UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News

Gold coin donated for 18th straight year

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Salvation Army officials in Missouri said someone carried on an 18-year tradition by dropping a gold coin into one of the charity's donation kettles.

Maj. Ben Stillwell of the Salvation Army said a Krugerrand South African gold coin wrapped in a U.S. dollar bill was dropped into a kettle at the Sam's Club in Cape Girardeau, marking the 18th straight year that a gold coin has been donated to a kettle in the city, the Southeast Missourian reported Friday.

Stillwell said the coin was sold to a local dealer for $500, bringing the charity closer to its Tree of Lights celebration goal of raising $307,000 by Jan. 11. He said the local Salvation Army has thus far collected just over $160,000.

Artist creating museum explosion

BEIJING, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The Chinese artist who created the fireworks for the Beijing Olympics said he will set off an explosion Friday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Cai Guo-Qiang, 52, said he will inaugurate his two-venue show, "Fallen Blossoms," Friday with a 60-second explosion on a large apparatus shaped like a flower on the scaffolding of the building, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Cai said he will follow the explosion with the ignition of a gunpowder drawing at Philadelphia's Fabric Workshop an hour and a half after the explosion at sunset. The artist said the gunpowder drawing is designed to create charred areas and smoky textures when a fuse is lit.

The artist, who has assured the museum no permanent damage will be done by the explosion, said his "Fallen Blossoms" show will run through March.

Police: Stolen UPS packages sold on eBay

CAPE CORAL, Fla., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a former UPS driver allegedly stole 350 items sent via the shipping service and sold them on eBay.

Documents released by the state attorney's office revealed Craig Podleski, 38, of Cape Coral, Fla., is accused of stealing $250,000 worth of items he was supposed to deliver during the course of several years and selling the items under eBay username Bulldoglover4life, the Fort Myers (Fla.) News-Press reported Friday.

He could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

Podleski's wife, Cheryl Podleski, 43, was charged with helping her husband sell the stolen items. She could face a maximum prison sentence of five years.

Authorities said numerous stolen items were found at the couple's home, including firearms, jewelry and electronics. Investigators said they have not yet determined the amount of money Podleski allegedly made from selling the stolen goods on eBay, other auction sites and garage sales.

Alleged deer poacher pleads not guilty

CANNON FALLS, Minn., Dec. 11 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man pleaded not guilty to illegally killing three deer, including the world's highest-scoring, eight-point whitetail buck.

Troy Alan Reinke, 32, of Cannon Falls appeared Thursday in Goodhue County District Court and pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of illegally taking deer, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported Friday.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking prosecutors for two additional gross misdemeanor charges of possessing illegally taken big-game animals. Assistant county prosecutor Dave Grove said he is awaiting further information before going forward with the additional charges.

Reinke allegedly killed a doe and buck while bow hunting in early October and failed to tag or register the animals. The suspect claims a friend he was "party hunting" with was supposed to register the kills.

The hunter is also charged with illegally killing the world-class buck Oct. 31. He initially claimed the buck was killed by one of his arrows, but state DNR officials said they determined the buck was killed by a gun prior to the opening of firearms hunting season.

Reinke, who initially claimed to have felled the deer with an arrow, now claims he found the buck already dead and stuck an arrow into the animal's wound to make it appear the kill was his.