oddly enough

oddly enough

Family seeks snow donations to help Frosty last until spring

MASSAPEQUA PARK, N.Y.

A suburban New York family is seeking snow donations to help its 14-foot snowman last until spring – and some cold weather would help, too.

Newsday reports that members of the Fregoe family of Massapequa Park wrapped their indomitable snowman tightly in plastic before heavy rain hit Monday. Then 51-year-old Mike Fregoe climbed a ladder and planted a beach umbrella on its head.

Fregoe says the snowman survived the rain but is looking “a little thinner.”

The Fregoes crowdsourced their snowman last year by soliciting contributions of snow through Facebook. Fregoe says donated snow helped keep the snowman standing until April 20.

The family plans to rely on snow donations this year as well. Fregoe says so many people enjoy the snowman that “it makes it worthwhile.”

Philadelphia’s Love Park tagged with graffiti before repairs

PHILADELPHIA

Philadelphia’s Love Park has been vandalized with graffiti in the days before it closes for a yearlong, multimillion-dollar renovation.

Mayor Jim Kenney announced Feb. 10 that a ban on skateboarding would be lifted until the park closed this week. The park long has been a skateboarding mecca because of its granite ledges, benches and steps.

Skaters from around the region have been taking advantage of their last chance to use it.

It’s not clear who the vandals were, but Kenney’s office tells WPVI-TV they “expected something like this to happen” when they opened the park to skaters.

The park and welcome center are getting a $20 million facelift.

Robert Indiana’s “LOVE” statue will be moved across the street to City Hall’s Dilworth Plaza during the renovation.

Bats close East Texas ER

KILGORE, Texas

An East Texas emergency room has been closed after bats began to spread through the building.

In a statement posted Tuesday night on the Kilgore Police Department social media pages, Good Shepherd Medical Center said “a number of small bats” had moved into the Longview, Texas-based hospital’s free-standing emergency room in nearby Kilgore. The bats had moved into the building’s walls and ceilings, with some migrating into the area that receives ambulances.

Good Shepherd says it’s working with the City of Kilgore, which owns the building, and Allegiance Specialty Hospital, which manages it, to get the bats removed. In the meantime, Good Shepherd had decided it’s in the best interests of its patients and staff to suspend emergency medical services in the building until the bats can be removed.

Associated Press