The week’s odd news: Monkey on loose eats mail from mailbox

ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANFORD, Fla. — A monkey that escaped its owner’s home in an Orlando, Florida, suburb chewed on its neighbors’ ail, pulled molding off a police car and rocked back and forth on a street sign.

Zeek was eventually caught when his owner returned home a short time later.

Sanford police officers responded to the neighborhood pm the morning of Sept. 28 after a neighbor called to report that a monkey was eating mail out of a mailbox.

Zeek jumped on the officers’ squad car and pulled some molding off the roof. The monkey also drank from a water bottle the officers offered as a distraction.

Sanford police officers took video of Zeek and posted it on the agency’s Facebook page. “Zeek had a little fun with our patrol car,” the officers posted in one video.

Cops: Dog slips pickup into gear, sends it into lake

ELLSWORTH, Maine — A dog alone in a pickup had to be rescued after it caused the truck to go into a lake in Maine.

A man was walking the dog near Branch Lake on Sept. 26 in Ellsworth, police say. He put the dog into the truck after an encounter with another dog.

While the man spoke to the other dog’s owner, the Yorkshire terrier managed to bump the Chevrolet Silverado into gear, causing it to roll about 75 feet into the lake, and bounce off a rock before sinking in roughly 10 feet of water.

Police say a family friend swam into the lake and saved the trapped dog. A towing company was called in to remove the truck. No humans or dogs were injured.

Motorist sets lighter to spider at gas station, burns pump

CENTER LINE, Mich. — A man with an apparent case of arachnophobia caused a fire at a suburban Detroit gas pump by putting a lighter to what he says was a spider near his fuel door.

WJBK-TV reports Sept. 26 that he escaped injury and his vehicle suffered little damage, but the gas pump was destroyed. A clerk shut off the pump from indoors and called the fire department.

The motorist can be heard on the surveillance video at the Center Line station asking: “Is that a spider in there?” The video then shows flames erupting along the car’s side, the pump and the pavement.

The man darts to safety and later uses a fire extinguisher to put out the flames. A spider is not seen.

The clerk says he apologized the next day.

Puppy love: Man travels 1,500 miles to adopt dog

PORTLAND, Maine — A New England man was so enamored by a shelter dog he saw on the Internet that he bought a one-way ticket to Minneapolis, adopted the puppy and is now couch-hopping on the 1,500-mile trek back home.

Joel Carpenter, of Portland, Maine, found Sadie online and flew out last week to rescue the dog. But he only had enough money for the flight to Minnesota to pick up the collie, German shepherd and husky mix. Sadie was picked up as a stray and landed in the shelter at 3 months old.

Now, the 23-year-old says he’s hitching rides, sleeping on couches and posting on Craigslist for help to get home.

By Sept. 30, Carpenter and Sadie were on their way to Detroit and hoped to be home within a week.

Kayaker snags owl while fishing, bird snatches lure

AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas fisherman had an unexpected catch when an owl swooped down, snatched a lure and got caught on the hook.

KXAN-TV reports that Garry Olson Jr. summoned help and the bird was eventually freed.

Olson was in a kayak on Sept. 26 at Lake Bird Lake in Austin and wearing a video recording device when the owl went for his lure. The lure got hooked in the bird’s talon.

Olson managed to get the owl on the kayak, paddled to shore and summoned animal control officers.

Olson, in the video, is calmly heard talking to the bird and saying, “Hey, owl. How are you? Are you enjoying your kayak ride? Me, too.”

A veterinarian safely removed the hook and returned the bird to the wild.

Lawsuit: Pork roll company fired employee for passing gas

TRENTON, N.J. — One of New Jersey’s top pork roll makers is being sued by the wife of an employee who she says was fired for passing too much gas in the office.

The Home News Tribune reports that Louann Clem says in the lawsuit that her husband suffered serious consequences from gastric bypass surgery. Those included extreme gas and uncontrollable diarrhea.

The lawsuit alleges that Case Pork Roll Co. President Thomas Dolan complained about the side effects and told Rich Clem to work from home because he made the office smell. His wife also worked there.

