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Couple wed at local Walmart

SOUTHPORT, N.C., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A North Carolina couple who met at their local Walmart tied the knot in the layaway section of the store.

Wayne Brandenburg said he met his wife, Susan, when she was working at the Brunswick County Walmart and they decided to wed at the store to do something different with the ceremony, WECT-TV, Wilmington, N.C., reported Wednesday.

"She was a cashier at the time," Wayne said. "I kept coming through and seeing her … my (former) wife died seven years ago, and I asked (Susan) out. For some reason, she said yes and it went from there."

The couple tied the knot in the aisles Tuesday.

"I love him and I'm going to stay with him for a long, long time," Susan said.

The Brandenburgs said they were hoping to take a honeymoon to the mountains when the weather warms.

Backyard smokehouse catches fire

NEW CASTLE, Pa., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania man who had to call firefighters when his backyard smokehouse caught fire said 200 pounds of kielbasa appear to have escaped harm.

New Castle firefighters said they responded about 11:30 a.m. to Cash Koszela's E. Lutton Street home when he called and reported the applewood he was using to smoke about 200 pounds of kielbasa had caught fire, The New Castle News reported Wednesday.

Koszela said the smokehouse was preheated to about 300 degrees but it "got too hot" and when he opened the door to lower the temperature, he saw the wood had caught fire.

Koszela, whose sausage was rescued by firefighters, said the kielbasa only cooked for 2 of the intended 3 hours, but it seemed to be done and did not appear to have burned.

The sausage maker said it likely will cost $2,500 to $3,000 to replace the smokehouse, and he plans to be back in business within two weeks.

Sweeper truck becomes stuck in tree

CRESTWOOD, Mo., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Fire officials in Missouri said a sweeper truck driver spent about an hour trapped inside his vehicle when it became lodged in a tree.

Crestwood Assistant Fire Chief Mark Menning said the driver, whose name was not released, was cleaning the Crestwood Sam's Club parking lot in a sweeper truck around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday when the truck went over a guardrail and was left dangling from a tree on a bluff overlooking Interstate 44, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

The driver, who had cuts on his face and reported leg pain but was cleared of any serious injuries, told rescuers the accelerator on the vehicle had become stuck.

Menning said crews stabilized the truck with cables and cut through the dashboard of the vehicle to free the driver, who spent about an hour in the tree.

Man gets six months for shooting TV

GRAND FORKS, N.D., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A North Dakota man who admitted shooting a TV because he was angry about the volume has been sentenced to six months in jail.

Daryl Lee Nikle, 56, of Grand Forks, pleaded guilty in Grand Forks County District Court to a charge of reckless endangerment and the court ruled he will receive credit for time served and will be able to serve the remainder of the sentence on electronic home monitoring or work release, the Grand Forks Herald reported Wednesday.

Police said Nikle asked three people in his home to turn down the volume on the TV just after 4 a.m. Oct. 2, and fired his .44 Magnum handgun at the set when they refused. Investigators said the bullet went through the wall of his home.

Nikle was also ordered to undergo a chemical dependency evaluation.