WhiteBoard News for Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Helsinki, Finland (Reuters):

One Year 2000 party is enough for most people, but a
hardy bunch of multinational revelers in remote
Northern Lapland plan to celebrate the event three
times over.

Fifty Norwegians and 20 Finns are planning to travel by
snowmobile to a deserted cairn of stones marking the
spot where the borders between Finland, Russia and
Norway meet, some 100 km (62 miles) south of the Arctic
Sea. The nearest house is 15 km away, the closest
hospital 90 km away and the landmark, which straddles
three time zones, can only be reached by snowmobile,
skis or snowboots. Temperatures can drop below -40
degrees Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit).

Finnish organizer Carola Eklundh said participants will
light bonfires, eat salmon and reindeer and drink, but
dance only if there is enough snow to cover the stony
ground,

"First the year changes in Russia at 11 p.m. Finnish
time, then in Finland at midnight and then in Norway at
1 a.m.," Eklundh said.

Authorities have approved the plan but there are snags,
she explained.

Russians living near the spot are invited but have not
yet got permission from the governor in Murmansk to
join the party.

Alcohol is allowed, but must not be transported across
the borders, which would be smuggling.
==========

Nottingham, England (Reuters):

The Sheriff of Nottingham has come to the aid of his
arch foe and helped to repair Robin Hood's longbow.

Vandals had repeatedly stolen the string from the
longbow on the legendary outlaw's life-size bronze
statue outside Nottingham Castle, in central England,
and local council officials had despaired of being able
to keep renewing it.

Frank Dennett, Sheriff of Nottingham from 1981-1984,
was so incensed he sought help from a local ordnance
company.

Now the factory has come up with a "string" made of
steel wire which it believes will make the folk hero,
who stole from the rich and gave to the poor,
thief-proof.
==========

Parksburg, Pennsylvania (APBNews.com):

A cellular phone proved to be a Christmas lifesaver for
a Sadsbury Township woman who called for help from the
trunk of her car after a kidnapper forced her inside,
police said today.

The woman, who is in her 20s, had driven to the Turkey
Hill Minit Market at routes 10 and 372 around 10 p.m.
Christmas night to pick up a few items. When she
returned to her car, she heard a man's voice from the
back seat of her four-door Oldsmobile and felt an
object pressed against her head, police said.

"He implied that he did have a gun," Parkesburg Police
Chief Brian Sheller said.

The man demanded money, but the woman said she'd left
her purse at home, Sheller said, so the man then
ordered her to drive to the village of Gap, about six
miles east of Parkesburg and 25 miles south of Reading
in Lancaster County.

There he told her to get into the trunk, Sheller said.
Once inside, the woman used the cellular phone she'd
stuffed in her coat pocket before shopping to call for
help, police said.

First, she dialed a friend of hers who is a police
officer in a neighboring town, Sheller said. The
officer relayed the information to local police, who
called the Federal Communications Commission and tried
to pinpoint the woman's location.

"She wasn't on the phone long enough for us to home in
on the signal," Sheller said.

Still, as the kidnapper continued to drive around the
county, the woman, who is familiar with the area's
roads, surmised where she might be headed and kept
calling police.

"She called us about a half-dozen times throughout the
night," Sheller told APBnews.com. "The battery on the
phone was running out, so she only had a few seconds to
call each time. She'd say she thought she'd gone a few
minutes down a certain road."

Sheller said helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard
station in Cape May, N.J., and the Delaware State
Police joined the search to try and spot the
Oldsmobile, but to no avail.

Finally, the kidnapper abandoned the car alongside a
road in Eden Township, where searchers from the
Pennsylvania State Police and local municipalities
found it just before 7 a.m. Sunday, he said.

Authorities took the woman to Lancaster General
Hospital to be treated for exposure, and she is home
today, unharmed, Sheller said.

