WhiteBoard News for Tuesday, December 10, 2002

Irvine, California (Reuters):

They thought they had stolen vicious pit bulls but instead they wound up with purse-sized Chihuahuas known for their timidity. 

Mehrad Sepanjasa, 19, Ariyo MacKay, 18, and Kamyar Katouzian, 24, were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly stealing the puppies from an animal shelter in this Southern California city a couple of days earlier. 

The men were caught after bringing the dogs, which had ID microchips implanted under their skin, to an animal clinic in a PetSmart pet supply store for an examination and vaccinations. 

Lisa Morgenthaler, the store's director, said she recognized the puppies and the suspects from their descriptions on a flyer she received from the animal shelter. 

The store manager said she sensed that the pups were victims of a severe case of mistaken identity. "They asked me, 'What is this?'" Morgenthaler said. "I told them it looked like a Chihuahua mix. They said, 'No way, it's a pit bull.' They didn't believe me. They wanted to ask the veterinarian." 

When the men brought the puppies back to the clinic for an exam and shots two days later, Morgenthaler was prepared. 

"We said we were going to take them into the back to cut their nails and take their temperatures, and we called the police," she said. "It was pretty scary." 

During the examination, the men repeatedly asked the veterinary staff what breed the puppies were, and again insisted that they were not of the diminutive Mexican breed. 

"They were pretty perturbed that the puppies they stole were not pit bulls," Morgenthaler said. "They thought they were stealing pit bulls. These guys are idiots." 
==============

Kopai, India (Sify News)

A man has prevented a train disaster in India by waving his red underpants in the air.

Nimai Das was relieving himself near the tracks at Kopai in the Birbhum district when he spotted that part of the track was missing. Shortly afterwards, he saw an approaching train.

According to Sify News he stripped and began waving his red underpants frantically to stop the Burdwan-bound Rampurhat-Burdwan train service.

Luckily, he caught the driver's attention and the train stopped on the Sahebgunge loop line near Kopai station, just a few metres ahead of the broken line.

The authorities say he saved many lives. Train services have been disrupted for hours after the incident.
=============

Glasgow, Scotland (Ananova):

A mother took her toddler son to court after officials refused to accept they had made a mistake by charging him for speeding.

Lawyers, court officials and police fell about laughing when 16-month-old Jay Mack appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court and tried to climb into the sheriff's chair.

His £208 ($326) speeding fine was immediately cancelled and court officers have launched an inquiry to discover how the case got so far.

It all started when a man caught speeding in Essex in July gave police the false name of Jay Mack.

A computer search by court officials turned up only one Jay Mack in the UK - and the little lad from Priesthill near Glasgow, was issued with a £40 ($63) speeding fine.

His bewildered mum Mary, 34, phoned the magistrates court in Essex to tell them they had the wrong Jay Mack.

But court officials wouldn't believe her, and continued to send letters demanding payment of the fine. Several deadlines for the payment passed, and the fine showballed to £208.33.

Jay was then warned he would face arrest if he failed to appear at a fines hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Officials first tried to stop Jay from entering the court, as he was wearing reins and was very wobbly on his feet. But the family was ushered inside when they found out he was the one appearing.

After the hearing, Mary, who has five other children, said: "It's ridiculous that someone didn't stop this sooner. Whoever was caught by police clearly gave them a made-up name."
=============

Giojosa Marea, Sicily (Tgcom):

An Italian man who had his left foot amputated gave it a funeral service before burying it in a coffin.

Antonio Magistro, 56, of Giojosa Marea, Sicily, asked for the foot to be buried in his future grave at the city's cemetery.

He persuaded the surgeon to give him his foot back after the operation and then negotiated a deal with a local funeral director.

Mr Magistro, along with his relatives, attended the short religious service which included a fanfare by the city's band.

The foot was then buried in a small coffin and the man's name and date of birth embossed on the tombstone.

Mr Magistro said he hopes to join the foot in the grave "as late as I possibly can", Tgcom website reports.

He had his foot amputated because of cancer.
===========

Madison, Wisconsin (AP):

The Madison Police Department got some help from an unexpected source after asking listeners of a local radio station to donate teddy bears for children. 

Some inmates at the Fox Lake Correctional Institution heard Officer Larry Kamholz's request on WNWC and decided to help. 

The inmates donated $626 of their wages and bought the police department 2,000 surplus teddy bears with the help of Middleton toy marketer US JHI Corp. Officers give the teddy bears to children to console them at crime or accident scenes. 

"We're used to thinking of bad people in jail," Kamholz said. "But just because they committed a crime, it doesn't necessarily mean they're a bad person. They can change their lives and make themselves better and give back to the community." 

Other listeners donated more than 1,000 teddy bears to the police department within a few weeks of Kamholz's request. 
=============

Chow
SuperChef
www.joeha.com