Watercooler Stories

Pub managers fired after swearing ban

LONDON, July 4 (UPI) -- A London couple fired from running a pub after they banned swearing in the establishment are challenging their sacking in court.

The couple, who are devout Christians, were fired as managers of the Kings Head pub after patronage waned, The Daily Mail reported.

Former customers blamed their choice to avoid the pub on the couple's ban on swearing and gambling.

Oakfield Taverns, the brewery that owns the bar, replaced the couple with a new manager but they are challenging their firing in court and are refusing to leave the apartment above the pub until a judge has heard their case.

Organic fertilizer upsets school neighbors

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 4 (UPI) -- An attempt by a California school district to make its athletic fields greener by using compost fertilizer has upset the neighbors.

Residents around several schools in the San Jose Unified District have been complaining about the smell at Rachel Carson Elementary School, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The school was named for Carson, the author of the groundbreaking "Silent Spring," and a founder of the modern environmental movement.

While some people complain that the compost smells like cow manure, officials say it is only decaying lawn cuttings.

"There is no cow poo out there," Karen Fuqua, a spokeswoman for the district, said.

Fuqua said there were no complaints in previous years. She and other officials said smoke and ash from wildfires plaguing California may be trapping the compost smell.

Most residents are willing to put up with the smell, which will dissipate once landscapers complete their work, the report said.

"It's not going to be there forever, and the end result will be nice," said Rebecca Auran, who lives across the street from the school.

Man leaps from tree to bust vandals

ATLANTA, July 4 (UPI) -- Two young Atlanta men said they were shocked when a man jumped out of a tree and attacked them while they were spray-painting a wall.

Joshua Ward, 19, and Jesse Jaeger, 21, were spray-painting graffiti on a wall early Sunday when Rodney Bowman, 43, leaped down from a tree and punched Ward in the face two times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

"This guy just jumps out of a tree. I was like, 'Did that just happen?' It's one of those things that, when you tell people, they don't believe you," Jaeger said.

Bowman said he was hiding in the tree waiting to catch whoever was responsible for repeatedly vandalizing a wall bordering his neighborhood.

The young men fled the scene and called police to report the attack, the newspaper said.

Ward and Jaeger told police they thought they were allowed to paint on the wall, but received tickets for defacing a building.

Bowman was ticketed for disorderly conduct, the Journal-Constitution said.

Airport embraces SUX identification code

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, July 4 (UPI) -- Officials with a Sioux City, Iowa, airport said the hub's identifying code, SUX, has gone from an embarrassment to a marketing tool.

Local officials tried for years to have Sioux Gateway Airport's code changed but board member Dave Bernstein said the marketing campaign he masterminded has turned the once-loathed code into a boon for business, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Bernstein said he created the first "Fly SUX" T-shirts for an appreciation dinner for travel agents and the items proved so popular that the logo is now available on shirts, coffee mugs, hats and other items.

"We got stuck with this SUX thing, so we're going to embrace it, make it something that we can all laugh about," Bernstein said.

Officials said the "Fly SUX" items have been big sellers at gift shops.