WhiteBoard News for Monday, May 12, 2003

Portland, Oregon (AP):

Star Trek fans fluent in Klingon take note -- there's a job opening in Oregon for you. 

The fictional language of the popular TV and movie science fiction series is one of about 55 languages needed by the office that treats mental health patients in metropolitan Multnomah County. 

"We have to provide information in all the languages our clients speak," said Jerry Jelusich, a procurement specialist for the county Department of Human Services, which serves about 60,000 mental health clients. 

County research has shown that Klingon has gone from being a fictional tongue to what many people -- and not just fans -- consider a complete language, with its own grammar, syntax and vocabulary. 

If a patient speaks only Klingon, the county is obligated to respond with a Klingon interpreter. So officials have decided to include it with about 55 languages, some of which, such as Russian and Vietnamese, are widely spoken, and some, such as Dari and Tongan, are seldom spoken. 

The county's purchasing administrator, Franna Hathaway, greeted the request to include Klingon with skepticism. 

But, she said, "There are some cases where we've had mental health patients where this was all they would speak." 
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Stuart, Florida (AP):

A woman was arrested for dousing herself with perfume, spraying the house with bug killer and disinfectant, and burning scented candles in an attempt to seriously injure her chemically sensitive husband, prosecutors said. 

Police charged Lynda Taylor, 36, with aggravated battery Thursday. 

David Taylor, 46, is disabled due to allergies that resulted from exposure to toxic mold and hazardous chemicals as a construction worker, his doctors say. That exposure netted him $150,000 in a recent workers compensation settlement. 

The fragrant incident occurred on April 4 during a conversation the couple were about separating after three years of marriage. Taylor told investigators that his wife became enraged when he refused to give her half of his settlement. 

"Lynda came in the kitchen wearing perfume and applied some to (her daughter). Then went around the house spraying Lysol and even sprayed some in my face," David Taylor wrote in his complaint. 

Taylor's physician provided investigators with a letter confirming that he suffers from extreme chemical sensitivity, "including all fragrances, air fresheners and other volatile chemicals," and that his wife is aware of it. 

Lynda Taylor's attorney Karen Steger said the charge is a misuse of the criminal justice system. 

"The guy's a faker," she said. "He just wants to gain an advantage in the divorce case." 

David Taylor's lawyer, Cynthia Grooms Marvin, said she could not talk about the case. 
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Battle Mountain, Nevada (AP):

It didn't take a deodorant company long to hear opportunity knocking after a magazine dubbed this northeast Nevada town the nation's armpit. 

Old Spice deodorant has agreed to sponsor Battle Mountain's "Festival of the Pit" from Aug. 15-17 under a new name: "Old Spice's Festival in the Pit." 

In response to the Washington Post Magazine article, the town last year launched the quirky celebration, with events such as a deodorant toss to replace the old-fashion egg toss. 

The company plans to spend about $75,000 on the festival, with events such as an armpit beauty pageant, a sweat t-shirt contest and a "quick-draw" antiperspirant contest. 

Old Spice plans to hold the festival annually in the town along Interstate 80 about 220 miles east of Reno. 

Shar Peterson, executive director of the local Chamber of Commerce, said the town is coming together to support the festival after initial mixed feelings over it. 

The town has erected billboards along I-80 reading "Battle Mountain, Voted the Armpit of America by the Washington Post," and "Make Battle Mountain Your Next Pit Stop." 

In the humorous magazine article, Gene Weingarten chose Battle Mountain for the armpit award, citing what he described as its "lack of character and charm," its "pathetic assemblage of ghastly buildings and nasty people," and its location "in the midst of harsh and uninviting wilderness." 
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Bornem, Belgium (Ananova):

Police officers in Belgium believe they have caught a burglar after two years - thanks to an earprint on a bedroom door.

The print was left during a burglary in July, 2001, when police believe the intruder put his ear to the door to make sure the people inside were asleep.

Police found it the following morning after they were called out when the householders discovered the break in at their home in Bornem.

And they believe they have now caught up with the burglar after recently arresting a man who was trying to sell a stolen mobile phone, reports Het Laatste Nieuws.

The man had distinctive ears which reminded one of the officers of the earprint from the old burglary case.

Suspecting he might be the burglar, they took his earprint and say it matches the print on the bedroom door. The man now faces burglary charges.
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