OFFBEAT NEWS:
North Carolina environmental officials are investigating an offensive odor in multiple neighborhoods that residents compared to cat urine. Brad Newland, the Wilmington regional office’s supervisor for the N.C. Division of Air Quality, confirmed the agency has received several complaints about a cat urine-like odor in the Carolina Heights and Ardmore neighborhoods of Wilmington.
Newland said the odor is believed to be a result of a facility or a mixture of facilities dealing with industrial chemicals, but the exact source is difficult to pinpoint.
He said an investigation was conducted when residents reported a particularly strong odor on the weekend of Nov. 25.
Newland said previous probes into cat urine odors in Wilmington have focused on a facility run by Fortron. The company, jointly owned by Celanese’s Ticona and Japan-based Kureha Corp, manufactures a heat-resistant polymer known as polyphenylene sulfide.
Residents said the cat urine smell has been a periodic problem for years, and locals have also pointed fingers at the Invista plant and the International Paper plant.
Newland said there is a long list of suspects. He encouraged residents to quickly notify officials when they detect stronger-than-usual smells.
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Police in Kansas announced they have recovered the locally-beloved Russell Stover Candies bear statue more than a year after it was stolen.
The Abilene Police Department announced in a Facebook post that the 150-pound, 4-foot-tall statue of a bear being covered in chocolate was recovered Wednesday after being stolen on the evening of Nov. 4, 2016, from outside the Russell Stover factory and candy store in Abilene.
“This had become a running joke,” Abilene Police Department Assistant Chief Jason Wilkins told the Wichita Eagle. “We followed several leads and it never worked out, so we are extremely pleased to return it.”
Police said a deputy with Dickinson County Sheriff’s Office received a tip Wednesday morning that led to the bear being discovered in a garage in Salina.
Investigators said the bear was found undamaged.
It was unclear whether any suspects had been identified in the theft.
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A ghoulish holiday tradition outside of Cincinnati will soon come to a close after an Ohio man said he won’t put up his “zombie Nativity” scene after this year.
Sycamore Township’s Jasen Dixon said he originally wasn’t planning to install the display this Christmas season.
Dixon installed the display complete with zombie Mary and zombie baby Jesus in early December. He said he’ll put it in storage or sell it after it’s taken down sometime after Christmas.
When it debuted four years ago, the nativity scene made news worldwide and was met with both scorn and celebration.
Sycamore Township in previous years took Dixon to court for alleged zoning violations because of the structure built over the display but eventually dropped the case.
Dixon’s attorney argued the township was trying to suppress his freedoms.
The township didn’t issue any fines against Dixon last December and apparently won’t go after him this year.
Township zoning administrator Harry Holbert Jr. said it’s not worth employee time and effort to fight the display.
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STUPID CRIMINALS:
Henry the monkey is missing. Carl Minix says someone broke into his Southwest Ranches, Florida home and stole just his pet, nothing else. Minix is now offering a $10-thousand reward for Henry, partly because having a pet monkey in Florida is no easy feat. It’s not easy to own a monkey – owners even have to have a permit. “You need 1-thousand hours to be able to get a permit in the State of Florida, so I worked for a long time to get him,” Minix explains.
Authorities in St. Albans, Vermont responded to a local business after getting a call about a potential bomb. After some investigating, cops discovered a beeping package with wires and aluminum foil sticking out was located in a dumpster. Instead of an explosive, though, the bomb squad thinks the suspicious package was likely just material stolen from a nearby store. Police are searching for the thief, who not only stole, but also accidentally caused a full on bomb squad response.
Jesse Berube called police after getting stuck in a Citrus Heights, Florida chimney. He was able to reach his cell phone and call for help, but it’s unclear when the 32-year-old decided to tell authorities that he slid down the chimney of the business to try and rob it. Berube, whose been dubbed a “bad Santa,” walked away uninjured, but is now facing a burglary charge.
