
Some Olympic volunteers sell props
LONDON, July 31 (UPI) -- Some volunteers in the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies have called colleagues "crass" and "disrespectful" for selling props from the show.
Items including costumes, a book read to the audience by J.K. Rowling, programs and confetti from the Opening Ceremonies have popped up for sale on eBay and London 2012 officials said they were happy to see the props "go to a good home," The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.
However, some of the volunteers said they were disappointed with their colleagues for selling the items.
"I think it is a bit crass really. While we were told they were ours and were not told not to auction them, I still think it is very disrespectful," one performer said.
"A group of us joked ... as to how much our costumes would sell on eBay but it was very tongue in cheek. It is not really in the spirit, is it?" another said.
Dancer marched with Indian athletes
LONDON, July 31 (UPI) -- A mysterious woman seen marching with the Indian contingent at the London Olympics opening ceremony has been identified as a member of a dance troupe.
London Olympics 2012 chief Sebastian Coe said the woman, spotted sporting a red sweater and turquoise pants while marching with the Indian athletes during the opening ceremony parade, was a dancer in the opening ceremonies but should not have skipped security and marched with the athletes, the Deccan Chronicle reported Monday.
A college friend identified the woman to the Chronicle as Madhura Nagendra, 25, and her identity was confirmed by her father, K.L. Nagendra.
"My daughter has done nothing wrong and she has not broken any rule. She was a part of the opening ceremony as a dancer. She was later asked by someone in the organizing committee to be a part of the Indian march past," Nagendra said.
Woman, 88, still working for Okla. agency
OKLAHOMA CITY, July 31 (UPI) -- Melba Morrow says she plans to spend her 88th birthday the way she spends many of her days, answering phones for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
Morrow, who is a year older than the agency, said she has been working as a receptionist for the bureau for about 13 years and will spend her 88th birthday Wednesday answering the facility's phones, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, reported Monday.
Morrow said she took a job at Sears when she was in her 40s and temporarily retired when the store closed down.
"I retired for about six weeks after Sears closed down, and I thought, I can't do this," Morrow said.
She said the retail experience prepared her for a position answering phones.
"If you've worked customer service at Sears, you can deal with just about anything," she said.
Sherry Mosley, administrative programs officer for the bureau and Morrow's supervisor, said the senior citizen is a dependable worker.
"I'm just amazed that she's still able to, she gets around better than some of us do," Mosley said.
Morrow said she does not have any plans to retire.
Web site: Zebulon a 'hot' baby name
WILMINGTON, Del., July 31 (UPI) -- Officials with a Web site based in Delaware said they were surprised when Zebulon made their list of the 14 "hottest" baby names of the year.
The Nameberry.com officials said the Zebulon page on their Web site received 2,128 hits from the start of the year until June, compared with only 420 hits in the same time period last year, the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer reported Monday.
"We measure interest in baby names by tracking the number of views on each of our 50,000 baby name pages," said Pam Satran, Web site co-founder and author of 10 baby name books.
Satran said Zebulon has only made the Social Security Administration's list of the 1,000 most popular names four times, in 1891, 1978, 1979 and 1980. She said the highest point it reached was No. 776 in 1978.
"Likely because of Grandpa Zebulon on 'The Waltons,'" Satran said, making reference to a 1970s TV show.
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