Watercooler Stories

Mich. judge pays 12-year-old ticket

FLINT, Mich., March 20 (UPI) -- A Michigan judge who paid a $50 outstanding parking ticket from 12 years ago said he was unaware of the fine until asked about it by a reporter.

Genesee Circuit Chief Judge Archie Hayman, who paid the fine Friday, said he didn't know about the outstanding parking ticket until a Flint Journal reporter asked him about it Thursday afternoon, the newspaper reported.

Hayman said he looked into the matter and court records indicated the case had been closed, but he paid the $50 because it was "the right thing to do."

The Journal said Hayman was one of three Genesee County judges whose outstanding parking tickets combined totaled more than $500. The other judges were Herman Marable Jr. and Tracy Collier-Nix.

Marable said he paid the tickets Thursday and had waited to address the fines because he thought the city attorney's office was going to dismiss them. Collier-Nix said she was unaware of the tickets, which date from before she was a judge, and pledged to pay them.

Debt collectors take from wrong women

ORKELLJUNGA, Sweden, March 20 (UPI) -- Two Swedish woman are struggling with the country's debt collection agency after their property was mistakenly confiscated in separate incidents.

Aida Gazic, 30, of Orkelljunga said she traded storage spaces with a neighbor who moved away and agents from the Swedish Enforcement Administration soon forced their way into the locker and seized her possessions due to the former neighbor's debts, the Swedish news agency TT reported Monday.

"It was my stuff that I had in my former neighbor's storage space. I had my children's new scooters, Christmas decorations, an old computer and VCR and even a kiddie pool belonging to my friend," Gazic said.

She said the agency told her she would have to contact her former neighbor to prove the items belong to her.

"She's unreachable. She just doesn't care," Gazic said.

Meanwhile, Gun Persson of Valbo said items including clothes, shoes, collectible model cars and other valuables were taken by debt collection agents who forced their way into the wrong storage locker. She said the agents were supposed to raid the locker belonging to her neighbor, who had been evicted.

The Swedish Enforcement Administration said it had enlisted the help of Persson's landlord to clear out the neighbor's locker and the landlord had hired a contractor. It was unknown where the mix-up occurred, TT said.

Boy, 9, summoned for jury duty

WEST YARMOUTH, Mass., March 20 (UPI) -- The family of a Massachusetts 9-year-old who was summoned for jury duty said the local jury commission office had the wrong birth year for the boy.

Robby Clark of West Yarmouth, father of Jacob Clark, 9, and Deborah Clark, the boy's grandmother, said they were perplexed when the third-grader received a summons in the mail ordering him to report for jury duty April 18, the Cape Cod Times reported Monday.

"I was like, 'What's a jury duty?'" Jacob said.

Deborah Clark said her grandson decided he did not want to serve on a jury after learning it would require him to face people accused of crimes.

She said Robby Clark called the jury commission office and discovered Jacob's birth year had been entered as 1982 in the system instead of 2002.

Massachusetts Jury Commissioner Pamela Wood said children end up receiving summonses "once or twice a year."

She said some towns enter fictional birth dates for children if their parents do not supply the correct years on census forms. Wood said officials are encouraged to choose dates outside the realm of possibility, such as 1776, but they occasionally put in a date that results in the child mistakenly being listed as of voting age.

Wood said the mistake was quickly cleared up and Jacob will not have to report.

Man arrested after karaoke stripping

MELBOURNE, Fla., March 20 (UPI) -- Florida authorities said they arrested a 28-year-old man who shed his clothing during a karaoke performance at a restaurant.

Sgt. Byron Barnes, a spokesman for the Melbourne Police Department, said Jeffrey Lee Thompson was singing during karaoke night at the Applebee's Restaurant early Monday and the manager tried to stop his performance when he began shedding his clothes, Florida Today reported Monday.

"He was intoxicated. It was karaoke night and he became very involved with his performance," Barnes said of Thompson. "He took his clothes off as he sang to the audience."

Barnes said Thompson punched the manager, knocking him to the floor, and a Palm Bay police officer working at the restaurant used a stun gun to subdue the suspect until police arrived.

Thompson was charged with battery and disorderly conduct.