WhiteBoard News for Friday, June 8, 2001

Wellington, New Zealand (Reuters):

A New Zealand actor stole the show by dashing off to witness the birth of his daughter in between scenes of Shakespeare's Othello -- returning in time to end the play.

Jeff Knight, playing Montano, left the stage of Christchurch's Court Theater soon after the play began when he received word that his wife Lisa had gone into labor, the Christchurch Press newspaper reported on Thursday.

After witnessing the speedy birth of his third daughter, Charlotte, the actor found he had time to make it back to the theater to finish the play.

"Charlotte arrived so quickly... and there were no problems so Lisa said to me that I might as well go back and finish the show, so I did," Knight told the newspaper.

As the curtain went down on the Tuesday evening performance, the audience was told of the off-stage drama.

"It just goes to show the art of good theater is timing," Knight said. 
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Oslo, Norway (Reuters):

Marta Aurenes, 91, says she is looking forward to becoming the country's oldest bouncer at her favorite pub, Skjenkestuen, in Stavanger, western Norway.

Aurenes told Reuters Thursday she had agreed to sign up for a bouncer course after local police ordered Skjenkestuen to hire certified bouncers at weekends.

"The pub has been there for 15 years, but has never needed any bouncers because it is such a terribly quiet place," Aurenes said. "If a man gets a bit tipsy he is usually followed out by a couple of men without any fuss."

Skjenkestuen hired two other regulars -- a retired sea captain and a psychologist -- in response to the police demand.

Aurenes, a regular at the seaside pub for about five years, said she had started to do a little exercise in preparation for her new role but reckoned her day-to-day routines would not change much.

"Skjenkestuen is a very nice place with lots of people of all ages and attitudes," she said. "I like people."

Aurenes is due to start her new job in September. 
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Livermore, California (Reuters):

Call it a beacon of hope for a state mired in an energy crisis.

The California town of Livermore is preparing to celebrate a 100-year-old light bulb, a four-watt workhorse that has shone more-or-less continuously since 1901.

"Even though nothing on this Earth is permanent, this is something that has really hung in there through thick and thin," Lynn Owens, a retired division chief with the Livermore Fire Department and chairman of the town's light bulb centennial committee, said Wednesday.

"It's been on through the San Francisco earthquake, the first man on the moon, the invention of the car ... if that light bulb could talk, it would be awesome."

Livermore's favorite light bulb, which will be honored Friday with official proclamations and a celebratory cook-out, was first installed in a local fire station in 1901, the gift of a local businessman.

The handblown globe, declared the oldest known working light bulb by the Guinness Book of World Records, blinked out briefly in 1976 when it was moved to a new fire station in this town about 35 miles (56 km) east of San Francisco.

But it was quickly turned back on at its new location, and has shone nonstop ever since, Owen said.

Even the rolling blackouts which have swept California in recent months thanks to the state's energy crisis have not dimmed the bulb, which is hooked up to emergency generators which power the fire house.

"Blackouts don't have any impact on it at all," Owen said.

It has also become a major tourist draw for Livermore, and fans have filled some three visitors' books with comments and praise for the long-shining light.

"Sometimes when people come to look at it I'm sure they just think: wow, is that all there is?" Owen said.

"But once you start reflecting on this little old dingy light bulb hanging there, you realize it is still doing the same job it's been doing for 100 years." 
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Calvert County, Maryland (Ananova.com):

An elderly US woman who registered her dog to vote as a joke could face prison after her pet was unable to perform jury service.

Mabel Briscoe registered Holly in the summer of 1999 to prove a point about Maryland's elections laws.

Now 82-year-old Mabel has been landed in court over registering her Jack Russell and faces five years in jail or a £700 fine if convicted.

She is accused of wilfully and knowingly violating voter registration laws by falsifying a name and misrepresenting facts.

The issue came to light when Holly's name was drawn out for jury service in April of this year and Mabel had to explain what happened.

Briscoe, who admitted to elections officials two months ago she had signed up her dog, has been summoned to a July 20 trial, reports the SunSpot.

"A lot of people are laughing about this. But she admitted to perjuring herself. At that point, there was nothing we could do except turn it over to the state's attorney. This is the only system we have. We cannot make a mockery out of it," said Gail Hatfield, Calvert County elections administrator.
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Sherman, Connecticut (AP):

Morrissey Brook is out. 

Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk is in. 

State lawmakers have officially restored the name of the western Connecticut stream, originally dubbed by the Algonquin Indians. The 29-letter moniker means "water flowing from the great hills," and was adopted by the settlers who shortened it to Naromi. 

It was renamed Morrissey Brook in the 1940s by a landowner, who lived along the banks of the Housatonic River tributary. But that name never did catch on, said Charles Dodge, one of several residents who lobbied to have the original name restored. Dodge said the original name will help keep Sherman's heritage intact. 

Both chambers of the General Assembly approved the bill this week. It awaits Gov. John G. Rowland's signature. 
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Heckmondwike, England (The Mirror):

Slimmers yesterday denied they were losing the battle of the bulge after a mystery crater opened up while 40 of them weighed in. 

The 8ft deep hole appeared in the car park outside their meeting hall, revealing a Second Wold War air raid shelter. 

But Weightwatchers area service manager Chris Parr said: "I'm sure it wasn't down to our members - we shed pounds, we don't pile them on." 

A slimmer's car was left hanging over the hole at the RAF club in Heckmondwike, West Yorks. Secretary Sheila Ellis said: "The car alarm went off, so she went to look." 

The slimmers have moved venue. 
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Edmond, Oklahoma (The Oklahoman):

A police officer scared a man into giving himself up by pretending to be a dog and barking at him.

Bryan Weathers of University Of Central Oklahoma police arrested Donald Eugene Frazier after a chase in Edmond.

He followed Frazier into a forest and threatened to set a dog on him, then he barked and growled. Frazier asked where the dog was when he emerged from the trees.

Weathers said: "We were all laughing about it afterwards. I've got a lot of bark, but no bite."

Frazier was banned from the university campus after he was found there without authorisation last month. Officers were leading him away when he ran off into a nearby park.

When he refused to give himself up, Meadows shouted that he'd release a police dog and said Frazier should "come out, if you don't want to get bit."

He then barked and growled.

"As he was handcuffed, he kept saying, 'Where's the dog? Where's the dog?'" Weathers told The Oklahoman.

"My partner slapped him on the shoulder and said, 'There's no dog, buddy.'"
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