By Nick Squires in Sydney
Last Updated: 1:21am GMT 28/03/2008
Australian police fired shots at a huge saltwater crocodile to prevent a drunken “idiot” from being eaten alive during an impromptu swim in the sea.
The intoxicated swimmer was moments away from being seized by the large saltie after jumping into the water for a bet.
The 27-year-old man, a miner working on an island off Australia’s north coast, was drinking with a friend when he was dared to swim out to a metal crocodile trap about 70 yards offshore.
“People saw this large crocodile in the water nearby and saw this idiot swimming out towards the croc trap,” said local police commander Colin Smith.
“They called police who got there fairly quickly. It started off 20 metres from him, then closed in to 10 metres and started to pick up pace for the attack.”
As shocked onlookers tried to alert the man to the approaching croc, a police officer started shooting at the animal with his Glock pistol.
“The first one either hit the croc or put him off because it swam under the water,” said Commander Smith.
“But it was still headed in the man’s direction and this is when police fired more shots ... to give him time to reach the shore. No one doubts the actions of police saved this fella.”
The drama took place opposite a recreation club off Groote Eylandt, an island in the Gulf of Carpentaria named by Dutch explorers, where in 2005 a British mine manager, Russell Harris, was killed by a 13ft-long crocodile.
Police are considering whether to take disciplinary action against the man, who ignored signs warning of the presence of crocodiles.
“(When he got out of the water) he was intoxicated and argumentative with police,” said Commander Smith.
“He didn’t seem to appreciate that police had probably just saved his life."
An assistant manager at the recreation club, Michael O’Keefe, said the man had a narrow escape.
“I reckon he had one minute to go (before the crocodile attacked him),” Mr O’Keefe said.
“It had started to pick up pace ... I’d yelled to those guys there was a four metre crocodile out there. This guy is an idiot ... he’s not from this planet.”
Growing to a maximum length of around 23ft, saltwater crocodiles are capable of killing large animals such as wild buffalo, feral pigs and horses.
Since being protected from commercial hunting in the early 1970s, their numbers have recovered from a low point of around 5,000.
There are now estimated to be up to 85,000 in the Northern Territory alone, with thousands more in Queensland and Western Australia.
Drunk, Rowdy Man Meets Taser at Glens Falls Civic Center
A man who police say was intoxicated and starting trouble had to be subdued with a taser at the Glens Falls Civic Center.
Police say 19-year-old Adam Round of Lake George tried to pick a fight Saturday night. They then say they were forced to taser him after he refused to leave when police asked him to go home.
Round was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was later released on his own recognizance.
Police say 19-year-old Adam Round of Lake George tried to pick a fight Saturday night. They then say they were forced to taser him after he refused to leave when police asked him to go home.
Round was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was later released on his own recognizance.
More Art
Wanna make sure that Art remains Mayor? Don't visit this site....
(Although props on the jockey find)
Ashlee Guyardo
A representative for Ashlee Simpson has denied claims the star was drunk during a radio interview on Tuesday, saying she was "simply just tired."
The 23-year-old appeared on Washington D.C.'s Hot 99.5 Kane in the Morning show, but attracted attention because she appeared to have trouble speaking and slurred her words.
But her spokesperson is adamant Simpson's behavior was due to her busy promotional schedule.
A representative for the star says, "Ashlee was absolutely not intoxicated this morning on Hot 99.5.
"She has been working extremely hard traveling across the country to promote her upcoming new album by performing at night and waking up very early the next day to do radio interviews in the morning -- like any of us would be -- she was simply just tired."
The 23-year-old appeared on Washington D.C.'s Hot 99.5 Kane in the Morning show, but attracted attention because she appeared to have trouble speaking and slurred her words.
But her spokesperson is adamant Simpson's behavior was due to her busy promotional schedule.
A representative for the star says, "Ashlee was absolutely not intoxicated this morning on Hot 99.5.
"She has been working extremely hard traveling across the country to promote her upcoming new album by performing at night and waking up very early the next day to do radio interviews in the morning -- like any of us would be -- she was simply just tired."
Art Madrid - Update!
The city has decided there will be an investigation launched into the Madrid Affair.
Also, the woman in the SUV - Trisha Turner, 34 - was apparently also drunk, slumped in the drivers' seat a block from Art's home, her feet pointing out the open door.
So think of this. She's slumped behind the wheel, the driver's side door open, her feet pointed out, vomit around the SUV. More vomit surrounded the Mayor, who was lying on the sidewalk when the police arrived.
Tremendous.
I for one am excited for this upcoming investigation.
Also, the woman in the SUV - Trisha Turner, 34 - was apparently also drunk, slumped in the drivers' seat a block from Art's home, her feet pointing out the open door.
So think of this. She's slumped behind the wheel, the driver's side door open, her feet pointed out, vomit around the SUV. More vomit surrounded the Mayor, who was lying on the sidewalk when the police arrived.
Tremendous.
I for one am excited for this upcoming investigation.
Art Madrid (and we're not talkin' Museo del Prado)
God Bless Art Madrid. Not only does he have a cool name, the 72 year-old retired PacBell employee and long time mayor or La Mesa, California sometimes needs special treatment. According to AP, Mesa police responded to a "911 call from around 10:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 and discovered Madrid lying on the sidewalk near the passenger side of his SUV with vomit nearby. A woman who works in the city finance department was in the driver's seat.
"The officers drove them to Madrid's home without giving them sobriety tests, prompting charges of special treatment.
The city council plans to meet Thursday to discuss the episode."
Who is this mystery woman? Was she driving, but stopped to let Art vomit and pass out? She wasn't helping him other than that? If you're having an affair with a woman at work, you'd think she'd at least stroke your hair while vomiting. Unless of course, it's just about the sex.
So many questions, so few answers. Perhaps he can help us out...
Err. Maybe not.