But owner Tom Grieb says neither of them was fired. He says business wasn’t good and they didn’t want to take a pay cut and walked out.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages.

Man of Steal? Cops say Superman shirt was suspect’s undoing

UPPER DARBY, Pa. — The Man of Steal was undone by his Superman T-shirt, police in the Philadelphia suburbs say.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports that Kyree Henneghan, 18, was charged with two Upper Darby burglaries that police linked him to because of the shirt.

Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood says a man wearing a T-shirt with the Superman shield broke into one home on Sept. 24 and a second on Sept. 29. In that heist, the homeowner walked in and Henneghan bolted with a laptop computer.

Henneghen made a not-so-speedy getaway on his BMX bicycle and police found him a short time later — still wearing the Superman shirt — trying to sell the computer to men in a car.

Henneghan was in the Delaware County jail.

Mistaken text message leads to love for couple

ST. LOUIS — A married St. Louis couple is sharing their unlikely love story about three years after the mistaken text message that forged their relationship.

Kasey Bergh accidentally sent a text to Henry Glendening, a stranger, in June 2012. The pair continued communicating after realizing they had a lot in common, sharing recommendations on books, movies and music, before meeting in person for the first time a week later, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Upon their second meeting two days later, they each arrived at a Kirkwood coffee shop at different times and realized they had ordered the same drink.

“From the very, very beginning it felt like we were on the same wavelength,” Glendening said.

Despite a 30-year age difference, Bergh and Glendening’s connection flourished, and they moved in together within two months.

“It really didn’t make any difference,” Glendening said. “We were so connected at that point through deeper stuff.”

He credits Bergh with helping him get out of an “awful place” in his life, which included an unhappy relationship and a dead end job.

“Kasey is a huge inspirer. She wasn’t recommending or advocating any particular direction I go, but she encouraged exploring, finding out what I want to do,” Glendening said.

Bergh believes Glendening caused her to again believe in love and change her mind about remaining single after her divorce six years prior.

“I had totally embraced I was single and that I never needed a guy,” Bergh said. “Then, I met Henry.”

Exactly two years after the errant text message, Glendening proposed to Bergh at the rooftop restaurant where they ended their first meeting, with her favorite song, “Thank You” by Led Zeppelin, playing in the background.

The couple married June 27 in front of a graffiti wall near the St. Louis riverfront.

Ghoulish figures come down at cemetery

TEMPLE, Texas — Some ghoulish decorations at a Central Texas cemetery are coming down after complaints about Halloween-type figures set up on a grave.

The Temple Daily Telegram reported that officials at Hillcrest Cemetery in Temple say the items violate cemetery decorum rules. The display includes two masked figures with skull themes, flowing garments and fake spider webs.

Authorities are not sure who decorated the gravesite.

Cemetery director Brenda Coley on Sept. 28 planned to contact relatives of the person whose grave was targeted, to coordinate removal of the items.

Coley says the site “looks like a house of horrors” and there needs to be more respect. She’s also received calls and other complaints about the decorated grave, which Coley first noticed on Friday.

Confederate flag stolen from bike parked at police station

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Flying a confederate battle flag may not be popular with some people these days — but stealing it is still a crime. Especially when it’s taken off of a bike parked in front of a police station.

State College police have released surveillance video showing the three men suspected of taking the flag from a man’s bike about 2 a.m. Sept. 27.

The Centre Daily Times reported that the man’s bike was locked onto a rack outside the municipal building, close to the police department entrance. The owner of the large flag wants it back.

Police have yet to charge anyone with the theft.

Loose emu recognizes owner, returns home in back of a Prius

BOW, N.H. — An emu famous for running wild through New Hampshire for more than a week has been reunited with its owner and returned home safely to Vermont in the back of a Toyota Prius.

The Concord Monitor reports that Kermit Blackwood figured it was a long shot that the emu loose in New Hampshire was his bird, Beatrice. It wasn’t until the Townshend, Vermont, resident traveled roughly 80 miles to the Henniker nonprofit Wings of the Dawn when he knew for sure.

