Watercooler Stories

Female jogger fights off teenagers

VANCOUVER, Wash., June 26 (UPI) -- A Washington state woman who has studied martial arts for nearly two decades said she fought off two teenage boys who accosted her while she was jogging.

Priscilla Dang, 23, of Vancouver said she was jogging on the path along Padden Parkway June 14 when a teenage boy on a bicycle distracted her to allow a second teenager to swat her on the buttocks, The Columbian in Vancouver reported Monday.

"I hate when men think they can do that stuff," said Dang, who said she regularly studies Wushu martial arts. "There was no question."

Dang said she threw the boy to the ground and demanded an apology, which he offered, but the other boy called her a derogatory term and she struck him, leading him to get off his bicycle and attempt to punch her.

The jogger said the teenager pulled out a knife when he was unable to land a punch and she blocked his weapon with the bicycle until a passerby spotted the confrontation and called 911.

Sheriff's deputies arrested Josiah Sullivan, 18, who allegedly slapped Dang's buttocks, on suspicion of misdemeanor fourth-degree assault.

Deputies referred charges of displaying a dangerous weapon against the second teen, a 16-year-old boy whose name was not released.

Swastika flown for 'rehabilitation'

LONG ISLAND BEACH, N.J., June 26 (UPI) -- The religious movement behind a swastika banner pulled behind a plane in New Jersey said the stunt was about rehabilitating the symbol's image.

Police and Don Pripstein, president of the Jewish Community Center of Long Beach Island, said beachgoers at Long Beach Island filed complaints Saturday about the swastika flying behind a plane above a beach and the stunt was found to be carried out by the International Raelian Movement, a religious group that believes in a creator that reveals itself through unidentified flying objects, the Philadelphia Daily News reported Monday. The swastika has been generally associated with Nazi Germany and the atrocities committed by its forces since before World War II.

Thomas Kaenzig, a spokesman for the movement, said the banner -- which also flew over New York -- and a similar banner over Los Angeles, were a part of the third-annual Swastika Rehabilitation Day, which aims to "educate people about true meaning of the swastika."

Kaenzig said the symbol is sacred to some religions as a symbol for luck.

"We're aware of the link the many people make ... with Nazi ideology, and that's why we do have this rehabilitation day to give the swastika back its true value," Kaenzig said. "People say it's offensive, [but] it's like saying you can't use the cross anymore because the Ku Klux Klan abused it."

N.H. senators question post office changes

SUGAR HILL, N.H., June 26 (UPI) -- Both U.S. senators from New Hampshire have put their support behind town residents who were upset about a recent change in post office hours.

Sugar Hill residents had complained about the post office abruptly changing its service window hours from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:30 a.m. until noon on Saturdays to 10:15 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. each day, The New Hampshire Union-Leader reported Monday.

U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D, and Kelly Ayotte, R, sent a joint letter Friday to Deborah Essler, Northern New England district manager, customer and sales for the U.S. Postal Service.

"We are concerned about both the nature of the changes in service and the manner in which they were made. We urge you to consider holding a community meeting in the town to ensure that affected residents, government officials and small business owners can ask questions and offer their input about the future of retail postal service in Sugar Hill," the letter read.

"Last month," the senators wrote, "the USPS revised its retail network optimization strategy with a continued focus on ensuring that communities have a voice in the process. While we understand that this particular change in hours is the result of a pending collective bargaining dispute, we believe the town of Sugar Hill should also have an opportunity to make its concerns known."

A Postal Service spokesman declined to comment on the situation.

Couple fined for giving booze to teens

NAPERVILLE, Ill., June 26 (UPI) -- An Illinois couple who admitted in court to allowing underage drinking at an after-prom party they hosted at their home were placed on court supervision.

Michael and Cathy Bushman, both 47, of Naperville were also fined $1,000 in Judge Mary O'Connor's courtroom after pleading guilty under a city ordinance to permitting the consumption of alcohol by minors, the Sun-Times Media Network reported Monday.

Naperville police said they were investigating reports of damaged mailboxes in the Century Farms neighborhood and the investigation led them to discover the Bushmans had hosted an after-prom party late April 28 and early April 29. Police said the couple provided alcoholic beverages to the Naperville North High School students.

Police said 26 teenagers were ticketed April 29 for unlawful consumption of alcohol by minors.