The town is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss the Mayor's activities. I'll post whatever follow up I can.
"The officers drove them to Madrid's home without giving them sobriety tests, prompting charges of special treatment.
The city council plans to meet Thursday to discuss the episode."
Who is this mystery woman? Was she driving, but stopped to let Art vomit and pass out? She wasn't helping him other than that? If you're having an affair with a woman at work, you'd think she'd at least stroke your hair while vomiting. Unless of course, it's just about the sex.
So many questions, so few answers. Perhaps he can help us out...
Err. Maybe not.
The town is holding a special meeting tonight to discuss the Mayor's activities. I'll post whatever follow up I can.
Substitute teacher admits being drunk in class
5:33 PM EST, February 27, 2008 - FREEHOLD, N.J.
Probation is being recommended for a substitute teacher who admitted being drunk in class.
Mary Kaminski, 54, of Middletown Township, pleaded guilty on Monday to endangering the welfare of a fourth-grade class at Manalapan's Pinebrook Elementary School in December.
Kaminski admitted bringing alcohol into the classroom in a coffee mug on Dec. 5 and drinking it during class. Students told the principal about her erratic behavior, and police were called.
In exchange for her plea, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will recommend that she be sentenced to probation on the condition that she begin treatment for alcohol abuse, undergo a psychological evaluation and give up her teaching certificate.
Kaminski remains free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing before Superior Court Judge Francis P. De Stefano on May 23.
Probation is being recommended for a substitute teacher who admitted being drunk in class.
Mary Kaminski, 54, of Middletown Township, pleaded guilty on Monday to endangering the welfare of a fourth-grade class at Manalapan's Pinebrook Elementary School in December.
Kaminski admitted bringing alcohol into the classroom in a coffee mug on Dec. 5 and drinking it during class. Students told the principal about her erratic behavior, and police were called.
In exchange for her plea, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office will recommend that she be sentenced to probation on the condition that she begin treatment for alcohol abuse, undergo a psychological evaluation and give up her teaching certificate.
Kaminski remains free on $25,000 bail pending sentencing before Superior Court Judge Francis P. De Stefano on May 23.
Drunk Norwegian goes on rampage in Salzburg
A drunk Norwegian sailor 25 years of age has gone on an overnight rampage at a parking garage in Bad Gastein in Salzburg's Pongau.
The man vandalised 23 cars parked there, causing an estimate 30,000-to-40,000 Euros of damage.
He dented car hoods and roofs, smashed exterior mirrors and windshields and broke signal lights.
The man then passed out and was found asleep by a woman early the next morning.
She called police, who found the man's shoes on an upper floor of the garage and found that they fit him.
He said that he could not remember much about what had happened but blamed it on alcohol.
He offered to pay for the damage that he had caused. The man was in Bad Gastein on a skiing holiday.
The man vandalised 23 cars parked there, causing an estimate 30,000-to-40,000 Euros of damage.
He dented car hoods and roofs, smashed exterior mirrors and windshields and broke signal lights.
The man then passed out and was found asleep by a woman early the next morning.
She called police, who found the man's shoes on an upper floor of the garage and found that they fit him.
He said that he could not remember much about what had happened but blamed it on alcohol.
He offered to pay for the damage that he had caused. The man was in Bad Gastein on a skiing holiday.
Fire = Hurty
Drunk man in ill-advised firewalking mishap
Monday, February 18, 2008
A drunk man in Wigan discovered the painful way that firewalking isn't, in fact, terribly easy, as he suffered severely burned feet after trying to walk across a bonfire.
The 23-year-old man had reportedly been drinking with a group of young people, by a bonfire which they had started on playing fields by St Annes Primary School in Wigan.
As is the way of these things, it appears he was dared to walk across the flames. Naturally, he removed his shoes and socks and did so, according to Wigan Today.
He suffered serious burns, including an amount of melted plastic stuck to his skin, probably due to the fact that the bonfire had been built partially out of plastic bread trays.
A spokesperson for the fire service said that his actions 'beggared belief'.
The fire brigade put out the bonfire and called an ambulance to take the man to hospital. An hour later, they were called back out, when the same group started another fire.
Monday, February 18, 2008
A drunk man in Wigan discovered the painful way that firewalking isn't, in fact, terribly easy, as he suffered severely burned feet after trying to walk across a bonfire.
The 23-year-old man had reportedly been drinking with a group of young people, by a bonfire which they had started on playing fields by St Annes Primary School in Wigan.
As is the way of these things, it appears he was dared to walk across the flames. Naturally, he removed his shoes and socks and did so, according to Wigan Today.
He suffered serious burns, including an amount of melted plastic stuck to his skin, probably due to the fact that the bonfire had been built partially out of plastic bread trays.
A spokesperson for the fire service said that his actions 'beggared belief'.
The fire brigade put out the bonfire and called an ambulance to take the man to hospital. An hour later, they were called back out, when the same group started another fire.
And Drunk
Jesus.
Please, "Google" the word 'drunk'. Then, click on 'News. You'll be ashamed at what you see.
The point of this blog wasn't so much to proclaim anything. It was in fact to make me feel silly when I drink, considering how I am connected to the those who are drunk and in the news, especially those in the UK (Christ, they like to get drunk).
However, considering that you've now googled drunk news, you'll see that it is littered with DUI.
And that ain't funny.
Even though it makes me feel worse about drinking.
And did I mention that I'm drunk now?
Please, "Google" the word 'drunk'. Then, click on 'News. You'll be ashamed at what you see.
The point of this blog wasn't so much to proclaim anything. It was in fact to make me feel silly when I drink, considering how I am connected to the those who are drunk and in the news, especially those in the UK (Christ, they like to get drunk).
However, considering that you've now googled drunk news, you'll see that it is littered with DUI.
And that ain't funny.
Even though it makes me feel worse about drinking.