Maria Colby, manager of the wildlife rehabilitation center, said she knew the emu was Blackwood’s as soon as they were reintroduced Sept. 27.

The emu moved closer to Blackwood and rolled its neck toward him, possibly recognizing him by the jacket he was wearing, Colby said.

Blackwood says Taft Hill Farm had lost two other emus about a month ago. One died after being attacked by another animal and the other was found in a neighboring town.

Getting Beatrice ready to go home wasn’t easy. Blackwood and a farm worker struggled a bit to put her into the trunk of their Prius, with the back seats folded down for extra space.

The 90-minute ride back to the farm went smoothly, after they removed a sock from the emu’s head, Blackwood said.

“Everything is well,” he said. “Beatrice is home.”

Police: Man throws fit over botched McOrder

CARLSBAD, N.M. — A McDonald’s customer in New Mexico was not loving it when employees mistakenly put pickles on his order.

Police say officers had to squash a public disturbance at the fast-food restaurant after the customer began harassing employees over the mistake.

Workers told police the man raised his voice and started throwing things off the restaurant’s counter.

Police say officers issued the man a verbal warning Sept. 30. His name was withheld because he wasn’t arrested or cited.

No one was injured.

TNT wedding favors cause evacuation at Denver airport

DENVER — A wedding gift was no joke to TSA agents checking bags in a screening room at Denver International Airport.

An agent watching an X-ray monitor spotted wax and fuses inside a checked bag at the airport.

TSA said the bride and groom’s names both start with a “T,” so their wedding souvenirs were labeled TNT. The incident happened Sept. 22.

TSA wrote issued a statement on Instagram that there was a 20-minute evacuation while bomb specialists checked the bag.

They determined that while the wax and fuses were on bottles that said TNT, inside was just bath salts. The bottles were wedding favors for guests.

Rescued horses chow down on 22 tons of donated carrots

BEND, Ore. — Carrots might no longer tempt horses at one Oregon rescue ranch — because they’ve been munching on tons of them for days.

The facility in the central Oregon city of Bend accepted a donation of 44,000 pounds, or 22 tons, of carrots after a truck carrying them crashed.

Equine Outreach operator Joan Steelhammer was offered the vegetables Sept. 25 after they were deemed unfit for human consumption. She says the haul filled a 53-foot semitrailer up to 5 feet deep.

Volunteer Gene Storm says about 80 horses have been chomping through the massive stock, and animal owners have been invited to help reduce the pile, too.

A few tons of carrots are left, but it’s still more than the rescue’s animals can consume. Storm says carrots should be available for a few more days.

‘Upside-down’ hot air balloon prompts 911 calls in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS — An upside-down hot air balloon flying in Las Vegas sparked a flurry of 911 calls, though the flight was planned.

KSNV-TV reports that the strange balloon spotted Sept. 25 appeared to be standing on its head. But the station reports there was a concealed cabin on the underside. The balloon also had a dummy cabin at the top.

The balloon comes from the company Cameron Balloons. The engineers who constructed the balloon said they worked with great enthusiasm to produce the special shape balloon.

Still, police say a number of residents called and reported that the balloon may be in trouble.

Authorities say the company had alerted authorities beforehand about the stunt.

Man gets long prison term, then marries at courthouse

GREENSBURG, Pa. — A man sentenced to at least 20 years in prison in one Pennsylvania courtroom has followed that up by walking into another courtroom to marry his girlfriend.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Greg Howard, 47, was sentenced Oct.1 in Westmoreland County Court for robbing and assaulting an elderly woman during a home invasion.

Prosecutors say the Monessen man and two other people got into the woman’s house by pretending to be delivering furniture. Witnesses say they took $13,000 and jewelry and left her on her bed with her ankles and wrists bound.

Howard’s closing argument had referenced Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and the Easter bunny. But he was silent at sentencing.

He was allowed to wear civilian clothes instead of a prison jumpsuit. He remained shackled during a brief wedding attended by five deputies and the bride’s baby.

— Compiled by Paul H. Rowe