the cat.

The women thought they had seen the cat in their neighborhood before, so they took the feline to see if they could find its home.

Seattle de-icer error made bridge roadway slick

SEATTLE

The Seattle Transportation Department admits it made a mistake with de-icer that caused some accidents Dec. 2 and shut down the West Seattle Bridge.

Road-maintenance manager Steve Pratt told a city council committee Tuesday they were trying to get ahead of anticipated freezing weather and Monday night football traffic when they sprayed magnesium chloride on the roadway that afternoon.

KIRO-FM reported that it was too warm at the time — more than 40 degrees — and the operator mistakenly applied twice the recommend amount — 30 gallons per lane mile, instead of 15.

The result? Instead of preventing a slick roadway, the de-icer created slippery pavement.

The department says the road crew will be trained to prevent making the same mistake again.

Agency: No extra flights for mail-handling change

JUNEAU, Alaska

A spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service says no additional cost is expected from a decision to fly mail from one Alaska community to another for sorting.

Ernie Swanson said last week that the agency already has flights between Ketchikan and Juneau, and no extra flights have been added due to the change in mail handling.

He says the agency in September began sending only letter mail that originates in Ketchikan to Juneau for sorting before returning it to Ketchikan for delivery.

The change is attributed to an outdated, broken-down sorting machine. Swanson says a larger, new model would not have fit in the Ketchikan Post Office.

He reiterated the change should not affect Ketchikan mail service, though local officials have complained of late deliveries since the change took effect.

Associated Press