And did I mention that I'm drunk now?
And Daft
Gun prank teen told police: " I was drunk"
A regular at a Blackpool off-licence produced an imitation gun in a drunken prank.
Teenager Benjamin Hudson had been in the shop about six times earlier that day, without buying a thing.
He had his hood pulled down over his eyes in an apparent attempt at a disguise only to be told by a female assistant: "Don't be daft Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
Nineteen year old Hudson of First Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to affray and also possessing an imitation firearm.
The offences were in August last year at an off-licence on Easington Crescent, Grange Park in the resort.
Mr Charles Brown, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said the defendant had been known to a woman working at the premises for over a year.
He went into the shop around half a dozen times that day, without buying anything.
Hudson had appeared unsteady on his feet and his speech was garbled.
That evening she and another member of staff were behind the counter when the teenager walked in.
Two other customers and a young child were in the shop.
Mr Brown told the court: "The defendant was stood there.
"He pulled a handgun from his pocket, but did not completely take it out.
"He had his hood down over his eyes in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity".
He didn't say anything, but a woman working there said: "Don't be daft, Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
A customer said: "Don't do it".
Hudson replied: "How do you know it's me?".
He walked to the door and later left.
Following arrest he told police: "I was drunk. It was a joke really".
Mr Stuart Denney, defending, said it had been an utterly foolish prank.
The weapon, a pellet imitation firearm, had not been pointed.
"If there's one place in Blackpool where he would be instantly recognised, it was this shop.
"Having been told to desist, he left the premises immediately and then hung around outside, waiting should the police come.
"He is ashamed and embarassed about what he has done.
"He has offered his sincere apologies".
Hudson was given 26 week detention, suspended for two years with two years supervision and 60 hours unpaid work.
Judge Stuart Baker told the defendant: "You would have to be completely unaware of what is going on in the community at this time not to be conscious of the real concern that there is at all levels of society, about people who carry guns or imitation guns."
A regular at a Blackpool off-licence produced an imitation gun in a drunken prank.
Teenager Benjamin Hudson had been in the shop about six times earlier that day, without buying a thing.
He had his hood pulled down over his eyes in an apparent attempt at a disguise only to be told by a female assistant: "Don't be daft Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
Nineteen year old Hudson of First Avenue, Blackpool, pleaded guilty to affray and also possessing an imitation firearm.
The offences were in August last year at an off-licence on Easington Crescent, Grange Park in the resort.
Mr Charles Brown, prosecuting at Preston Crown Court, said the defendant had been known to a woman working at the premises for over a year.
He went into the shop around half a dozen times that day, without buying anything.
Hudson had appeared unsteady on his feet and his speech was garbled.
That evening she and another member of staff were behind the counter when the teenager walked in.
Two other customers and a young child were in the shop.
Mr Brown told the court: "The defendant was stood there.
"He pulled a handgun from his pocket, but did not completely take it out.
"He had his hood down over his eyes in an apparent attempt to conceal his identity".
He didn't say anything, but a woman working there said: "Don't be daft, Ben, I know it's you. There's a kid in the shop".
A customer said: "Don't do it".
Hudson replied: "How do you know it's me?".
He walked to the door and later left.
Following arrest he told police: "I was drunk. It was a joke really".
Mr Stuart Denney, defending, said it had been an utterly foolish prank.
The weapon, a pellet imitation firearm, had not been pointed.
"If there's one place in Blackpool where he would be instantly recognised, it was this shop.
"Having been told to desist, he left the premises immediately and then hung around outside, waiting should the police come.
"He is ashamed and embarassed about what he has done.
"He has offered his sincere apologies".
Hudson was given 26 week detention, suspended for two years with two years supervision and 60 hours unpaid work.
Judge Stuart Baker told the defendant: "You would have to be completely unaware of what is going on in the community at this time not to be conscious of the real concern that there is at all levels of society, about people who carry guns or imitation guns."
Lock Me Up
Keyhole surgery? Drunk student swallows doorkey
1 day ago
LONDON (AFP) — A British student swallowed his door key to prevent friends from forcing him to go home because he was drunk, reports said Wednesday.
Chris Foster, studying computer design at Bournemouth University in southern England, had drunk six beers as well as vodka and whisky when his friends decided he should go home and sleep it off. But the 18-year-old wanted to keep partying. "My friends said I'd had too much to drink and should go to my room. But I didn't want to so I swallowed my door key," he said, according to the Daily Mirror.
He slept on a friend's sofa, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing. When told what he had done, he thought they were joking. "I thought it was a wind-up when my friend said I had swallowed it.
"But my throat and stomach didn't feel quite right."
A nurse friend advised him to go to hospital just in case -- and he was finally convinced when the two-inch (five cm) house-key showed up clearly on an X-ray.
"I was stunned when I saw the key, but couldn't stop laughing -- even the doctors were sniggering. They said 'let nature to take its course' and it appeared next day," he said.
Fully recovered -- albeit still a little sore -- Foster remains philosophical about the experience.
"I just laughed at the idea of stopping drinking, I wanted to carry on and not go home. So I dry swallowed my own door key as a prank," he told the Basingstoke Gazette.
"It didn't hurt at the time but now my throat is slightly scratched and it's so painful to eat and drink."
1 day ago
LONDON (AFP) — A British student swallowed his door key to prevent friends from forcing him to go home because he was drunk, reports said Wednesday.
Chris Foster, studying computer design at Bournemouth University in southern England, had drunk six beers as well as vodka and whisky when his friends decided he should go home and sleep it off. But the 18-year-old wanted to keep partying. "My friends said I'd had too much to drink and should go to my room. But I didn't want to so I swallowed my door key," he said, according to the Daily Mirror.
He slept on a friend's sofa, and the next morning couldn't remember a thing. When told what he had done, he thought they were joking. "I thought it was a wind-up when my friend said I had swallowed it.
