Watercooler Stories

Pa. women sue state rep. over cake prize

MANCHESTER, Pa., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Pennsylvania woman and her daughter are suing Democratic state Rep. Jake Wheatley, alleging they were shortchanged prize money for a cake-baking competition.

Manchester residents Denise Robinson, 55, and LaShae Robinson, 21, said they entered the competition Sept. 8 at the 10th annual Community Appreciation Day at Kennard Field in the Hill District and despite winning the contest with a pineapple upside down cake, Wheatley awarded them only $100 instead of the $200 advertised on fliers for the event, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported Tuesday.

"It's not about the money," said Denise Robinson, a paralegal who is a registered Democrat. "He is my state representative. I own my house. I pay taxes and I vote. That was just a smack in the face. If my state rep will breach a contract for $200, then what is he doing for $200,000?"

Wheatley, 40, who is running unopposed in the Nov. 6 general election, said contestants were told before the start of the event that the $200 prize was contingent on the event receiving a high enough number of entries.

"The whole concept was supposed to be a 50/50 raffle. There was a $10 entry fee and if all slots were paid for, we'd match that $100 with another $100," he said. "We're not trying to enrich people. We're just trying to make it lively. I never anticipated having to show up in a courtroom trying to defend a prize that we're giving away."

The small claims suit is seeking $1,000 and is scheduled for a hearing Nov. 7.

Truck bearing circus elephants leaves road

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- The Mississippi Highway Patrol said a truck carrying four circus elephants ran off the highway and into a wooded area, but the driver and animals were unharmed.

MHP Master Sgt. Johnny Poulos said driver Terence Crowley of Hugo, Okla., told troopers another vehicle merged into his lane Sunday night on Interstate 10, near the 8 mile-marker in Hancock County, forcing him off the highway and into a wooded area, the Biloxi Sun Herald reported Tuesday.

Poulos said the truck's front axle broke, but the vehicle remained upright and neither the driver nor the animals were injured.

Firefighters said the owners of the elephants, the Cole Brothers Circus of the Stars, sent workers to help offload the beasts and keep them at the side of the highway until a tow truck could come take the trailer and three of the animals to a rest stop, where another driver picked up the trailer.

One of the elephants was uncooperative and had to be moved separately, authorities said.

The elephants had been due to perform Monday in Hammond, La.

Cave dweller dismisses nudity complaints

EL PASO, Texas, Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A Texas man living in a cave dismissed allegations he has been seen wandering the area in the nude.

The man, who declined to give his name, was the subject of complaints from a group of hikers who said they found the man's furnished cave Sunday in El Paso's McKelligon Canyon and were chased away from the area by the man, who they said was nude, KVIA-TV, El Paso, reported Tuesday.

Residents of a nearby apartment complex said the man is often seen wandering the area nude and can sometimes be found bathing in the complex's laundry room or exercising on its playground equipment.

The man, who spoke to KVIA-TV through a crack in the cave, took issue with the claims of public nudity.

"If that's true where's the pictures?" he asked.

The cave-dweller said he lives off donations, recycling cans and money from donating plasma.

"What is my crime? You ask my good neighbors, most of them help me," he said. "I'm sin free in every city. I'm baptized and saved. They need to worry about their own selves, to repent and help the community more."

The man said he owns a cellphone and keeps up with current events.

Police: Woman used 911 to praise jail food

PALM BAY, Fla., Oct. 16 (UPI) -- Authorities in Florida said a woman is facing charges after allegedly calling 911 multiple times to thank the sheriff for a bologna sandwich served in jail.

Palm Bay police said Christine Brown, 51, called the emergency number six times Saturday to thank Sheriff Jack Parker for a bologna sandwich she enjoyed during her recent incarceration at the Brevard County Jail Complex, Florida Today reported Tuesday.

Police said dispatchers asked Brown if she had an emergency and each time she talked only about the bologna sandwich. They said an officer arrived at her home while she was still on the line with a dispatcher.

Brown was charged with six felony counts of misuse of 911 and taken to the jail in lieu of $3,000 bond.