Check My Sanity

The footwear belonged to retailer Mr. Alan’s, which estimates the thieves got away with $40,000 worth of shoes, WDIV-TV of Detroit reported.

Mr. Alan’s Chief Executive Officer Roger Turner said he wasn’t surprised by the theft.

“In this bad economy, I guess anything is possible,” Turner was quoted by the station as saying.

Security cameras reportedly recorded the theft. The tape showed two men hooking the trailer onto their truck and then driving off. Police have no leads in the case, WDIV reported.

“The cameras were not enough of a deterrent. Somebody was bold enough to actually pull up a truck to the trailer and pull it away,” Turner said.

The trailer was found just blocks away from the loading dock. The trailer was not damaged.

The Derby Moor Community College secondary school teacher, who was not identified, was suspended by head teacher Wendy Whelan pending an inquiry, after it was disclosed that 11- and 12-year-old students who came late to his class were punished in a variety of ways — including being forced to do pushups, sit-ups, jumping jacks, and to tell jokes in front of the class, The Mirror reported Friday.

The students helped the teacher compile the list of punishments and offenders were allowed to choose their punishment from the list, The Mirror said.

Ian Jennison of the National Union for Teachers said suspending the instructor was an “overreaction.”

“The school is going to come out of all this looking foolish,” he said.

staff report
Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Ryan Turner said while he prompted the trap’s presence on a city-owned lot next to his home, he felt compelled to help the skunk once the sun began beating down, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Sunday.

The incident began when a skunk wandered into Turner’s home and filled his bedroom with its noxious spray. Turner responded by contacting authorities who placed a trap nearby.

The animal was snared in the trap the night of Aug. 1, but when the sun came up the next day Turner began to feel pangs of guilt about the animal’s predicament.

“Leaving an animal to die in a metal trap over the weekend isn’t humane, he said.

The livestock should have been logged into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ tracking system but something went wrong, The Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

“Laptops, data and now cows, is there anything this government cannot misplace?” asked Peter Ainsworth, the Shadow Environment secretary. “Defra’s performance would do credit to Little Bo Peep.”

The cattle tracing system was set up to protect the public and animals after the mad cow and foot and mouth epidemics.

Last week Britain’s Ministry of Defense revealed a computer hard drive with the private details of 100,000 members of the Armed Forces was missing.

In August, a memory stick containing data on all prisoners in England and Wales was lost by a Home Office contractor.

Joey Chestnut downed 45 slices of pizza in just 10 minutes to become the new world pizza eating champion, the New York Daily News reported Monday.

“I might be on a liquid diet tonight,” said Chestnut, 24, of San Jose. Calif. after winning the Famiglia pizza-eating contest Sunday.

Chestnut beat 10 other contenders, including the previous record holder, with a technique that gives new meaning to the expression “fast food,” the newspaper said.

He folded slices of pizza quickly and then shoved them into his mouth, appearing not to chew.

Chestnut said his breakfast before Sunday’s contest consisted of coffee and a gallon of water to stretch his stomach muscles.

Chestnut consumed 11,700 calories and 450 grams of fat to win $5,000.

Authorities in Jersey County say deputies were checking up on the Cabin Tavern in Delhi, Ill., 35 miles north of St. Louis Thursday afternoon when they walked in and allegedly found bartender Janet Brannon tending bar minus clothing, the Alton (Ill.) Telegraph reported.

Since Brannon, 33, of East Alton, Ill., was the only employee present, deputies closed the bar and arrested her on an outstanding warrant from Jerseyville, the newspaper said. She was charged with public indecency and jailed on $8,000 bond, prosecutors said.

“In addition to the charges against the bartender, the county will also seek charges against the owners of the Cabin Tavern,” Jersey County State’s Attorney Ben Goetten told the Telegraph.

Farmer Graham Vallis said by conducting a meditative mooing session with his cows for five minutes before each milking session, he has been able to increase the amount of milk he gets from them, The Sun reported Saturday.

Vallis said he accidentally happened upon the technique during a routine tea break.

“I often take my tea break with my cows, but on one occasion suddenly I became deeply relaxed,” he said.

“I realized it was the mooing. I started mooing in time and they crowded round like the Pied Piper,” he added, referring to the mythical character who could lead rats with music.

The Sun said Vallis’s advice has been heeded by the Federation of Organic Milk Groups, which has passed along the recommendation to its 450 members.