"But my throat and stomach didn't feel quite right."
A nurse friend advised him to go to hospital just in case -- and he was finally convinced when the two-inch (five cm) house-key showed up clearly on an X-ray.
"I was stunned when I saw the key, but couldn't stop laughing -- even the doctors were sniggering. They said 'let nature to take its course' and it appeared next day," he said.
Fully recovered -- albeit still a little sore -- Foster remains philosophical about the experience.
"I just laughed at the idea of stopping drinking, I wanted to carry on and not go home. So I dry swallowed my own door key as a prank," he told the Basingstoke Gazette.
"It didn't hurt at the time but now my throat is slightly scratched and it's so painful to eat and drink."
Let's Go Giants!!! Pt. III
120 arrested for driving drunk in Scottsdale, East Valley
Last Update: 1:59 pm
By Ryan Calhoun
ABC15.com
Over 100 drivers were arrested in the East Valley during Super Bowl week for driving under the influence. Arizona Department of Public Safety East Valley Metro officers said they made 51 DUI arrests since Jan. 24.
The collective unit of DPS, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Scottsdale Police made a total of 120 DUI arrests in the East Valley, according to DPS. The arrests were made during a week when the annual FBR Open, Super Bowl and other related events were all scheduled in the Valley.
Several arrests were also made on Super Bowl Sunday in the West Valley by DPS officers and officers from other agencies, according to DPS.
Last Update: 1:59 pm
By Ryan Calhoun
ABC15.com
Over 100 drivers were arrested in the East Valley during Super Bowl week for driving under the influence. Arizona Department of Public Safety East Valley Metro officers said they made 51 DUI arrests since Jan. 24.
The collective unit of DPS, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and Scottsdale Police made a total of 120 DUI arrests in the East Valley, according to DPS. The arrests were made during a week when the annual FBR Open, Super Bowl and other related events were all scheduled in the Valley.
Several arrests were also made on Super Bowl Sunday in the West Valley by DPS officers and officers from other agencies, according to DPS.
But All My Mates Are Sober
Drunk man was ‘most violent in gang’
A MAN arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Colne police station struck again soon afterwards.
Burnley Magistrates heard how Anthony Fitzpatrick, 23, was involved in an altercation outside a pub on Keighley Road, Colne, and was said by the police to be the most violent in the gang.
He was seen throwing punches towards staff members and shouted and made threats as police approached.
He fell to the floor and was immediately arrested.
Fitzpatrick had earlier been given a conditional discharge for the incident outside the police station.
The defendant, of River Street, Colne, admitted being drunk and disorderly on January 27.
Fitzpatrick, who is awaiting an operation, told the bench: "I can't believe I have done it again. It's stupid."
He was fined £250 after admitting being drunk and disorderly in breach of the discharge and must pay £15 victim surcharge.
1:50pm Monday 4th February 2008
A MAN arrested for being drunk and disorderly outside Colne police station struck again soon afterwards.
Burnley Magistrates heard how Anthony Fitzpatrick, 23, was involved in an altercation outside a pub on Keighley Road, Colne, and was said by the police to be the most violent in the gang.
He was seen throwing punches towards staff members and shouted and made threats as police approached.
He fell to the floor and was immediately arrested.
Fitzpatrick had earlier been given a conditional discharge for the incident outside the police station.
The defendant, of River Street, Colne, admitted being drunk and disorderly on January 27.
Fitzpatrick, who is awaiting an operation, told the bench: "I can't believe I have done it again. It's stupid."
He was fined £250 after admitting being drunk and disorderly in breach of the discharge and must pay £15 victim surcharge.
1:50pm Monday 4th February 2008
Let the Tests Begin
Drunk crew delays Russian freight plane in Sweden
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:23:00 02/04/2008
STOCKHOLM -- A Russian freight plane scheduled to fly from the southern Swedish town of Malmoe to Moscow was delayed Monday after two crew members were found to be drunk, police said.
"The airport received a tip that the crew might be drunk since they had been seen partying through the night. A test was conducted and two of the eight crew members were found to be intoxicated," Malmoe police spokesman Lars Foerstell told Agence France-Presse.
New tests would be conducted on the two Russian crew members, a radio operator and a flight engineer, every few hours, Foerstell said.
The plane, which had been scheduled to leave at around 0700 GMT, would not be permitted to take off until eight hours after the tests came up completely clean, he added.
Agence France-Presse
First Posted 19:23:00 02/04/2008
STOCKHOLM -- A Russian freight plane scheduled to fly from the southern Swedish town of Malmoe to Moscow was delayed Monday after two crew members were found to be drunk, police said.
"The airport received a tip that the crew might be drunk since they had been seen partying through the night. A test was conducted and two of the eight crew members were found to be intoxicated," Malmoe police spokesman Lars Foerstell told Agence France-Presse.
New tests would be conducted on the two Russian crew members, a radio operator and a flight engineer, every few hours, Foerstell said.
The plane, which had been scheduled to leave at around 0700 GMT, would not be permitted to take off until eight hours after the tests came up completely clean, he added.
And On Welfare
Sorry, I'm drunk - and other reasons people are missing their benefits review
by BENEDICT BROGAN
Night out: An excuse for a no-show to a mandatory benefits review? One in five welfare claimants fails to show up for a mandatory review of their benefits. Among the audacious excuses given by absentees are that they were drunk or away on holiday.
Others included drink-fuelled brawls, hangovers, sick relatives, forgetfulness and a missed flight.
One claimant said he had fallen down stairs, another claimed he suffered from memory loss and some lamented "the irrelevance of work to their lives".
Research by the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that the Government is still struggling to trim the hidden army of longterm jobless.
The study coincides with scathing criticisms of Labour's record on incapacity benefit.
