oddly enough

oddly enough

Heart-warming messages to patients etched in snow

MINNEAPOLIS

Huge messages left in the snow on the frozen Mississippi River are giving patients at St. Cloud Hospital a lift.

At ground level, the patted-down snow doesn’t look like much. But from the hospital windows above, the messages are quite clear. The latest are the words “love” and “believe,” along with a peace symbol. Each time there’s fresh snow, there’s a new message.

Nurse Mary Habiger has seen a man and woman in snow shoes stamping out the messages. She says the mystery man and woman seem well-organized and plan their messages in advance.

Habiger tells WCCO-TV there are lots of family lounges in the hospital that face the river. So even if a patient’s room doesn’t overlook the river, they can view the messages from there.

Glitch leads to penny gas at northern Illinois station

WOODSTOCK, Ill.

An error at a northern Illinois gas station caused pumps to sell fuel for a penny a gallon.

The (Crystal Lake) Northwest Herald reports a Shell station in Woodstock wound up mistakenly selling the nearly free fuel for about two hours Sunday night.

As word spread, cars lined up and jostled to fill up.

Woodstock Police Sgt. Dennis Leard says authorities had to use an emergency shut-off to stop the sales before the gas station closed to reset the pumps to regular prices.

But before that, cars were blocking traffic and lining up on the street to reach the cheap gas.

Leard says the station clerk working at the time wasn’t aware of the glitch.

It wasn’t clear how much gas was sold.

Boy arrested in theft of Fla. Girl Scout’s phone

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.

A 15-year-old boy has been arrested by Fort Lauderdale police on charges of stealing a Girl Scout’s cellphone while she was selling cookies outside a grocery store.

Police said Tuesday they identified the ninth-grader from previous police encounters by viewing the Winn-Dixie store’s video surveillance. The Samsung Galaxy S3 phone was stolen from the Girl Scout during a cookie sale Sunday night. Police said one person distracted the group and the other took the phone that was lying on a table.

The suspect, a student at South Plantation High School, is facing grand-larceny charges.

Police have not charged the second juvenile who was present.

In 2008, thieves in Palm Beach County stole $168 from a Girl Scout selling cookies outside a supermarket.

Associated Press