Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Teacher accepts proposal at school FREDERICK, Md., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Maryland man obtained special permission from his teacher girlfriend's school and PTA to stage an elaborate proposal at the school. Advertisement Jennifer Halterman, 28, who teaches third grade at Hillcrest Elementary in Frederick, said her boyfriend, Wesley Peters, 29, warned her to be on the lookout for graffiti on the school's sign when she arrived for work Thursday, The Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday. "Ms. Halterman will you marry me?" the altered sign read. Halterman said she walked into the school to her classroom, where she discovered balloons and a dozen red roses. She said Peters then emerged from behind a closet door and popped the question. "I said, 'Yes,'" Halterman said. Peters said he got permission from the school and PTA to stage the proposal stunt. Man suspects UFO in picture CENTREVILLE, Va., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A Virginia man says he is not convinced the unidentified blue object he photographed in the sky was a remote-controlled glider plane. Bryan Fains, 29, who photographed the object above Centreville Nov. 3, said he still believes the object may have been an extraterrestrial spacecraft despite experts identifying it as a remote-controlled glider plane with LED lights, USA Today reported Wednesday. Advertisement "It seems impossible that we're the only ones in this universe," Fains said. "Whatever it was, I've never seen anything like it before." George Mason University astronomer Harold Geller said recent UFO sightings could be attributable to several factors, including the brightness of Venus and Jupiter. "The more reports picked up by the media, the more people report seeing such apparitions," he said. Workers face punishment for cat pics CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Authorities in North Carolina said three animal shelter employees could face punishments for taking pictures of tranquilized cats in humorous positions. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe said in an e-mail to the Charlotte City Council the Animal Care and Control workers were called before a hearing board after allegedly taking the photos and posting them to Facebook, WGHP-TV, Greensboro, N.C., reported Wednesday. Monroe said the punishment could range from suspension to termination. One of the photographs depicts a cat with a cigarette in its mouth and a knife between its paws while another shows a cat holding a pen with its teeth. Paris commuters get cooking tips PARIS, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- Paris transportation officials said commuters at a train station are being treated to cooking lessons from some of the city's most prestigious chefs. Advertisement Metro operator RATP said the two-day event, which ends Thursday night, includes cooking classes, industry trips and free cuisine samples for riders passing through the Miromesnil station, Radio France Internationale reported Wednesday. Food critic Marc de Champerard, who helped organize the event with RATP, said the cooking classes are aimed at showing the public high-class cuisine does not have to be exclusively for the city's wealthy.
