WhiteBoard News for Monday, June 23, 2003

Staffordshire, England (Ananova):

A Staffordshire county councillor who used civic funds to buy police a mobile speed camera has been caught speeding by the same camera.

Robert Marshall, who is also a South Staffordshire district councillor, was caught doing 42mph in a 30mph zone in Bilbrook, near Wolverhampton.

He was snapped by the mobile camera two months ago. Prior to that he was caught speeding by a fixed camera while travelling between Wolverhampton and Dudley.

Now he has six points on his licence - three from each offence - and has had to pay two £40 fines, says the Express & Star.

He said: "If more people are caught by these mobile speed cameras then more people, like myself, will get the message about speeding. I have now got to be careful for three years."

After three years he can apply to have the six points removed from his driving licence. If he reaches 12 points during the three years then he could lose his licence and be banned from the roads.

Councillor Marshall added: "The county council allocates all councillors £10,000 to spend on good causes and projects in our patch. I thought that helping to buy this mobile speed camera would be good."
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Reese, Michigan (AP):

Family events are a full time job for Angeline DuRussel. 

With 101 great-grandchildren and a 102nd on the way, the Bay City-area woman doesn't have time to do much else. 

DuRussel, who turned 97 on Saturday, became a great-grandmother for the 101st time after the birth of her latest great-grandchild Sunday. Deborah Shamel, of Vassar, gave birth Sunday morning, according to Becky DuRussel, one of DuRussel's grandchildren. 

Now that the latest baby has been born, the family is awaiting the next birth. Baby No. 102 is on the way, with a due date in September. 

DuRussel's large number of descendants has not kept her from learning the names of all her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Nor has it slowed her involvement in the family's graduation parties, weddings and reunions, said daughter-in-law Florine DuRussel, 70. 

"If someone has a wedding, she is there," said Florine DuRussel. "If there is a baby shower, she is there." 
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Kansas City, Missouri (Kansascitychannel.com)

Crews said about 25 million honeybees were inadvertently released after a tractor-trailer wrecked on an area highway over the weekend. Monday evening, about 12 million bees remained on the loose. 

The accident happened Sunday at Interstate 435 and Interstate 35 north when a tractor-trailer carrying more than 500 beehives, which carry thousands of bees each, flipped on its side. The cargo spilled all over the highway, forcing crews to shut down an off ramp for a time. 

Bee handlers suited up to wrangle the honeybees back into hives. Workers said they would be able to capture most of the bees, but some would have to be destroyed. 

"We're going to have 80-to-90 percent of them. Some of them are just going to have to be sprayed and killed in the long run," said Rheuben Johnson, a bee specialist working at the crash scene. 

Paramedics in the area kept injections on hand in case anyone suffered an allergic reaction from a bee sting. As of Monday evening, no one had to be treated for stings. 

Residents who live in the area said that they will be glad when the bees are gone. 

"It just makes you nervous seeing that many bees in one area. I have two little ones and they are in the house right now and not allowed to come out," a woman told KMBC. 

The driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt. He was cited for careless and imprudent driving, Chapman reported. 

An Iowa farmer owns the bees, which were being taken to Wisconsin to help pollinate cranberry bogs. 
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Chow
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