Watercooler Stories

Eye doc in trouble over blunt advice

ASHVILLE, N.C., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A 77-year-old North Carolina eye doctor is in hot water with the state Medical Board after a patient said he called her fat.

The patient wrote in a private complaint to the board that Dr. Earl Sunderhaus of Ashville called her irresponsible because she was unemployed and using Medicaid while pregnant with her second child in as many years, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News & Observer reported.

The woman said she was further angered when Sunderhaus poked her in the thigh and called her fat.

"When I got home I was very upset about the way I was treated by him," she wrote in the complaint.

Sunderhaus said he was making a point with the woman about how obesity can lead to diabetes, which causes blindness. He said he expects to get "screwed" by the board but he will accept any punishment from the board, even if it means losing his license.

"I'm 77," he said. "I can tell them to stick the darn thing."

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Hough High name plan raises controversy

CORNELIUS, N.C., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A North Carolina school district's plan to name a school after a pro-integration principal from the 1960s has raised controversy due to the sound of the name.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board members said they plan to name a Cornelius facility Hough High School after William Hough, the principal of North Mecklenburg High School during the 1960s who guided the school through integration, WSOC-TV, Charlotte, reported.

However, some parents said the name, which is pronounced "huff," could have negative connotations, especially if mispronounced as "hoe."

"Between either the name 'huff' or the name 'hoe,' they both have negative implications for any of the kids," parent Heather Miller said.

Some parents defended the plan.

"I do understand the controversy, but, no, I do think the guy needs to be honored," Bob Irvin said.

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A smile on Facebook loses woman's benefits

BROMONT, Quebec, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Canadian woman receiving monthly benefits for depression lost them after posting pictures on Facebook showing her enjoying a vacation, she says.

Natalie Blanchard was on leave from her job after being diagnosed with major depression. She began receiving sick-leave benefits from her employer's insurance company, ABCNews.com reported.

Then the checks stopped, Blanchard says. When she contacted Canada's Manulife Financial, she was told the pictures showed she wasn't depressed and could return to work.

"It's not because I'm having fun three hours, one time a week some weeks that I'm in good shape. Nobody knows how I feel before and after the event," Blanchard said.

Blanchard and her lawyer are taking legal action against Manulife and her employer, arguing she was following doctor's orders to socialize with family and friends to the extent she was able.

"Using (the pictures) alone to determine that she's better now and able to work, I think is inappropriate," her lawyer Thomas Lavin said. "It's really jumping the gun."

Manulife declined to talk about the specifics of Blanchard's case, ABCNews.com said.

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A click a day brings the court your way

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Swedish tax agency is tussling with a man over a 15-cent bill he owed -- and has unleashed its lawyers to take the case to court, authorities say.

A Stockholm man paid one krona (15 cents) too little for a traffic congestion tax by clicking on the wrong button during an online transaction, paying 64 kroner instead of the required 65, thelocal.se Web site reported.

He eventually paid the extra kroner, but the transit agency charged him a 500 kroner late fee. He appealed the fine to the Swedish Tax Agency, which ruled against him.

The man took the matter to a county administrative court, which found in his favor and canceled the fine, thelocal.se says.

Not so fast, said the Tax Agency, which has now mounted an appeal to a higher court.