WhiteBoard News for Friday, June 22, 2001

Panama City, Florida (AP):

A woman got so angry with her husband that she took one of his shirts from a closet and set it on fire, but the blaze spread and burned down their house, authorities say. 

Sharon Kirkman was charged with arson for the Friday night fire that caused about $65,000 in damage. 

"They lost everything, and all because of her little tirade," said Don Cieota, an investigator with the state fire marshal's office. "In this case, the insurance is not going to cover it because it was started by one of the owners." 

Cieota said the argument was over a minor matter but he offered no details. 
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Eckington, England (Worcester Evening News):

A man has applied for council permission to dismantle his cottage and rebuild it five yards up the road.

Don Songhurst says the move will ensure his property is just outside flood plains in the Worcestershire village of Eckington.

Council planners say it is an unusual request, which may become more common as flood victims struggle to sell their homes.

Mr Songhurst has lived in the cottage for seven years. He said: "The water went very near it last year and went in it the year before.

"This flooding seems to be pretty permanent now. I may as well move it about five yards and make it safer."

Wychavon District Council is considering the application, reports the Worcester Evening News.

Planning officer Gavin Greenhow said: "The house is currently just within the flood plain. This may the first of many relocation applications for flood reasons - but I doubt many people will want to dismantle their house, move it and then rebuild it the same."
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Hove, England (Brighton Evening News):

Customers deserted a pavement cafe when a police horse dumped piles of manure next to their tables.

The owners of the Centre Ville cafe in Hove say the rush hour stink cost them valuable trade.

Tables were empty while staff waited for a council workman to clear it up after police said it wasn't their job.

Sussex Chief Inspector Stuart Harrison said: "I do feel sorry for them ... but it's difficult to avoid.

"Most people I've spoken to don't actually find it as offensive as dog dirt."

Cafe owner Dean Grant said: "The smell started coming into the cafe and people just got up and left," reports the Brighton Evening Argus.

Mr Grant added: "There was an awful lot of dirt - at least two bucketfuls. Nobody will sit outside while that's there. I'm sure it cost us trade."
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Wildwoor, New Jersey (AP):

A duel between friends ended in victory for one and tears for the other Thursday at the 78th annual National Marbles Tournament. 

Kristie Vanderzee, 12, of Upper Darby, Pa., bested Krissy O'Neill, 14, of Lansdowne, Pa., in an emotional girls' division final capping four days of competition among boys and girls ages 8 to 14. 

In the tournament, which is played on concrete pads built right into the beach, two players line up 13 marbles inside a circular 10-foot ring and take turns shooting their object marbles into the target blue marbles, knocking them out of the ring. 

The first person to knock out seven marbles wins the game. 

Vanderzee and O'Neill, who live near each other and frequently play together, ended up squaring off for the championship, outlasting 26 other girls in preliminary competition leading up to Thursday's finals. 

Vanderzee, a slightly built eighth-grader, seized a 6-1 lead in the best of 15 championship series. 

But O'Neill rallied, winning three games in a row, before Vanderzee won two of the next three for an 8-5 edge and the championship. When Vanderzee hit her last shot, her parents and friends cheered and rushed up to hug her. 

O'Neill burst into tears and pulled her baseball cap over her eyes. Then Vanderzee walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her. 

"I really wanted her to win," Vanderzee said later. "It's her last year, and I still have a couple left. I'm happy, but I just wish she could win." 
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London, England (Reuters):

A major British sex shop chain, citing a recent survey that showed 80 percent of women faked their climax during intercourse, said it is declaring July 31 National Orgasm Day.

Under the slogan "Make it not fake it" the Ann Summers chain said Thursday it was time for women to stake their claim to a full and satisfying sex life.

Offering a series of sex aids ranging from the top selling Rampant Rabbit vibrator to lip-smacking chocolate body paint to help, the chain said couples should talk through their sex troubles which were usually stress-related.

"Achieving orgasm is as much about what is going on between your ears as what is going on between your legs. Tackle these concerns before you start a love-making session and you are on the way to the big O," it said. 
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Kingsland, Georgia (AP):

A man held up a bank Friday while a female companion bought a getaway car from a used lot across the street, police said. 

Walker Alexander Williams, 32, of Fernandina Beach, Fla., was charged with robbery after police stopped him and the woman two miles away in the newly purchased 1996 white Neon, Chief Frank Waits said. 

The woman wasn't charged immediately because police were unsure of her involvement. Her name was not released. 

Cathy Chandler of American Auto Sales said a woman called about 10:30 a.m. asking if any cars were selling for $2,500 or less. Told about the Neon, the woman said to prepare the paperwork. 

Meanwhile, a robber fled on foot from the Coastal Bank of Georgia after stealing an undisclosed amount of cash. 

The woman paid for the car with crisp $100 bills as police arrived at the car lot and asked if anyone had seen a man running by. The woman answered no. 

The officer returned to the lot after a witness described seeing a man matching the robber's description getting into a white Neon. 

Chandler told police about the woman who bought the car. 

Police found the money minus $2,500 on the floorboard of the car in a Styrofoam box. 
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Toronto, Canada (Ananova.com):

A slip of a finger on a computer keyboard has landed a Canadian woman with a $5,000 phone bill.

Dianna Freiesleben from Oshawa, near Toronto, left her home computer dialling up a work number for more than a week.

The bill will have to be paid off in monthly installments to Bell Canada.

"I've learned a costly lesson," said Ms Freiesleben after reluctantly reaching the agreement plan with the telephone company.

Ms Freiesleben, who works at home transcribing medical records for a Toronto hospital, was "floored" when she got a call from an "unfriendly" customer service representative at Bell Canada.

He said her long-distance bill was approaching $5,000 and she was being cut off, reports The Toronto Star.

She normally sends her work from her home computer to Toronto through a fixed-rate, $29-a-month long-distance carrier.

But she inadvertently clicked a computer icon that dialled the hospital directly over regular long-distance.

The hours and days ticked away and charges piled up until Bell told her about the bill.
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