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Boy donates $1,000 winnings to tot's care

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- An 8-year-old Illinois boy who won $1,000 in a bank's scavenger hunt said he decided his 2-year-old neighbor, who is battling leukemia, should have the cash.

Trisha Kielty of Edwardsville, whose 2-year-old daughter, Cara, was diagnosed with leukemia in May, said 8-year-old neighbor Wyatt Erber told her earlier in the summer he was entering the summer-long scavenger hunt, sponsored by First Clover Leaf Bank in Edwardsville, and planned to donate his winnings toward Cara's care, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

Kielty said Tuesday she appreciated the gesture but she was shocked when he called a few weeks later to tell her he had won.

"He said: 'How much chemo will $1,000 buy Cara?'" Kielty said. "I'm completely floored by him. To step up and donate his winnings ... is crazy."

Erber said the decision to give away his winnings was easy.

"I wanted to give it to them," he said. "I didn't know what to do with it."

Rachel Case, a spokeswoman for First Clover Leaf Bank, said she contacted Edwardsville Neighbors in Need, which offers financial assistance to local families with emergencies or medical hardships, about Erber's gift and the group agreed to match his $1,000 donation.

"It's just the sweetest thing that he's been playing all summer for her," Case said. "We got goose bumps when we heard. I don't know any 8-year-olds who would do this."

School cooks up a 6,500-pound stew

AMHERST, Mass., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- The University of Massachusetts said a team of chefs kicked off the school year by setting a Guinness World Record for the largest seafood stew.

The Amherst school said the culinary team -- including school employees, Food Network celebrity chef Jet Tila and university executive chef Willie Sng -- cooked up a 6,500-pound stew Monday, including 1,000 pounds of seafood, 1,137 pounds of potatoes and 575 pounds of onions, that was then served to students, The (Springfield, Mass.) Republican reported Wednesday.

The school said the stew set a Guinness World Record and served as a treat for students on the first day of classes.

Police: Suspect tried to swallow fake cash

BUFFALO, N.Y., Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Authorities in New York state said a man attempted to eat a handful of counterfeit $50 bills while he was being detained by theme park security officers.

The Genesee County Sheriff's Office said Larry Jones, 35, of Buffalo, allegedly paid for his French fries Sunday night at Darien Lake Theme Park with a counterfeit $50 bill and attempted to swallow a handful of other fake $50s when security was called, WIVB-TV, Buffalo, reported Wednesday.

Security workers were able to retrieve the fake bills before Jones could swallow them and the sheriff's office said he was found to be in possession of $1,200 in counterfeit cash, The Buffalo News reported Wednesday.

Jones was arrested and charged with felony first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and felony tampering with physical evidence.

Police: Man swallowed $13,000 diamond

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sept. 5 (UPI) -- Police in Sri Lanka said they arrested a man accused of swallowing a $13,000 diamond at a gem exhibition in the capital.

Colombo police said the 32-year-old man, who was visiting the show from China, allegedly asked owner Suresh de Silva to take the jewel out of its case so he could examine it and then swallowed it, the BBC reported Wednesday.

The owner told police he saw the man and an accomplice attempt to replace the diamond with a forgery.

It was unclear whether the diamond was recovered from the man, who was arrested on an attempted theft charge.