David Freud, an investment banker appointed to help reform the system, described the disabilitytests used to decide who gets some of the £12billion paid out each year as "ludicrous".
Incapacity benefit is worth up to £81.35 a week and has been criticised as a disguised way of cutting dole queues.
Embarrassingly for Gordon Brown, Mr Freud said barely a third of the 2.64million incapacity claimants are genuine. T
hat would suggest 1.9million are well enough to go back to work.
The official study found that 21 per cent of claimants failed to attend a new and compulsory "work focused interview" designed to put them on the road to a job.
Recent figures show that more than 250,000 claimants have been ordered to attend mandatory interviews since July, suggesting that at least 50,000 have ignored the call-up.
A further 25 per cent attended just one meeting before giving up.
Only 14 per cent - one in seven - made it through the full series of six interviews demanded by Government.
The Prime Minister has promised to axe the state benefits of those who refuse to take a job or volunteer for training.
He is under pressure from Tory leader David Cameron who last month announced an ambitious "tough love" plan.
Modelled on a U.S. initiative, this would see benefits for persistent shirkers stopped after two years.
The Government's research into benefits interviews uncovered a persistent reluctance to take threats of benefit sanctions seriously.
Other claimants failed even to realise their handouts were at risk.
The research paper states: "Although the majority of customers knew that the meeting . . . was compulsory, less than half of respondents who attended were aware that their benefits could be reduced if they did not attend them."
Philip Hammond, Tory work and pensions spokesman, said: "We've had seven separate announcements last summer about how Mr Brown is being radical and tough in trying to get people back to work - but this report shows that his approach just isn't working.
"Clearly many benefit recipients are just not taking what the Government is doing seriously. We need a radical, 'tough love' approach to welfare and not the timid tinkering we have at the moment."
Last month figures showed that more than half a million under-35s are living on state handouts because they say they are too sick to work. They outnumbered those actually looking for a job.
Mr Brown has boasted that ten years of Labour's "new deal" welfareto-work methods have helped 1.8million benefit claimants into work.
But he is struggling to tackle the so-called "sicknote culture" of those who opt out of work with little medical reason.
Reforms introduced by Mr Brown include renaming incapacity benefit as employment support allowance and introducing a medical test to weed out less disabled claimants.
However the tests are expected to move only 20,000 a year off disability benefits and will apply to new claimants only.
by BENEDICT BROGAN
Night out: An excuse for a no-show to a mandatory benefits review? One in five welfare claimants fails to show up for a mandatory review of their benefits. Among the audacious excuses given by absentees are that they were drunk or away on holiday.
Others included drink-fuelled brawls, hangovers, sick relatives, forgetfulness and a missed flight.
One claimant said he had fallen down stairs, another claimed he suffered from memory loss and some lamented "the irrelevance of work to their lives".
Research by the Department for Work and Pensions suggests that the Government is still struggling to trim the hidden army of longterm jobless.
The study coincides with scathing criticisms of Labour's record on incapacity benefit.
David Freud, an investment banker appointed to help reform the system, described the disabilitytests used to decide who gets some of the £12billion paid out each year as "ludicrous".
Incapacity benefit is worth up to £81.35 a week and has been criticised as a disguised way of cutting dole queues.
Embarrassingly for Gordon Brown, Mr Freud said barely a third of the 2.64million incapacity claimants are genuine. T
hat would suggest 1.9million are well enough to go back to work.
The official study found that 21 per cent of claimants failed to attend a new and compulsory "work focused interview" designed to put them on the road to a job.
Recent figures show that more than 250,000 claimants have been ordered to attend mandatory interviews since July, suggesting that at least 50,000 have ignored the call-up.
A further 25 per cent attended just one meeting before giving up.
Only 14 per cent - one in seven - made it through the full series of six interviews demanded by Government.
The Prime Minister has promised to axe the state benefits of those who refuse to take a job or volunteer for training.
He is under pressure from Tory leader David Cameron who last month announced an ambitious "tough love" plan.
Modelled on a U.S. initiative, this would see benefits for persistent shirkers stopped after two years.
The Government's research into benefits interviews uncovered a persistent reluctance to take threats of benefit sanctions seriously.
Other claimants failed even to realise their handouts were at risk.
The research paper states: "Although the majority of customers knew that the meeting . . . was compulsory, less than half of respondents who attended were aware that their benefits could be reduced if they did not attend them."
Philip Hammond, Tory work and pensions spokesman, said: "We've had seven separate announcements last summer about how Mr Brown is being radical and tough in trying to get people back to work - but this report shows that his approach just isn't working.
"Clearly many benefit recipients are just not taking what the Government is doing seriously. We need a radical, 'tough love' approach to welfare and not the timid tinkering we have at the moment."
Last month figures showed that more than half a million under-35s are living on state handouts because they say they are too sick to work. They outnumbered those actually looking for a job.
Mr Brown has boasted that ten years of Labour's "new deal" welfareto-work methods have helped 1.8million benefit claimants into work.
But he is struggling to tackle the so-called "sicknote culture" of those who opt out of work with little medical reason.
Reforms introduced by Mr Brown include renaming incapacity benefit as employment support allowance and introducing a medical test to weed out less disabled claimants.
However the tests are expected to move only 20,000 a year off disability benefits and will apply to new claimants only.
So Blame British Culture
New Fears Over Boozy Britain
By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer 11:20 AM CST, February 3, 2008
Super-sized servings of sauvignon blanc, giant goblets of grenache: wine glasses in Britain's bars are larger than ever and deepening the country's problematic relationship with alcohol, lawmakers and health officials warn.
Huge measures of wine and a glut of cheap alcohol on sale at supermarkets are fueling a worrying rise in problem drinking among adults, particularly women, authorities say.
Britain has won notoriety for reckless drinking among the young. Drunken, brawling teens and twentysomethings have become a familiar sight in town centers. Relaxed laws mean pubs whose opening times used to be strictly regulated can now serve drinkers round the clock.
