Watercooler Stories

Underwear-clad sergeants docked pay

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The Swedish Armed Forces said two non-commissioned officers were disciplined for dressing in their underwear on duty and flying a flag depicting a penis.

The Armed Forces Disciplinary Board said the sergeants were docked three days pay after they were spotted wearing only their underwear and blazers on a boat while leading an exercise involving national service recruits, The Local reported.

The board said the men painted a penis on the white flag adorning their boat.

"The board finds that (the officers) have rendered themselves guilty to misconduct that cannot be considered minor," the board wrote in its ruling.

The ruling said the pantless pair "had not adapted their clothing to existing water and temperature conditions."

The men have three weeks in which to appeal the ruling.

Dad reprimanded for daughter's bus walk

GLENTHAM, England, Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A British father said he was outraged to be reprimanded by local officials for letting his 7-year-old daughter walk 65 feet alone to catch a school bus.

Mark McCullough, 32, of Glentham, England, said he received a letter Friday from Lincolnshire County Council informing him he must accompany his daughter, Isabelle, to her Normanby-by-Spital Primary School bus stop every day or it will be reported as a "child protection issue," the Lincolnshire Echo reported.

The letter said the driver of the bus has been helping Isabelle cross Caenby Road when she is dropped off at the end of the school day.

"It's more than upsetting, it has made me angry. I am happy for Isabelle to walk from home to the end of the road and, if necessary, cross a country lane and walk home," McCullough said.

"I'm not going to wrap them up in cotton wool," he said of his children.

Activist, 91, refuses to slow down

NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A 91-year-old Massachusetts activist says she has been arrested dozens of times over the years and she has no plans to stop her acts of civil disobedience.

Frances Crowe, of Northampton -- who has been arrested for protesting war, nuclear power and other issues at diverse locations, including the White House, the Pentagon and a Nevada nuclear testing site -- said she has lost count of the amount of times she and her colleagues have been hauled away in squad cars, The Boston Globe reported.

Crowe is joined in many of her protests by a group of like-minded women, some even older than she is.

"At my age, I think I get to pull some rank," Crowe said. "I sense that arresting officers are a little more careful with us. They don't want me to have a heart attack, I guess."

Crowe said neither aging nor the threat of future arrests will deter her from expressing her views.

"There are still so many problems in society, and as long as I have energy I'm going to keep at it," she said.

Farmer sued for too many veggies

DECATUR, Ga., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- A Georgia farmer being sued by his county for growing too many vegetables says the charges should have been dropped following a rezoning of the area.

Steve Miller said Dekalb County code enforcement officers began citing him in January for growing too many crops for his farm's zoning, and for having employees without permits on site. He said he stopped growing vegetables while rezoning was in progress during the summer, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported.

Miller said the charges were put on hold during the rezoning process but the county began pursuing the nearly $5,000 in fines two weeks after the rezoning. Officials said Miller was in violation prior to the rezoning.

"It should go away. I think it borders on harassment," said Doug Dillard, Miller's attorney.

Dillard said Miller will fight the charges this month in recorders court.