Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Black panther reported in Louisiana COVINGTON, La., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Authorities in New Orleans said an animal suspected to be a black panther was photographed about nine months after a rash of reported sightings. Advertisement The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office said workers at an office building near the Interstate 12 westbound entrance ramp from U.S. 190, south of Covington, reported spotting a black panther walking near the facility Tuesday and snapped a picture of the creature, The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported Thursday. Sheriff's spokesman Capt. George Bonnett said officials are consulting with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and residents are being asked to call 911 if the animal is spotted near people. However, experts said following a rash of reported black panther sightings about nine months ago that North American black panthers are considered myths. They said the only black panthers recognized by the scientific community are the black jaguars in South America and black leopards in Asia and Africa. Advertisement Reduced charge for polite thief HAGERSTOWN, Md., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- A Maryland man who took $3,500 from a bank was allowed to enter an Alford plea to a reduced charge due to his politeness during the crime, his lawyer said. Assistant Public Defender Carl Creeden said Franklin Keefer II, 29, had been charged with robbery and theft of $1,000 to $10,000 following the June 28 incident, but the prosecution and defense agreed to a plea deal getting rid of the robbery charge due to the details of the case, The (Hagerstown) Herald-Mail reported Thursday. The court heard Keefer did not display a weapon when he walked into the Columbia Bank in Hagerstown while wearing sunglasses and a ski cap. "Can I have everybody's attention? This is a holdup," court documents quoted Keefer as saying. "Can I please have that stack of money?" he was said to have asked a teller who was counting a cash deposit. "Robbery involves the force or threat of force," Creeden said. He said the prosecution and defense agreed those elements were absent in the case. Keefer entered an Alford plea, which involves the defendant admitting the prosecution has sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction without admitting guilt, to theft. Advertisement Circuit Judge M. Kenneth Long Jr. sentenced Keefer to seven years imprisonment, with all but 2 1/2 years suspended and 154 days of credit given for time served. He was also ordered to submit to five years of supervised probation and repay the $3,500 he took from the bank. Naming rights to creek offered on eBay KALONA, Iowa, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- The naming rights to a creek in Kalona, Iowa, will be put up for bid on Internet auction Web site eBay, town officials said. The creek is currently called West Drainage Ditch but most people in town refer to it simply as "the crick," the Iowa City Press-Citizen reported Wednesday. The idea was hatched by Dan Ehl, editor of the Kalona News, as a way to raise money for the city. "I was just thinking about ways to give it a name," Ehl told the Press-Citizen. "I know that ... one woman put her baby's name up for bid on eBay and now the kid's got a name of a casino. I'm just thinking there might be somebody playing golf in California who will say, 'Oh, by the way, I have a creek in Kalona named after me.'" Advertisement City council members said they will consider any name as long as it's appropriate -- the name will be subject to government approval. Funds from the winning bid will go toward replacing sidewalks to provide better access to schools, parks and areas that children frequent as part of the city's Safe Route To Schools project. "It's a neat idea, and something communities can look to as a way to maximize the amount of money they can get for projects that won't fit into the standard budget," said Kalona City Administrator Ryan Schlabaugh. Rider in Santa smashes bus windshield LAUDERHILL, Fla., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said they were searching for a bus passenger who sang profane songs and used a rock to smash the windshield while wearing a Santa hat. The Broward County Sheriff's Office said deputies were working to identify the young man, who the Broward County Transit bus driver said boarded the vehicle with a friend Friday in Lauderhill and began singing profanity-laced songs loudly during the ride, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Thursday. The passenger repeatedly refused the driver's request to stop using profanity on the bus and allegedly continued to curse at the driver while exiting the vehicle. Advertisement Deputies said the man picked up a rock outside of the bus and threw it at the windshield, smashing the glass. The sheriff's office said it received a clear image of the man, believed to be in his late teens, from bus security cameras.
