Watercooler Stories

New British magistrate is only 19

PONTEFRACT, England, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The panel that made a "mature and impressive" 19-year-old British law student a magistrate is under fire for its "pure folly."

Pontefract, West Yorkshire Magistrate Lucy Tate is England's youngest, Sky New reported Monday. She was recruited through a multimillion-dollar ad campaign seeking younger and more ethnically diverse candidates for the bench.

Law chiefs Sunday said the student was chosen "solely on merit" after the panel found her to be "mature and impressive."

But a colleague told Sky News some of the teenager's new colleagues are "very disillusioned."

"What life experience does she have at 19?" he asked. "It is an absolute folly."

The same panel sparked a controversy back in 2001 when it appointed to the bench Steve Jones, a self-confessed witch who said he could spot another witch in court -- but promised not to let it affect any of his decisions.

U.S. elephant polo team off to shaky start

CHIANG SAEN, Thailand, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The first U.S. elephant polo team to enter one of the sport's major tournaments in Thailand learned many lessons, some of them stinky.

Known as the Capitol Pachyderms, three women and two men between the ages of 25 and 30 set out for Chiang Saen, Thailand, last week for the King's Cup Elephant Polo Championship, The Washington Post reported Monday.

U.S. captain Kimberly Zenz, also a traditional horse polo player, told the Post no one on the team had ever played on an elephant before, so the first tournament was a learning experience.

"We started from zero," Zenz said. "We practiced on top of a swing set with mallets we made from Home Depot."

As an example of lessons learned, Zenz noted how her mount, a 4-ton female elephant named Thong Kao, scared away a pursuing Italian challenger when she "let rip a hail of dung."

As the week went on, the U.S. team began to click and almost upset one of the top British teams with a riveting 5-3 finish, the newspaper said.

Thousands of pot plants found by hiker

SCARBOROUGH, Ontario, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Neighbors in Scarborough, Ontario, were surprised by a hiker's find of 6,000 marijuana plants growing in a wooded area near an industrial complex.

The mature plants were obviously cared for, with sticks placed next to each one to ensure they did not fall over or grow crooked, the Toronto Sun reported Monday.

Harvested, the crop was worth an estimated $6 million.

One man who has lived 23 years near the find said he was shocked by the contraband garden, which police described as "hiding in plain sight."

"It's close to home," he told the newspaper. "It's always been bush since I've lived around this neighborhood.

Police started gathering up the crop Sunday afternoon and said the harvest would most likely take a couple of days.

Canceled wedding becomes charity event

VERGENNES, Vt., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- A would-be bride transformed her canceled Vergennes, Vt., wedding into a charity event at the Basin Harbor Club resort on Lake Champlain.

Kyle Paxman called off the wedding in July when she discovered her fiance was having an affair with another woman. Paxman's mother, Patricia Carbee, said the family decided to convert the ceremony into a charity event after they were unable to cancel their pre-paid reservations at the club, the Barre (Vt.) Times Argus reported Monday.

"We wanted to find a way to help her heal and help others at the same time," Carbee said.

The Saturday event, which features an open bar, a four-course gourmet meal and lodging, will benefit the Vermont Children's Aid Society and CARE, an organization that works to empower women in developing nations.

Paxman said "125 strong, charity-minded women" have been invited to the event.

"We're going to have an amazing time," Paxman predicted.