Watercooler Stories

Ore. man buys $27K bottle of Scotch

PORTLAND, Ore., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- An Oregon man paid $27,000 for a bottle of Scotch, the most expensive single bottle in the state's history, officials confirmed.

The bottle, a 50-year-old Glenfiddich single-malt Scotch, was one of 450 bottles being released in groups of 50 through 2017. The scotch comes in a hand-blown glass bottle. A sterling silver neck bears Queen Elizabeth II's likeness and is sealed with a professional fly fisherman's knot that can only be undone by being cut, not untied. It has been stamped 183, the bottle's number in the series.

The (Portland) Oregonian said Wednesday the purchaser, Lyle Schellenberg, a retired businessman from Salem, Ore., said he wanted to buy "something different."

"I could have bought a sports car, but this was something different, something interesting to me," he said.

He remembers traveling to the Glenfiddich distillery with his grandfather, who was Scottish, 40 years ago.

Mitch Bechard, Glenfiddich's West Coast brand ambassador, was at the Hillside Liquor Store Friday for the sale and has tasted the distillery's 50-year old single malt. It's aged in American oak and the first notes are "mango, pineapple and orange marmalade. It's surprisingly light. Not woody," he said.

Schellenberg said he does plan to open the bottle and wants to drink the Scotch rather than keep it as a collector's piece. He said it'll probably happen with a small gathering of friends and family sometime this year.

Repairman finds crawlspace occupied

YELM, Wash., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A Washington state woman said a repairman examining her furnace discovered someone had been living in the crawlspace beneath her home.

Velma Kellen, 73, of Yelm said she called a repairman recently to determine why her new furnace wasn't heating her home and he came out of her house's crawlspace with unexpected news, KOMO-TV, Seattle, reported Wednesday.

"He says, 'Well, I've got good news and bad news. I've got your ducts fixed, but somebody's been living under your house,'" Kellen said.

"I was just amazed when he came in and told me," Kellen said. "I couldn't believe it. I thought, golly sakes."

She said the repairman discovered several empty beer cans and liquor bottles underneath the house.

"They cut the duct so that the warm air was blowing down on them," she said. "They were getting all my warm air from the front of the house."

Kellen said she suspects the intruder was the source of marijuana smoke she often detected in her home.

She said she does not know how long the mystery person was squatting beneath her floor.

Police were notified.

Woman allegedly stole dog from elderly nun

WINTER HAVEN, Fla., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- An animal control officer in Florida is accused of grabbing the Chihuahua she used to own from an elderly nun who had received it as a gift, authorities say.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said Animal Control Officer Lori Holland, 41, of Winter Haven had given 1-year-old MoJo away to an acquaintance who then gave the little dog to an 82-year-old nun recovering from a triple-bypass and a recent hip surgery, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported Wednesday.

Holland showed up at the nun's home three days later, claiming she was planning to drop off a sweater and a collar for MoJo.

However, once inside the home, Holland told the nun she had come "to take MoJo with me," the arrest report said.

The women allegedly argued for 30 minutes and eventually got into a tug-of-war with the dog that ended with the nun letting go out of fear of hurting MoJo.

Holland was arrested on charges of burglary and robbery. Authorities said she resigned her position with Animal Control after her arrest.

Couple match wedding date to ZIP code

AMESBURY, Mass., Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts couple said they decided to have their wedding Wednesday because the date matches the numbers of their ZIP code.

Cheryl Bennett, 31, and Steven DeLong, 45, of Amesbury, who have been together for five years, said they wanted to have their wedding Jan. 9, 2013, because it matches their town's ZIP code, 01913, the CNHI News Service reported Wednesday.

"What better place and time to do it," Bennett said. "People just pick dates all the time, so to have a date with such significance is really special."

The couple said they are getting married in a short ceremony at the gazebo in the center of town with their children from previous marriages as witnesses.