WhiteBoard News for Tuesday, June 10, 2003

Stockholm, Sweden (Reuters):

Hundreds of tonnes of human waste have leaked from containers at a Swedish fertiliser plant, sparking a health scare in a town called "Panties". 

Officials told the Sodermanlands Nyheter newspaper on Friday that hot weather may have made methane gas expand and burst the plastic sewage tanks in Trosa -- whose name, as the paper gleefully pointed out, is what Swedes call women's underpants. 
=============

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Reuters):

A note to all job seekers: you know that your employment interview did not go well when your prospective boss calls the police in to arrest you. 

Anthony Kaleb Phillips, 20 was hauled away from an interview for a job with a construction company in Stillwater, Oklahoma last week after employees recognised the job applicant as the person seen on a surveillance videotape robbing the same business just one day before, police said on Monday. 

Phillips is expected to be arraigned this week on burglary charges for stealing a $100 tool (63 pounds) from the construction company and about $1,000 worth of items from an employee's car parked at the office, court officials said. 

"When he went out there to apply for the job, there was no one there. So he just helped himself to some items and left," said Payne County Undersheriff Kenneth Willerton. "However, he was caught on videotape." 

A day after the robbery, Phillips applied for a job with the construction company, and was arrested. Needless to say, he didn't get the job. 
===============

Nottingham, England (Ananova):

A bride who was devastated when her brother was sent out to Iraq and forced to miss her wedding day got a shock when he appeared - in the form of a cardboard cut-out.

Charlotte Turner, 27, had chosen older brother Phil as her chief witness, but after two years planning her wedding was confronted with a major problem.

The 29-year-old Sergeant with the Royal Military Police received his call-up to serve in Iraq in April, and 24 hours later he was on a plane to start a tour of duty that could last six months.

Charlotte and her husband-to-be Andrew Ogilvie, from Nottingham, were distraught that he could not be with them.

But, unknown to the couple, her parents Pauline and Geoff commissioned a full-size cardboard cut-out of the soldier in his uniform to bring out during the photographs.

As the rain cleared and Charlotte and Andrew posed for photos, they were overjoyed when Phil's image appeared from inside the reception room at Blotts Country Club, West Bridgford.

The mother-of-three, who is travelling to Amsterdam with her husband on Tuesday for their honeymoon, said: "It was a lovely surprise. I was really upset because I have only got the one brother and I really wanted him to be there.

"When it actually got brought out I was so excited. The sun broke out a little for the photos and out it came and I thought, 'Oh he's here'."

Phil had also sent back a video message from Basra that was played during the speeches, in which he proposed a toast and swigged from a bottle of water, with champagne not available in Iraq.

He then stripped off his combat gear to reveal he was wearing nothing more than a zebra-patterned thong as he sat down to join his mates for a spot of sunbathing. Charlotte added: "It was so typical. He always has to have a laugh. It made my day."
============

Decatur, Alabama (AP):

Three work-release inmates serving time for buying and receiving stolen goods are being credited with helping foil a robbery attempt at a car dealership. 

Calvin Matsey, Barry Hall and Donald Harris said they knew something was odd when they found hubcaps and stereo equipment lying next to a hole in a fence separating the Decatur Country Club, where they worked, from Lynn Layton Chevrolet. 

Seth Bond and Charles Wilson, both 23, were arrested and charged with auto breaking and entering last week after the inmates spotted them, ran them down, and held them at the golf course until police arrived. 

The two men "just didn't seem like they belonged here," said Matsey, 41. 

Matsey said Bond and Wilson were shabbily dressed and kept telling the inmates they were waiting for their uncle to finish some golf. The problem, Matsey said, was no one was playing golf. 

"They weren't that smart," Harris said. 
===============

Sollenau, Austria (ananova):

An Austrian motorist blew up his car when he tried to open it with his remote control key fob.

The Ford Cougar exploded, sending car parts flying hundreds of feet in all directions.

Police in Sollenau initially treated the case as a possible bomb attack but it turned out the owner of the car was to blame.

He was carrying two containers of oxy-acetaline gas in his car boot, reports Die Krone newspaper.

Police Chief Inspector Rudolf Scheidl said: "On both containers, the valves weren't closed."

When the owner of the car used the remote, a spark set off the mixture of gas and air inside the car.

Nobody was injured but eight other cars were damaged.
=============

Chow
SuperChef
www.joeha.com