Monday, December 19, 2016
ODDLY ENOUGH
Cops: Woman stole baby Jesus, told hospital it was neglected by parents
BETHLEHEM, Pa.
Police say a woman stole baby Jesus from a Nativity scene in Bethlehem, Pa., and dropped the figurine off at a hospital with a note explaining that the baby had been “neglected” by his parents, “Joseph and Mary Christ.”
Police say 49-year-old Jacqueline Ross told them it was a joke, but they aren’t laughing. She was identified from surveillance video and is jailed on charges of theft and institutional vandalism.
Police say she went to the hospital early Dec. 4 just minutes after stealing the $2,700 figurine from Payrow Plaza.
Police say she left a note with the porcelain baby that read, in part, “Child has broken right foot which is been [sic] neglected. Parents Joseph and Mary Christ got a warning.”
Ross doesn’t yet have an attorney.
Part-time school official in N.J. is paid $850 a day
PATERSON, N.J.
A New Jersey school district is paying a part-time administrator $850 a day.
Paterson hired Juanita Petty to work two days a week as interim assistant business administrator. She retired as business administrator for the Wayne school district last July and receives a state pension of more than $54,000 per year.
Paterson teachers union president John McEntee Jr. tells The Record the district would be better off spending the money earmarked for the position to hire enough nurses for every school.
School board President Chris Irving says the district needs someone in that position who can do the job.
The district’s previous assistant business administrator left the payroll after less than a year and was paid an annual salary of $114,240.
Man charged with burglary after being stuck in vent
PENFIELD, N.Y.
A man rescued from an oven vent at a western New York pizzeria is facing burglary charges.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s office says deputies arrived at Pontillo’s Pizzeria in suburban Rochester at 3:45 a.m. on a recent morning after someone reported a man yelling for help. They found 53-year-old Richard Graham of Rochester stuck in ductwork that led from an oven to a roof vent.
After Penfield firefighters pulled him out, Graham was checked out at a hospital before being arraigned in town court on burglary and criminal mischief charges. The sheriff’s office says Graham caused more than $2,000 in damage to the restaurant.
Graham was sent to the county jail without bail because he’s considered a repeat offender.
Associated Press