Reptile crossings key to their preservation
WOLF LAKE, Ill. “”mdash; Why did the snake cross the road? On one
U.S. Forest Service Lane, it had the whole thing to itself.
Federal officials say Road No. 345 is the only government-owned
road that closes traffic ““ twice a year, during migration
seasons ““ to protect reptiles and amphibians.
As one endangered water snake made its way across the road,
slowly slithering to its winter den from the swamp where it spent
the summer, state herpetologist Scott Ballard extolled the
program’s benefits.
“Had a car come by just then, that would have been one
fewer female green snake,” Ballard said as he stepped over
the foot-long juvenile.
According to Ballard, the relatively warm climate of far
southern Illinois beckons species usually found in the deep South
like the salmon-and-black colored mud snake and green tree frog
““ tiny creatures that hop across the road every few
minutes.
Bobbling gunman loses control of tricycle, car,
gun
SALEM, Ore. “”mdash; A gunman who allegedly tried to hijack a car
was apparently no better at driving it than he was at maneuvering
his original vehicle: a tricycle.
He also wasn’t very handy with the gun.
Oswaldo Valenciano, 24, was arrested Tuesday and will be booked
at the Marion County Jail on felony charges, Lt. Dan Cary said.
Police were called after receiving reports that a man on a
tricycle had been firing gunshots and had slammed into a car, Cary
said.
“The tricycle pilot picked himself up and demanded to be
taken to the hospital,” Cary said, adding that Valenciano
then tried to commandeer a nearby car.
“(The driver) gets out of his car and starts asking people
to call 911. Valenciano then gets out, mounts his trike ““ and
promptly falls over.”
At that point, a police car arrived, prompting Valenciano to
abandon his tricycle and get into the front seat of
Rodriguez’s car, still armed with his handgun, according to
police reports.
“Officers saw the weapon and ordered Valenciano out of the
car,” Cary said. “Instead he puts the car in gear and
tosses a handgun out. He fails to notice that the emergency brake
is still set.”
Valenciano eventually hit a street sign, lost control of the car
and tried to hide in a nearby sports utility vehicle, police
said.
Basketball team posts a game-long goose egg
OLIVET, Mich. “”mdash; Shutouts happen in baseball, hockey and
football. But basketball?
The Leslie High School girls’ basketball team failed to
score a single point in a 61-0 loss to Olivet on Tuesday night.
Leslie’s players missed all 24 of their shots from the
field and all four foul shots. The Blackhawks (0-13) entered
averaging 15 points a game, with their highest output this season
at 22.
Olivet (14-0) is ranked third in the state in Class C and
already beat Leslie 56-9 this season.
“The whole bus ride home, I couldn’t believe
it,” Leslie coach Jay Harkness told the Jackson Citizen
Patriot. “We missed layups. We missed 2-footers. Everything
that could go wrong did.”
Dog defies odds in his ordeal with an arrow
CRYSTAL CITY, Mo. “”mdash; This wasn’t a wild or crazy kind
of dog ““ just lucky.
Luther, a black Labrador, was found on a Jefferson County road
with an arrow sticking through his head. He was expected to
recover.
Authorities believe a hunter may have intentionally shot the dog
with a bow-and-arrow, the tip going in below the right ear and
poking out on the left side of the head.
Since the arrow narrowly missed the brain and spine, folks
around here have taken to calling the dog “Lucky
Luther.”
The dog was carried into the Jones Animal Health Clinic in
Crystal City the evening of Oct. 9. The county sheriff’s
department is investigating.
“This was clearly intentional. It would be a pretty far
stretch to mistake a black Lab for a deer,” said Dr. Thomas
Butch Jones, the veterinarian who treated Luther.
Judging by how the arrow was situated, Jones said a hunter may
have shot Luther at close range, worried the dog would scare away
deer.
GM drops risque-named Buick car in Quebec
NEW YORK “”mdash; It’s all in the name. General Motors
Corp. has scrapped plans to replace the Buick Regal with the Buick
LaCrosse in Canada because in the French-speaking province of
Quebec, “lacrosse” means to masturbate, among other
things.
GM Canada spokesman Stew Low told the La Crosse Tribune in
Wisconsin last Friday that in Quebec youth culture the word is a
new slang term.
He told the paper he first learned of the new slang usage about
six weeks ago. In organized focus groups in Quebec, young
participants giggled when they heard the name of the new car, Low
said.
La Crosse Mayor John Medinger said Friday that he was not aware
of the slang in Canada until the Tribune told him.
“These slang phrases come and go, and hopefully this one
won’t stick around too long,” Medinger was quoted in
the paper.
GM has not said when the Buick LaCrosse will debut. The company
said plans to replace the Buick Regal with the Buick LaCrosse in
the U.S. will continue, but that it will give the new car a
different name in Canada.
Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.