oddly enough

oddly enough

Ex-state worker charged with stealing 610 helmets

HARRISBURG, Pa.

A former Pennsylvania state worker has been accused of stealing 610 combat helmets and faces federal charges.

The Philadelphia Inquirer says 43-year-old Marietta resident Michael Gantz worked as an acquisition officer at the Department of General Services’ surplus-property warehouse.

Criminal charges filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg allege that between July 2009 and January 2010 he stole combat helmets the federal government provided for distribution to state and local law-enforcement officers.

Investigators estimate the value of the helmets at more than $5,000.

Polish town opposes Pooh Bear for clothing, unclear gender

WARSAW, Poland

Officials in a Polish town have opposed a proposition to name a playground after Winnie-the-Pooh due to the bear’s unclear gender and immodest clothing.

The matter was debated in a closed-door meeting weeks ago in the central Polish town of Tuszyn, but didn’t get much media attention in Poland until recent days.

Voice recordings of the meeting were leaked to the media in which officials complained that Pooh Bear is immodestly dressed and also lacks a clear gender.

One called the bear a “hermaphrodite.”

Some said a fully clothed Polish cartoon bear named Uszatek would be a better choice.

One of the Pooh Bear opponents, Ryszard Cichy, told a newspaper that he had been joking at the end of a discussion on a playground that had gone on too long.

Police: Burglars take money, video system from bar

WINDBER, Pa.

State police have been trying to figure out who broke into a western Pennsylvania bar, but they won’t be able to check its video surveillance system for clues.

That’s because the thieves took the surveillance system along with $1,570 from the Timbuctu Bar in Ogle, a tiny village near Windber, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

Troopers from the Somerset barracks say the burglars broke in sometime between 12:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m. Friday.

The surveillance system is worth about $1,000. The burglars also caused about $180 damage.

Associated Press