Watercooler Stories

Rescuers end up lost in the woods

FALL RIVER, Mass., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Authorities in Massachusetts said three rescuers searching for a lost woman in the forest ended up lost themselves when they found the woman.

Fall River police said two officers and an environmental officer began searching in the Freetown State Forest Monday night when a 25-year-old woman was reported lost in the preserve, WPRI-TV, Providence, R.I., reported Tuesday.

The officers found the woman safe at about 11:45 p.m., but the group soon discovered they did not know the way out of the woods, WCVB-TV, Boston, said.

The group was found by a Massachusetts State Police helicopter at about 12:10 a.m. and they were guided to safety.

No injuries were reported, police said.

$4,069 in keno tickets donated to church

ATLANTA, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A Georgia church is thanking the anonymous donor who dropped three winning keno tickets, worth a total $4,069, into a collection plate.

The Unity North Atlanta Church in Marietta said the Georgia Lottery Keno tickets were dropped into the collection plate during a recent Sunday service, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Tuesday.

"This is a first for us," church office manager Wendy Beck said.

Beck said church officials plan to put the funds toward the facility's mortgage and monthly bills.

Lottery officials said two of the tickets were purchased from a Quick Trip on North Cobb Parkway and the other was purchased from a Chevron Food Mart on Sandy Plains Road.

School bus driver fired after helping cops

NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- A New York state school bus driver said he was fired for giving a ride to a pair of police officers whose car had flooded during a hailstorm.

George Daw said he was driving the Educational Bus Transport of Copiague vehicle in New Hyde Park during a hailstorm Aug. 1 with a teenage passenger and a bus matron on board when he came across the unmarked police car filling with water, NBC New York reported Tuesday.

"They're saying, you've got to help us, you've got to help us," Daw said of the two police detectives in the car. "You've got to get us to the third precinct. We're police officers."

"I felt they were in danger," Daw said.

The driver said he gave the detectives a lift to the station and filed a report with Educational Bus Transport, which fired him over the incident.

"We have policies and procedures in place to ensure the safety of the children we transport," company vice president Tim Flood said.

"When these policies and procedures are not followed, we will address them in an appropriate manner," Flood said. "This particular employee was not terminated solely because of the pick-up of unscheduled passengers."

Bat causes plane to turn around

MADISON, Wis., Aug. 10 (UPI) -- An Atlanta-bound plane returned to a Wisconsin airport when a bat was discovered on the flight moments after takeoff, an airport spokesman said.

Brett McHenry, spokesman for the Madison airport, said the Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight left the airport with 49 passengers at 6:45 a.m. Friday and pilots notified air traffic controllers the plane was returning at 7:08 a.m., the Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, reported Tuesday.

McHenry said the plane reversed its course after a bat was spotted flying around the cabin. The winged mammal was eventually trapped in a lavatory by a man sitting near the rear of the plane.

The spokesman said airport staff boarded the plane to get rid of the bat, but the animal managed to fly out the door and into the terminal. He said the bat was eventually coaxed out of the terminal and into the open air.

Passengers were allowed back onto the plane and it departed with a delay of a few hours, airline spokesman Jarek Beem said.