Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe Couple to wed at St. Patty's parade LAKE VILLA, Ill., March 12 (UPI) -- An Illinois couple said they have received permission to hold their wedding atop a float during their village's St. Patrick's Day parade. Advertisement Paul Quinn, 40, and Tara Teschky, 36, Lake Villa residents who have been dating for four years, said they had only been engaged for a month when they came up with the idea of holding their wedding inside of the parade, which they attended together regularly with their children from previous marriages, the Chicago Tribune reported Monday. Teschky said she was half-joking when she suggested the parade wedding, but she soon found herself on the phone with the mayor's office receiving the go-ahead for the unusual nuptials. "It's the most fun thing ever," Teschky said. "Our kids are ecstatic." Betty Burns, who has served as parade coordinator for 14 years, said the wedding will be a first for the 20-year-old event. Advertisement "I think it's gonna be fun. I think it will add some spark to the parade," Burns said. Woman falls down trash chute DUNWOODY, Ga., March 12 (UPI) -- Emergency responders in Georgia said they rescued a woman who fell down her apartment's garbage chute while trying to retrieve her dropped cellphone. Dunwoody police said rescue crews responded to the Gables Metropolitan apartments Sunday when the woman fell while trying to reach down the chute for her phone and ended up stuck between the first and second floors of the building, WSB-TV, Atlanta, reported Monday. DeKalb County Fire Department rescuers said they moved the building's trash compacter, which was blocking the woman from falling the rest of the way down the chute, and retrieved her before she hit the ground. The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment. NYC pigeons ignore sonic device NEW YORK, March 12 (UPI) -- New York residents say an electronic device aimed at keeping pigeons away from the Triumph of Civic Virtue statue outside Queens Borough Hall is not working. The device, installed in January, emits ultrasonic sounds inaudible to humans as well as a mix of predator sounds in an effort to keep pigeons from roosting on the sculpture, which was first unveiled outside of the borough hall in 1922, the New York Daily News reported Monday. Advertisement However, residents say the birds appear unfazed by the sounds and barely seem to move when the device kicks on and lets loose with a series of loud squawks. "They're used to it now," said passerby Ed Young, 76, of Cambria Heights. "It seems like they like it." Wildlife rehabilitator Bobby Horvath said such devices are often ineffective in city environments. "They really don't work," he said. "In the wild, pigeons are alerted to these sounds. But in the city, they have become desensitized." Dead man told to renew tax discount BRISTOL, England, March 12 (UPI) -- Officials in a British city apologized to the family of deceased man who received a letter telling him to contact officials "if your circumstances change." The family of Steve Hutchings, 52, of Bristol, England, said a letter addressed to Steve arrived two days after his funeral informing him that his council tax discount had been canceled due to his death, The Sun reported Monday. The letter said Hutchings, who died in February after an 18-month battle with cancer, could renew his tax discount if he called a hotline "without delay." "You must tell us if your circumstances change," the letter read. Advertisement Hutchings' sister, Linda, 48, said she was horrified and outraged by the letter. "I could understand if it was a mistake, but they knew he was dead and sent it anyway. It's not funny," she said. The Bristol City Council released a statement apologizing for the letter and blaming the mistake on "human error."
