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Man, 71, completes 2,105-mile walk

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An Illinois man on a mission to walk 2,105 miles along historic Route 66 said his journey came to an end in California after 211 days.

Emory Duick, 71, of Des Plaines, began his trek in Illinois June 2 and arrived Monday at the Santa Monica Pier, the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, Calif., the Arlington Heights (Ill.) Daily Herald reported.

"I'm so proud of him and that he reached his goal," said his daughter, Lauren, 31, who served as her father's navigator and drove his support vehicle during his walk. "He had a mission and he accomplished it."

Duick, who said his walk was designed to send a message of active living to seniors, said some of his favorite parts of his nearly 7-month-long walk were the people he met along the way.

"Once you get outside the metropolitan area, the people are really wonderful," Duick said. "They have no hidden agenda; what you see is what you get."

Vodka byproduct used as road de-icer

FORT WAYNE, Ind., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Vodka may be considered "antifreeze" for humans but a byproduct is also good for melting snow and ice on roads and sidewalks, makers say.

A byproduct of the vodka distilling process being marketed as "Magic Salt" is proving useful for keeping driveways and walkways clear of ice, WANE-TV, Fort Wayne, Ind., reported.

The broadcaster quoted a local distributor who said Indiana hospitals and the city of New Haven is using the stuff as an effective de-icer.

"It's basically the leftovers as they are doing the distilling ... and they used to just basically dispose of it in retention ponds," said Fort Wayne "Magic Salt" distributor Eric Hitzfield.

Hitzfield told WANE it works at minus 35 degrees, about 50 degrees colder than the average rock salt.

Underwear a poor disguise for robber

INDIANAPOLIS, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- An alleged robber's disguise -- women's panties -- wasn't enough to keep witnesses from identifying him, leading to an arrest by Indiana police, officials said.

A man brandishing a large knife and covering his face with underwear robbed a convenience store in Franklin, Ind., Monday. He made off with cash, cigarettes and a lighter, WRTV, Indianapolis reported.

A customer and the station clerk saw through the disguise and were able to provide a description of the robber detailed enough to lead police to set up surveillance around a Franklin home. Officers spotted Larry Bernard stumbling and intoxicated with a 12-inch knife in his waistband, Franklin Police Lt Chris Tennell said.

Panties, cash, cigarettes and a lighter matching the stolen one were found in his pockets, police said.

Bernard was taken to Johnson County Jail and held on $21,000 bond, WRTV reported.

3,000 seniors celebrate early New Year

BOSTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Three-thousand of Boston's elderly turned out for the 20th annual Seniors' First Night celebration, organizers of the early New Year's party say.

The Boston Commission on Elderly Affairs, which staged the event at the World Trade Center, said seniors were bused in from across the city Tuesday to eat, dance and count down along with a symbolic clock representing the upcoming New Year, The Boston Globe reported.

VIPs at the party included Mayor Thomas Menino, who turned 67 Sunday and made the event his first since injuring a tendon in his leg last month, and Laura Coe, a Boston woman who celebrated her 100th birthday Tuesday.

"It's great to be outside, let me tell you," Menino said. "I said to my staff, 'I really want to be here for the annual senior first night celebration.'"