The minimum drinking age in pubs is 18, but lawmakers say the crisis of excessive drinking is no longer confined to youth. They warn a steady rise in alcohol intake among older adults -- both in bars and at home -- could have a calamitous impact on the nation's health.
Some parliamentarians are putting it down to the size of the glass.
"Almost by stealth, we have ended up drinking much more than we used to in the past -- everyone is susceptible to it," lawmaker Norman Lamb told The Associated Press.
Lamb, the opposition Liberal Democrat party spokesman on health, claims almost all pubs have ditched the once-standard size wine glass which held 4.2 fluid ounces. Instead, they offer one twice as big.
"It's leaving many customers drinking more than they want to," said Lamb's fellow lawmaker, Greg Mulholland, who has called for a law requiring all venues to reinstate the smaller glass.
Jo Caddy, a 35-year-old account manager who cradled a large white wine at The Goose pub in central London, said smaller glasses hold far too little.
"I'd probably drink a bit quick and then I'd have to drink another one," she said.
Danny Blackmore, 31, manager of The Printer's Devil, another central London pub, said British culture, not glass size, is the problem. "You can serve them jugs or you can serve them thimbles -- if they're going out to get drunk they'll get drunk," he said.
Government research has found up to a quarter of adults are also consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol at home. Ministers said last year that middle-aged, middle-class professionals were the worst offenders.
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, a charity, said Britons simply have no idea how much they're drinking.
"The old rules of thumb have gone out of the window and part of that is down to the size of wine glasses," she said. "The glasses are larger and the wines are a lot stronger. It's a minefield for anyone trying to keep tabs on what they've had."
She said around 7 million Britons are regularly drinking above recommended limits -- around two standard glasses for men and one-and-a-half for women.
Women are increasingly the ones breaching guidelines -- often unaware of the potential health effects, which can include an increased risk of breast cancer, Sen said.
Britain's health department said it is so concerned that it is developing a $20 million education campaign to target adults later this year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is planning curbs on the sales of cheap alcohol in stores, has hinted he could scrap predecessor Tony Blair's decision to allow pubs to open 24 hours a day.
In a swank bar in London's legal district, Nick Sperrin, a 44-year-old client services manager, said most British venues now automatically serve wine in the largest glass available.
"People don't know how much they're drinking. There's a third of a bottle of wine in there," he said, pointing to his 8.4 ounce glass
"They just say, 'Can I get a glass?' and they don't realize they're going to get a bucket."
By DAVID STRINGER Associated Press Writer 11:20 AM CST, February 3, 2008
Super-sized servings of sauvignon blanc, giant goblets of grenache: wine glasses in Britain's bars are larger than ever and deepening the country's problematic relationship with alcohol, lawmakers and health officials warn.
Huge measures of wine and a glut of cheap alcohol on sale at supermarkets are fueling a worrying rise in problem drinking among adults, particularly women, authorities say.
Britain has won notoriety for reckless drinking among the young. Drunken, brawling teens and twentysomethings have become a familiar sight in town centers. Relaxed laws mean pubs whose opening times used to be strictly regulated can now serve drinkers round the clock.
The minimum drinking age in pubs is 18, but lawmakers say the crisis of excessive drinking is no longer confined to youth. They warn a steady rise in alcohol intake among older adults -- both in bars and at home -- could have a calamitous impact on the nation's health.
Some parliamentarians are putting it down to the size of the glass.
"Almost by stealth, we have ended up drinking much more than we used to in the past -- everyone is susceptible to it," lawmaker Norman Lamb told The Associated Press.
Lamb, the opposition Liberal Democrat party spokesman on health, claims almost all pubs have ditched the once-standard size wine glass which held 4.2 fluid ounces. Instead, they offer one twice as big.
"It's leaving many customers drinking more than they want to," said Lamb's fellow lawmaker, Greg Mulholland, who has called for a law requiring all venues to reinstate the smaller glass.
Jo Caddy, a 35-year-old account manager who cradled a large white wine at The Goose pub in central London, said smaller glasses hold far too little.
"I'd probably drink a bit quick and then I'd have to drink another one," she said.
Danny Blackmore, 31, manager of The Printer's Devil, another central London pub, said British culture, not glass size, is the problem. "You can serve them jugs or you can serve them thimbles -- if they're going out to get drunk they'll get drunk," he said.
Government research has found up to a quarter of adults are also consuming dangerous amounts of alcohol at home. Ministers said last year that middle-aged, middle-class professionals were the worst offenders.
Srabani Sen, chief executive of Alcohol Concern, a charity, said Britons simply have no idea how much they're drinking.
"The old rules of thumb have gone out of the window and part of that is down to the size of wine glasses," she said. "The glasses are larger and the wines are a lot stronger. It's a minefield for anyone trying to keep tabs on what they've had."
She said around 7 million Britons are regularly drinking above recommended limits -- around two standard glasses for men and one-and-a-half for women.
Women are increasingly the ones breaching guidelines -- often unaware of the potential health effects, which can include an increased risk of breast cancer, Sen said.
Britain's health department said it is so concerned that it is developing a $20 million education campaign to target adults later this year.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is planning curbs on the sales of cheap alcohol in stores, has hinted he could scrap predecessor Tony Blair's decision to allow pubs to open 24 hours a day.
In a swank bar in London's legal district, Nick Sperrin, a 44-year-old client services manager, said most British venues now automatically serve wine in the largest glass available.
"People don't know how much they're drinking. There's a third of a bottle of wine in there," he said, pointing to his 8.4 ounce glass
"They just say, 'Can I get a glass?' and they don't realize they're going to get a bucket."
