Let's face it: this has been an intense year for news. In other annums you could close your eyes, go away for a few days, drink yourself under the table, and not much would have happened when you finally surfaced. This year, if you didn't click on the headlines the second you woke up, you might miss a war or a hurricane or another well-known figure in trouble over sex or money or Russians or all of the above. And that's just before breakfast.
So as a public service the folks in the GA Newsroom have collected just some of the other important stories you might have missed in the last 12 months. Partisans of both sides, stand down: there's not a Trump among them.
January 3. Bartell Drugs in Pullman WA issued a recall for an $18 pair of Strideline socks supposedly sporting a Washington State University Cougars theme. However, the logo on the socks was from the school's arch rivals, the University of Washington Huskies. The error was the result of someone on the design team failing to switch out the mascots when the sock design was adapted for the Cougars. "It's pretty unfortunate," co-founder Jake Director told the Seattle Times.
February 8. Customs officers in Texas examining a shipment of key limes from Mexico discovered nearly 4,000 pounds of marijuana disguised as citrus fruits. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents used a non-intrusive imagining system and canine team and found that 34,764 of the "limes" were actually small packages of weed disguised to blend in with the fruits. They estimated the 3,947.37 pounds of marijuana had an estimated street value of $789,467. The case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations agents.
March 17. A Washington state Costco shopper had to shed his pants when his cellphone abruptly caught fire in his pocket. A store manager said the phone's flames had died down by the time employees arrived with a fire extinguisher. He said the man had managed to remove his pants fast enough to avoid being injured. However, the manager did note that the phone left a scorch mark on the floor of the aisle. The shopper was given a new pair of pants.
May 11. Officials at a Connecticut school said a sign that misspelled "entrance" as "enterance" went unnoticed for several months. North Branford Public Schools Superintendent Scott Schoonmaker said the "North Branford High School Main Enterance" sign was put up in August after being made by an outside company. "I've probably driven by that sign a thousand times," the superintendent said, "but you're not paying attention, you're coming and going."
August 30. An Indiana couple finally achieved their decades-long quest to eat at all 645 U.S. Cracker Barrel locations. Ray Yoder and his wife Wilma celebrated his 81st birthday by traveling from their 40-acre farm in Goshen, IN to dine at the final location on their list in Tualatin, OR. Most of the couple's Cracker Barrel stops had come by car as part of previously planned vacations, but the restaurant chain decided to fly the couple out to the west coast on an all-expense paid trip for their final stop. The couple enjoyed their favorite meals of blueberry waffles and eggs with sausage.
October 6. A strange smell that prompted a hazmat response at a Baltimore high school was found to have a seasonal, but not unusual cause: a pumpkin spice air freshener. Officials evacuated Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and summoned emergency personnel including the Baltimore City Fire Department's hazmat team to investigate. "Five members of our community were transported to area hospitals as a precautionary measure," said Baltimore Fire Chief Roman Clark. "After extensive testing, the BCFD determined that the building was safe. It's pumpkin spice. It is not hazardous at all."
November 20. England's Doncaster Council held a series of Twitter polls to allow the public to name its two new salt-spreading vehicles. They were joining a fleet that included "Mr. Plow," "The Subzero Hero," "Gritney Spears," "Brad Grit" and "Usain Salt." The winners were "David Plowie" and "Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney." Said Deputy Mayor Glyn Jones, "We look forward to Usain Salt, David Plowie and the rest of the gang keeping our roads safe this winter."
So now you know.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford reads the paper cover to cover. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
So as a public service the folks in the GA Newsroom have collected just some of the other important stories you might have missed in the last 12 months. Partisans of both sides, stand down: there's not a Trump among them.
January 3. Bartell Drugs in Pullman WA issued a recall for an $18 pair of Strideline socks supposedly sporting a Washington State University Cougars theme. However, the logo on the socks was from the school's arch rivals, the University of Washington Huskies. The error was the result of someone on the design team failing to switch out the mascots when the sock design was adapted for the Cougars. "It's pretty unfortunate," co-founder Jake Director told the Seattle Times.
February 8. Customs officers in Texas examining a shipment of key limes from Mexico discovered nearly 4,000 pounds of marijuana disguised as citrus fruits. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents used a non-intrusive imagining system and canine team and found that 34,764 of the "limes" were actually small packages of weed disguised to blend in with the fruits. They estimated the 3,947.37 pounds of marijuana had an estimated street value of $789,467. The case was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations agents.
March 17. A Washington state Costco shopper had to shed his pants when his cellphone abruptly caught fire in his pocket. A store manager said the phone's flames had died down by the time employees arrived with a fire extinguisher. He said the man had managed to remove his pants fast enough to avoid being injured. However, the manager did note that the phone left a scorch mark on the floor of the aisle. The shopper was given a new pair of pants.
May 11. Officials at a Connecticut school said a sign that misspelled "entrance" as "enterance" went unnoticed for several months. North Branford Public Schools Superintendent Scott Schoonmaker said the "North Branford High School Main Enterance" sign was put up in August after being made by an outside company. "I've probably driven by that sign a thousand times," the superintendent said, "but you're not paying attention, you're coming and going."
August 30. An Indiana couple finally achieved their decades-long quest to eat at all 645 U.S. Cracker Barrel locations. Ray Yoder and his wife Wilma celebrated his 81st birthday by traveling from their 40-acre farm in Goshen, IN to dine at the final location on their list in Tualatin, OR. Most of the couple's Cracker Barrel stops had come by car as part of previously planned vacations, but the restaurant chain decided to fly the couple out to the west coast on an all-expense paid trip for their final stop. The couple enjoyed their favorite meals of blueberry waffles and eggs with sausage.
October 6. A strange smell that prompted a hazmat response at a Baltimore high school was found to have a seasonal, but not unusual cause: a pumpkin spice air freshener. Officials evacuated Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and summoned emergency personnel including the Baltimore City Fire Department's hazmat team to investigate. "Five members of our community were transported to area hospitals as a precautionary measure," said Baltimore Fire Chief Roman Clark. "After extensive testing, the BCFD determined that the building was safe. It's pumpkin spice. It is not hazardous at all."
November 20. England's Doncaster Council held a series of Twitter polls to allow the public to name its two new salt-spreading vehicles. They were joining a fleet that included "Mr. Plow," "The Subzero Hero," "Gritney Spears," "Brad Grit" and "Usain Salt." The winners were "David Plowie" and "Gritsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Anti-Slip Machiney." Said Deputy Mayor Glyn Jones, "We look forward to Usain Salt, David Plowie and the rest of the gang keeping our roads safe this winter."
So now you know.
-END-
Marc Wollin of Bedford reads the paper cover to cover. His column appears regularly in The Record-Review, The Scarsdale Inquirer and online at http://www.glancingaskance.blogspot.com/, as well as via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
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