Watercooler Stories

Judge orders prosthetic leg returned

ALLIANCE, Neb., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A Box Butte County, Neb., judge has ordered prosecutors to return a prosthetic leg to a shooting victim after the artificial limb was kept as evidence.

Muffy Buckles said the Alliance Police Department and Box Butte County Attorney Kathleen Hutchinson refused to release a prosthetic leg belonging to her husband, Val McCabe, after he was shot by unknown assailants in the upper left arm, groin, right buttock, right scapula and the false limb, KSCR-AM, Chadron, Neb., reported.

Robert Pahlke, an attorney for McCabe, told Box Butte County District Court Judge Brian Silverman that McCabe has an arterial injury that prevents him from using crutches and his home is not wheelchair accessible. Pahlke said the shooting victim's doctor is refusing to release the patient until the prosthesis is returned to him.

Hutchinson and the police department argued the leg could not be returned because it was evidence in an investigation. However, Pahlke said the judge ordered police to remove the bullet from the prosthetic leg and return it to its owner within the hour of Silverman's ruling.

'Lost' bus driver causes child panic

NEW YORK, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- A school bus driver in New York says he and several of his young passengers were missing for hours because he "got lost."

Bus driver Joseph Gray's long side trip caused a major panic among the parents of the Achievement First charter school students Tuesday, the New York Post reported.

Madinat Koroma said her 5-year-old daughter, Victoria, offered a conflicting report of what happened during the bus ride home.

"Anything could have happened," Koroma said. "She said the driver kept driving around and looking at people."

Gray offered a simple explanation.

"I got lost," said Gray, who has been a bus driver for seven years.

Koroma told the Post she would be personally picking her child up from school from now on.

Bakery feels sting of cupcake chain

MONTECITO, Calif., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The California cupcake chain Sprinkles has told the owner of a new bakery, Sprinkled Pink Cupcake Couture, she should change the name.

Wendy Jones told the Los Angeles Times she received a letter from Sprinkles the day after she opened for business last week in Montecito.

"They're going too far," Jones said. "I'm sure they're protecting themselves, but there's a whole big United States out there. There's room for other cupcake shops. They shouldn't be bullying around or picking on little people like us. ... I really honestly don't think they invented the cupcake."

Sprinkles, headquartered in Beverly Hills, has gained a reputation for being protective of its trademark during its three years of existence. Bakeries across the United States have received letters from Sprinkles, and the company has filed at least three lawsuits.

Jones, who said she registered the name of her bakery in 2003, has not decided what she is going to do.

Police: Child caught with funny money

OCALA, Fla., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- An 8-year-old boy in Ocala, Fla., was found in possession of up to $880 in counterfeit $20 bills while at his school, police alleged.

An Ocala Police Department report alleges the unidentified child was passing out the fake funds to his fellow students at South Ocala Elementary School this week before a child tried to pay a school worker with the phony money, the Star-Banner newspaper in Ocala said.

Dean of Students Dale Krazit contacted authorities Tuesday about the situation and the boy was taken into custody.

Police allege the boy was found in possession of $380 worth of the counterfeit bills and a school bus driver claimed one of the child's guardians said the money belonged to them.

A police check of the guardian's information found that the unidentified person was wanted by authorities for a probation violation related to a felony retail grand theft case, the Star-Banner said.

The newspaper reported a check of the guardian's home address yielded no clues and police have no notable leads regarding who created the funny money.