oddly enough

oddly enough

4 kittens pull ‘break-in’ at upstate NY prison

FORT ANN, N.Y.

A litter of kittens has found a cozy home in the least cozy of places — a maximum-security prison in upstate New York.

The Post-Star of Glens Falls reports four kittens found their way into the basement of the Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Fort Ann a few months ago. That’s near the Vermont border 55 miles northeast of Albany.

The family of feral felines has been cared for by inmates and prison staff, including head electrician Bruce Porter. He arrives at work early so he can tend to the cats, which live in a large cage built by an inmate.

Another inmate takes care of the cats on weekends when many prison employees are off.

Prison officials say they’re hoping to find homes for the kittens among the staff.

Manual transmission stymies Mass. car thieves

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.

A trio of would-be Massachusetts car thieves had to hit the brakes on their plan because none of them knew how to drive a stick.

Police in Springfield say the men pulled a knife on a food-delivery driver Tuesday night and demanded the grub and his keys. But then they noticed the car had a manual transmission.

Sgt. John Delaney tells The Republican newspaper the thieves argued among themselves then ran down the street with their ill-gotten dinner.

The driver was not seriously hurt. There have been no arrests.

Pa. outdoorsman, 78, taken to grave in motor boat

MOUNT WOLF, Pa.

A man who loved the outdoors was carried to his grave in a boat pulled by a truck Wednesday.

The coffin of 78-year-old Ronald Bloss Sr. was loaded onto a small motor boat and trailer and pulled to a cemetery by a pickup truck driven by one of his five sons, Diehl Funeral Home director Michael Gladfelter said.

Bloss, who lived in Mount Wolf, about 30 miles south of Harrisburg, the state capital, loved hunting, fishing and spending time on rivers, the York Daily Record reported. He had several boats, and family members came up with the idea of using one for his final journey, Gladfelter said.

Gladfelter said he doesn’t recall the funeral home ever using a boat in place of a hearse before, and he wishes there had been time to create a sign reading “Gone Fishing” to hang on the side of it.

“It would have been so ideal,” Gladfelter said.

Bloss was a U.S. Navy veteran who also enjoyed coaching and umpiring. He died at his home Saturday.

Associated Press