Watercooler Stories

Toddler ditches school, walks home alone

MOORSIDE, England, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A British mother said she has removed her 2-year-old son from preschool after he escaped the nursery and walked home on his own.

Toni Boswell, 27, said her son, Dylan Lowe, gave teachers the slip on his first day at St. Thomas' Primary School in Moorside, England, and walked home alone across a busy main road and two side streets, the Daily Mail reported.

Boswell said the boy's father, Phillip Lowe, 28, was shocked when the toddler turned up at the family home asking about his mother's whereabouts. She said a teacher from the school arrived after a few minutes to take Dylan back.

"I can't believe this was allowed to happen to my son," said Boswell, who has since moved Dylan to another preschool. "It is every parent's worst nightmare for a child to go missing but for Dylan to run out of school under the noses of teachers is scandalous. I am disgusted that a little child could go home on his own."

Officials with St. Thomas' said the school has added new security measures aimed at preventing similar incidents.

Man ordered to remove 4-story tree house

WORCESTER, Mass., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A Worcester, Mass., man said he will not appeal the city's order to tear down the $12,000 four-story tree house he built on his property.

Michael Chapman, 48 -- who built the tree house over the course of three months from more than a ton of pressure-treated lumber, 1,000 feet of rope, about 500 lag screws and 48 feet of rebar -- said the city ordered him to remove the tree house by Nov. 2 and he intends to abide by the order, The Boston Globe reported .

Officials from Worcester's Department of Inspectional Services said they visited the property after receiving complaints from neighbors and determined the tree house violated city ordinances by extending higher than 15 feet and reaching within 5 feet of the property line.

"It came out bigger and more conspicuous than I expected, and I'm saddened by the controversy," Chapman said. "If I had done it over again, I would have tried to be more detailed in my pre-negotiations with my neighbors. But hindsight is 20-20."

Furrier accuses protesters of elder abuse

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- The last remaining furrier in downtown Portland, Ore., has obtained restraining orders against protesters he accused of abusing him for being elderly.

Horst Grimm, 75, owner of Nicholas Ungar Furs, obtained restraining orders against four of the protesters who have gathered daily outside of his building. Further arguments in the case are scheduled to go before a judge Nov. 4, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Tuesday.

Judge Kenneth Stewart ruled Thursday to maintain the restraining orders, which were issued in July and August, but the 150-foot restrictions were lifted. The protesters were instead told not to speak to Grimm, which fellow demonstrators said they accomplished by protesting in silence.

Grimm obtained the orders under the Oregon Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities Abuse Prevention Act, claiming the protesters targeted him because of his age.

Beer-friendly church meets at bar

JANESVILLE, Wis., Oct. 21 (UPI) -- A Wisconsin woman who leads weekly church services at a pub where people can pray, drink and take a smoke says it is perfect for preaching to the "wounded."

Kathy Price of Beloit said The Red Door ministry holds services at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday at the Willowdale Saloon in Janesville for about a dozen or so parishioners, the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News reported.

"I want the people who don't want to go to church, those who are wounded and broken, especially from religion," Price said.

She said the idea behind her congregation is acceptance of people as they are.

"I love them where they are at rather than where they are supposed to be," Price said. "There's nobody I refuse to fellowship with. I'd much rather hang out with someone who is broken, than someone who thinks they don't have any need."