NEWSQUIRKS
Curses, foiled again
Sheriff’s Deputy Venita Edge reported she was fueling her marked patrol car at a station in Fultondale, Ala., when Matthew Kinard, 27, pulled alongside her and asked her to check to see if there were any outstanding warrants on him. When a search turned up one outstanding warrant for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, Edge took him into custody. Her report said that on the way to the county jail, he announced, “I am the stupidest criminal in the world.” (The North Jefferson News) Police Officer Dan Lyons said Selma Elmore, 44, stopped him on patrol in Lockland, Ohio, and asked if there’s a curfew for adults. Told no, she then asked whether there was a warrant for her arrest. Told yes, Elmore took off running, leading Lyons on a brief chase that ended when she shoved him into a building and other officers apprehended her, adding a charge of resisting arrest. (Cincinnati Enquirer)
Sound of green
Frito-Lay announced it was dumping biodegradable bags for five of its six varieties of Sun Chips snacks and returning to the original plastic packaging because consumers complained the compostable bags were too noisy. (Associated Press) At least a dozen of the 250 new wind farms opened in the United States in the past two years have generated significant noise complaints. In almost all cases, the complaints are directed against the noise of the turbines’ steel blades, which are well over 100 feet long.
Similar complaints are being made in Canada and Britain, and in Rennes, France, an appeals court recently ordered an eight-turbine wind farm to shut down between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. so residents could get some sleep. (The New York Times)
Role models of the week
Col. Russell Williams, 47, the former commander of Canada’s largest air force base who served as the pilot for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip during their 2005 visit, pleaded guilty to the murder of two women, two sexual assaults, two charges of unlawful confinement and 82 counts of breaking and entering, which involved the theft of women’s panties. The Ottawa Citizen reported that authorities seized 500 women’s undergarments found at Williams’s Ottawa townhouse. “He’s just a very twisted individual, there’s no two ways about it,” said retired Lt. Gen. Angus Watt, who once promoted Williams. “He was able to lead an elaborate double life and was able to keep it successfully concealed.” (Associated Press)
Way to go British police reported that the body of Jimi Heselden, 62, the millionaire businessman whose firm makes Segway self-balancing electric scooters, was found at the bottom of a cliff in West Yorkshire. One of the two-wheeled scooters was found near the body. (Reuters)
Compiled from the nation’s press by Roland Sweet. Authentication on demand.