Investigators continue to search for her kidnapper,
whom she described as a male wearing dark clothing.
Police speculate that he arranged for a friend to pick
him up when he abandoned the woman's car.
==========

Manchester, Connecticut (AP):

Donna Thivierge thought she had been robbed her wedding
ring and a diamond pendant were missing.

But the jewelry was in the hands of her 5-year-old son,
Michel, who wanted to ensure his mother got something
nice for Christmas.

The boy had heard his parents talking about financial
troubles the truck needed a new transmission and his
parents had agreed not to exchange gifts this year.

But Michel couldn't let his mother go empty-handed.

He took the jewelry and wrapped it in a bag of small
gifts he bought at a school-sponsored store. While his
mother searched for her jewelry and finally reported it
stolen, Michel kept his secret.

On Christmas Day, he presented the gifts to his mother.

"He took the bag and pulled out my things, and my mouth
just dropped," Donna Thivierge said. "I just wanted to
cry. He told me, `I just wanted to make sure you had
something for Christmas."'

She called the insurance company to cancel the claim,
but said she could not be mad at Michel because his
intentions were good.

However, Thivierge and her husband did give Michel a
lecture about not taking other people's things and they
created a new rule.

"He's not allowed in Mommy and Daddy's room anymore,"
she said.
===========

Brattleboro, Vermont (AP):

Norman Hardy Jr. pleaded innocent to drug charges. But
when asked to list his occupation? Well, he sent a
mixed message. "Selling drugs," he said.

Hardy, 22, of Brattleboro was arrested on Saturday
after police received a tip that he was returning to
Vermont from Springfield, Mass., with a half-ounce of
crack cocaine.

The caller gave a description of the car Hardy was
driving and a partial license plate number, according
to arresting officer Michael Carrier.

A record check showed Hardy's driving privileges had
been suspended.

Police officer John Frechette spotted the car as it
exited Interstate 91, Carrier said. Hardy was stopped
in Brattleboro by Carrier, who recognized him.

Hardy was initially arrested for driving with a
suspended license, Carrier said. A small pipe was found
in the front passenger seat and State Trooper David
Magdycz and his dog, Shadow, were called in to do a
drug search.

Hardy admitted to having cocaine and turned it over to
police, Carrier said. The two "rocks" of crack cocaine
weighed 14.4 grams, Carrier said. There are 28 grams in
an ounce.

Hardy appeared in Vermont District Court on Monday.

On an application for a public defender, Hardy listed
his occupation as "selling drugs," according to court
records. He also claimed $6,000 in income for the
previous 30 days, an amount Deputy State's Attorney
Susan Kennedy said made him ineligible for public
assistance.

Public Defender Paul Berch, while acknowledging that
Hardy might have incriminated himself in his
application, said his client didn't have a dime to his
name.

"Money goes in, money goes out it's the nature of that
type of work the state referred to," Berch said.

In granting Hardy a public defender, Acting Judge David
Gibson said selling drugs did not qualify as wage
income.

The judge ordered Hardy held on $5,000 cash bail.
===========

Minster, Ohio (AP):

Derrick Seaver wants a seat in the Ohio House, though
he's not yet old enough to vote.

Last week, Seaver became the first Democrat to file for
the March 7 primary in his west-central Ohio district.
The high school senior is still 17, but will turn 18
the legal voting age on Feb. 6.

He admitted his age could be a factor in the primary.

"I think that initially it'll be a bigger issue than
after awhile," he said. "I know my opponents will talk
about what they've done in the past and what I haven't,
but I feel this is about the future."

Republican John Adams says he's more concerned with his
own primary than the prospect of facing an 18-year-old
in the general election.

"Is it positive or negative? Only the voters know
that," Adams said of Seaver's candidacy.

Don Knasel, chairman of Shelby County's Democratic
executive and central committees, said he's pleased by
Seaver's initiative.

"Derrick comes across with a certain degree of
innocence rather than motives," Knasel said. "I think
he's looking at what he can do for the people."
==========

Chow
SuperChef
WhiteBoard News Service Bureau Chef
www.joeha.com/whiteboard