The Wild West Comedy Show Arrives in Hampstead
Couple sues after reception disrupted by drunk party crashers
February 2, 2008
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. --A Massachusetts couple has filed a lawsuit claiming their wedding reception in New Hampshire was ruined by drunk guests from another wedding party.
Sans and Marcy Milbury of Danvers, Mass., had their reception last fall at the Granite Rose banquet facility. Their lawsuit describes drunk guests from another wedding attacking their attendants and vomiting all over the restrooms the two parties shared. Police eventually were called in when the confrontation escalated into a brawl involving up to 100 people in the parking lot.
The couple is suing the Kieley Corp., which owns the Granite Rose, claiming it failed to provide a safe environment. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
February 2, 2008
HAMPSTEAD, N.H. --A Massachusetts couple has filed a lawsuit claiming their wedding reception in New Hampshire was ruined by drunk guests from another wedding party.
Sans and Marcy Milbury of Danvers, Mass., had their reception last fall at the Granite Rose banquet facility. Their lawsuit describes drunk guests from another wedding attacking their attendants and vomiting all over the restrooms the two parties shared. Police eventually were called in when the confrontation escalated into a brawl involving up to 100 people in the parking lot.
The couple is suing the Kieley Corp., which owns the Granite Rose, claiming it failed to provide a safe environment. A spokesman for the company declined to comment.
And Need Some Pants
By BEVIN MILAVSKY
The Express-Times
(Saturday, February 02, 2008) - A 911 hang-up call last month from the 3900 block of Cedar Drive led police to a drunken woman barreling out of her driveway while not wearing any pants.
Township police Friday filed charges accusing Kathiann Talbott, 49, of nearly plowing her pickup truck into the patrol car about 6 p.m. Jan. 22 as the officers backed out of the driveway after no one came to the front door.
Talbott attempted to drive back into her garage and shut the door, but it hit the back of the truck and sprung open, allowing officers Michael McGonigle and Philip A. Mirabile to approach her.
Talbott allegedly yelled obscenities at the officers, telling them there was no way they received a 911 hang-up call from her home. While ordering them off her property, the officers noticed an odor of alcohol on her breath, according to court documents.
After asking her numerous times to get out of the vehicle, Mirabile tried to open the truck door, and Talbott allegedly closed the window on McGonigle's arm and then tried to bite Mirabile's hand.
The two officers managed to yank Talbott from the car, which is when they realized she was not wearing any pants. She allegedly urinated on Mirabile's boots and legs and told police she was partially undressed because she had just been having sex.
Talbott told the officers she met a man on the Internet and drove to a bus stop in Allentown to pick him up. When they reached her home, she told him he was not what she expected and that he should leave. He argued with her, asked for a ride back to the bus stop and then called 911, according to court documents.
Court documents say Talbott repeatedly asked the police officers to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
A toxicology report from St. Luke's Hospital indicated she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent, according to police.
Talbott was arraigned before District Judge William Zaun on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, drunken driving and harassment. She was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail.
The Express-Times
(Saturday, February 02, 2008) - A 911 hang-up call last month from the 3900 block of Cedar Drive led police to a drunken woman barreling out of her driveway while not wearing any pants.
Township police Friday filed charges accusing Kathiann Talbott, 49, of nearly plowing her pickup truck into the patrol car about 6 p.m. Jan. 22 as the officers backed out of the driveway after no one came to the front door.
Talbott attempted to drive back into her garage and shut the door, but it hit the back of the truck and sprung open, allowing officers Michael McGonigle and Philip A. Mirabile to approach her.
Talbott allegedly yelled obscenities at the officers, telling them there was no way they received a 911 hang-up call from her home. While ordering them off her property, the officers noticed an odor of alcohol on her breath, according to court documents.
After asking her numerous times to get out of the vehicle, Mirabile tried to open the truck door, and Talbott allegedly closed the window on McGonigle's arm and then tried to bite Mirabile's hand.
The two officers managed to yank Talbott from the car, which is when they realized she was not wearing any pants. She allegedly urinated on Mirabile's boots and legs and told police she was partially undressed because she had just been having sex.
Talbott told the officers she met a man on the Internet and drove to a bus stop in Allentown to pick him up. When they reached her home, she told him he was not what she expected and that he should leave. He argued with her, asked for a ride back to the bus stop and then called 911, according to court documents.
Court documents say Talbott repeatedly asked the police officers to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
A toxicology report from St. Luke's Hospital indicated she had a blood-alcohol content of 0.21 percent, according to police.
Talbott was arraigned before District Judge William Zaun on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, resisting arrest, drunken driving and harassment. She was committed to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $30,000 bail.
But I'm Told It's Not A Defense
Judge rejects 'too drunk' defense
Michael Zeigler
Staff writer
(February 2, 2008) — Although Cyon Badger admitted shooting an innocent bystander during a dispute on Monroe Avenue last summer, he claimed he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
But a judge Friday rejected that defense, finding Badger guilty of intentionally killing Adam Emling and attempting to kill bouncer Frank Hall.
Ruling after a nonjury trial Badger requested, Monroe County Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. convicted Badger of second-degree murder in Emling's death and attempted second-degree murder for trying to kill Hall.
Badger, 41, will be sentenced Feb. 20. He faces a prison term of 15 years to life to 25 years to life for murder and another 25 years for attempted murder.
Emling's family declined to speak after the verdict. Assistant District Attorney Joanne M. Winslow said they have been devastated by their son's slaying.
"I don't know if this brings closure (to Emling's family)," she said. "I don't know if they can ever have closure. They lost a totally innocent 24-year-old son."
Emling, a Florida native who came to Rochester nine months before he was killed and was living in Irondequoit, was slain outside Mark's Texas Hots on July 14, 2007.
Badger got into a fight with three young men after leaving Callahan's bar on Monroe Avenue. Hall, a bouncer at Mark's Texas Hots, intervened at one point and Badger left.
