ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

On a N.C. island, chase ends at dock with arrest

OCRACOKE, N.C.

Authorities say a woman led police on a high-speed chase on a North Carolina coastal island but found out it’s hard to elude the law when the only highway leads to a ferry dock.

The Hyde County Sheriff’s Office says deputies were called recently about a motorist driving recklessly on tiny Ocracoke Island in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Capt. Jason Daniels says 34-year-old Tara E. Cranmer led deputies with sirens wailing along the lone state highway, a two-lane island route reachable only by ferry. Daniels says Cranmer stopped her truck near the north ferry dock, ran and was captured about an hour later. No one was hurt.

Authorities say Cranmer faces several charges and has been jailed on a $22,000 bond. It isn’t known if she has an attorney.

Mayor calls ghostly face seen in streetlamp ‘eerie’

SALEM, Mass.

A Massachusetts city known for celebrating the occult is drawing attention after its mayor snapped a photo that appears to show a scowling face trapped in a streetlamp.

Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll shared the photo on Twitter on April 26. The Democrat asks if other people can see the face, which she calls “eerie.”

Many on social media say it looks like a man’s face, with a furrowed brow and parted lips. Some say they’re spooked. Others say it should be no surprise in Salem.

The city of 43,000 was home to the 1692 Salem Witch Trials, which led to the executions of 20 people.

Salem’s attractions include a witch museum, witchcraft shops and a Halloween party that claims to be America’s biggest.

The photo was taken outside a courthouse.

500 get duplicate tax refund checks, can keep 1

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

Five hundred Rhode Island residents have received duplicate tax refund checks totaling $364,000. A state official says human error is to blame.

The checks were sent in a group of refunds mailed recently. The checks people received are identical, but only one of the two checks can be cashed.

The Rhode Island Department of Administration and the Department of Revenue say they expect no financial impact. They say they’re working to prevent duplicate checks from being mailed again.

Department of Administration policy director Allison Rogers says people can cash one check and return the other to the state, along with a brief explanation.

Associated Press