ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Skunk, groundhog blamed for vandalism at Maine cemetery

ROXBURY, Maine

A couple of varmint vandals are hitting a small western Maine town hard.

A skunk and a groundhog have caused damage to three flat stone markers at a cemetery in Roxbury, a town with a population of fewer than 400 residents.

Renee Hodsdon, treasurer and tax collector, told the Sun Journal that a man walking his dog discovered the damage – tunnels and disturbed earth near the grave markers – and reported in to town officials. One of the graves belonged to a veteran.

The town hired a trapper to catch the vandals and relocate them.

Now, the town must hire someone to repair the damage.

There was no word on how much the vandals are going to cost the town.

South African cyclist hits dead buffalo in city suburb

JOHANNESBURG

Cyclists in South Africa’s biggest city usually worry about getting hit by vehicles. But one cyclist rode into an unexpected obstacle in Johannesburg’s suburbs: a dead buffalo.

Andrew McLean said May 15 that he damaged a ligament on his collarbone and broke his hand when he hit the buffalo carcass while riding downhill at up to 37 miles an hour in Fourways, a suburban area in northern Johannesburg. McLean said he didn’t have time to brake before the pre-dawn accident May 6. Two cycling companions also crashed but were not seriously injured.

“It just looked like a huge shadow,” said McLean, a veteran cyclist who runs a chain of cycling stores. “At the last minute, I realized that this was more than a shadow.”

He recalled lying injured on the road and seeing steam rising off the buffalo’s body.

“I think the buffalo had been running and had died within a couple of minutes of us getting there,” McLean said.

Authorities were unsure how the buffalo died and how it ended up in the city suburbs.

Man rescued from air duct

FORT COLLINS, Colo.

A 22-year-old man was rescued May 16 after falling through the roof of a Colorado restaurant and becoming lodged in a greasy kitchen air duct.

Poudre Fire Authority officials say Andrew Neely fell through the roof and was trapped in the chimney at Pueblo Viejo when he called 911. Firefighters and Fort Collins police found the man and crews forced the restaurant door open. Firefighters say the man was stuck directly above the fryer.

Crews dismantled the exhaust vents and lowered him down.

The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported that Neely was not injured. He was cited for trespassing.

Associated Press