Watercooler Stories

52-pound runaway tortoise back home

WEST CHESTER, Pa., June 3 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania woman said her runaway 52-pound tortoise is back at home after a passerby found the animal and took it to a reptile rescue center.

Simmer Dougherty, 48, said the African sulcata tortoise, Nala, wandered out of her Chester County yard May 20 after a gate was left slightly ajar. She had no word of her pet until she learned Tuesday that Nala had been found and taken to a reptile rescue called Forgotten Friend in Manheim, Pa., the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Wednesday.

Dougherty said Kevin Kopanski contacted her Tuesday and said he had found the large tortoise about four houses away from her home May 20 and taken it to the Great Valley Nature Center, which then transported the animal to Forgotten Friend. He told Dougherty he had read a story about the missing tortoise online and believed it was the same one he had found.

Dougherty said she is happy to have Nala home and plans to install a new lock on her gate to ensure the tortoise stays at home in the future.

Suit: Man injured by stripper kick

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., June 3 (UPI) -- A Florida man is suing a nightclub and a stripper for injuries he received when the exotic dancer allegedly kicked him in the face.

Lake Lytal III, a lawyer for Michael Ireland, said his client was seated at the bar of the Cheetah nightclub in West Palm Beach Sept. 28, 2008, when he was struck "suddenly and without warning" by the leg or foot of exotic dancer Sakeena Shageer, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Lytal said the incident left Ireland with a broken nose and broken bones around his eye. The lawyer said his client, who underwent surgery for his injuries, has permanent double vision and requires a second surgery to repair the damage.

Lytal said Ireland was forced to sue because the nightclub's insurer refused to pay his medical expenses.

"We're hopeful the club's insurance company will still do the right thing," Lytal said.

The suit names Shageer and Cheetah's parent company, Casablanca East LLC.

Student allegedly lit joint in class

GIG HARBOR, Wash., June 3 (UPI) -- A Washington state high school student was arrested for allegedly lighting a marijuana cigarette during his English class, authorities said.

The Pierce County Sheriff's Department said the 17-year-old Gig Harbor student lit the joint after reading an essay on legalizing marijuana to his Peninsula High School class and proceeded to swallow the cannabis after taking a few puffs, Seattlepi.com reported Wednesday.

The student was arrested by deputies and taken to juvenile detention.

Police: Suspect fled in horse buggy

NAPOLI, N.Y., June 3 (UPI) -- Sheriff's deputies in Cattaraugus County, N.Y., said a man driving a horse and buggy led them on a three-mile pursuit before escaping on foot.

Deputies said they tried to stop the buggy in Napoli while investigating reports of underage drinking but the driver steered the vehicle through fields and woods before jumping down from the buggy and evading deputies on foot, the Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported Wednesday.

Investigators said deputies were unable to find the driver at the scene but a 20-year-old man was later arrested after deputies brought the horse and buggy to a nearby home.

Jonas Hershberger, 20, was charged with overdriving of animals, reckless endangerment and obstructing governmental administration. He was jailed in lieu of $250 bail.