Badger went to his apartment across the street, got a 12-gauge shotgun and returned to shoot and wound Hall "for what he did to me," Badger said in a statement to police. Emling had no role in the previous fight but was standing outside.
Badger lowered the gun to shoot Hall and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire and Hall ran back into Mark's, Winslow said. Badger loaded a new shell into the gun, pointed the gun at a woman standing next to Emling, then pointed it at Emling and fired from as close as two feet, she said.
Emling was hit in the abdomen.
Michael Zeigler
Staff writer
(February 2, 2008) — Although Cyon Badger admitted shooting an innocent bystander during a dispute on Monroe Avenue last summer, he claimed he was too drunk to know what he was doing.
But a judge Friday rejected that defense, finding Badger guilty of intentionally killing Adam Emling and attempting to kill bouncer Frank Hall.
Ruling after a nonjury trial Badger requested, Monroe County Court Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr. convicted Badger of second-degree murder in Emling's death and attempted second-degree murder for trying to kill Hall.
Badger, 41, will be sentenced Feb. 20. He faces a prison term of 15 years to life to 25 years to life for murder and another 25 years for attempted murder.
Emling's family declined to speak after the verdict. Assistant District Attorney Joanne M. Winslow said they have been devastated by their son's slaying.
"I don't know if this brings closure (to Emling's family)," she said. "I don't know if they can ever have closure. They lost a totally innocent 24-year-old son."
Emling, a Florida native who came to Rochester nine months before he was killed and was living in Irondequoit, was slain outside Mark's Texas Hots on July 14, 2007.
Badger got into a fight with three young men after leaving Callahan's bar on Monroe Avenue. Hall, a bouncer at Mark's Texas Hots, intervened at one point and Badger left.
Badger went to his apartment across the street, got a 12-gauge shotgun and returned to shoot and wound Hall "for what he did to me," Badger said in a statement to police. Emling had no role in the previous fight but was standing outside.
Badger lowered the gun to shoot Hall and pulled the trigger, but the gun didn't fire and Hall ran back into Mark's, Winslow said. Badger loaded a new shell into the gun, pointed the gun at a woman standing next to Emling, then pointed it at Emling and fired from as close as two feet, she said.
Emling was hit in the abdomen.
Anti-DUI
Man so drunk he could not remember car attack
A CLITHEROE man lashed out at a car as it drove past him in the town's Church Brow, causing £100 worth of damage.
Blackburn magistrates heard the driver, Steven Jones, and his girlfriend were shocked by the unprovoked attack.
The man responsible, 32-year-old Damian James Turner, later told police he had drunk so much he could not remember what happened.
Turner, of Standen Road, Clitheroe, admitted criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £60 in compensation. A charge of being drunk and disorderly was withdrawn.
Mr Jonathan Taylor (defending) said his client accepted it had been a very unpleasant incident for the couple in the car. "He is the first to admit he has a problem with alcohol," said Mr Taylor.
A CLITHEROE man lashed out at a car as it drove past him in the town's Church Brow, causing £100 worth of damage.
Blackburn magistrates heard the driver, Steven Jones, and his girlfriend were shocked by the unprovoked attack.
The man responsible, 32-year-old Damian James Turner, later told police he had drunk so much he could not remember what happened.
Turner, of Standen Road, Clitheroe, admitted criminal damage. He was given a conditional discharge for six months and ordered to pay £60 in compensation. A charge of being drunk and disorderly was withdrawn.
Mr Jonathan Taylor (defending) said his client accepted it had been a very unpleasant incident for the couple in the car. "He is the first to admit he has a problem with alcohol," said Mr Taylor.
Let's Go Giants!!! Pt. II
Giants' Awasom arrested for drunk driving
Super Bowl Sunday has garnered a reputation for drunken behaviour, not to mention, sadly, as a day for drunken driving. But despite the constant reminders of the dangers of drinking and driving throughout the media in advance of this coming Sunday, some of the players it turns out, haven't been listening.
New York Giants defensive end Adrian Awasom was arrested for allegedly driving drunk last nigt, according to KNXV-TV in Phoenix. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the 24-year-old Awasom was taken into custody sometime within the last 24 hours.
The positive for Giants fans was that Awasom was already on injured reserve and not scheduled to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale on Sunday and therefore likely wasn't out carousing with Eli and Plaxico.
Super Bowl Sunday has garnered a reputation for drunken behaviour, not to mention, sadly, as a day for drunken driving. But despite the constant reminders of the dangers of drinking and driving throughout the media in advance of this coming Sunday, some of the players it turns out, haven't been listening.
New York Giants defensive end Adrian Awasom was arrested for allegedly driving drunk last nigt, according to KNXV-TV in Phoenix. Officials from the Arizona Department of Public Safety said the 24-year-old Awasom was taken into custody sometime within the last 24 hours.
The positive for Giants fans was that Awasom was already on injured reserve and not scheduled to play in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale on Sunday and therefore likely wasn't out carousing with Eli and Plaxico.
Like Gayle Guyardo Pt. II
Drunk Announcer Quits Sports News
Lim Kyeong-jin, a Korean newscaster, pulled a Guyardo, and went on the air feeling a bit under the weather. Wow. Two newscasters in under a week! Perhaps Gayle proved to be more of a trailblazer than I first imagined. Whether or not Lim was drunk when the picture to the right was taken has still yet to be determined.
Story by Kim Rahn below. And I for one believe that drunk reporting is perfectly acceptable.
A famous MBC TV announcer quit hosting the sports news in the wake of making on air gaffes while under the influence of alcohol.
When hosting the program on Thursday evening, announcer Lim Kyeong-jin failed to read the script properly and kept slurring his words.
TV viewers suspected Lim may have been drunk, and he admitted that he drank before hosting the program. He had drinks during lunch on the day with the program's staff to celebrate the Korean handball teams' victory after returning to Korea Wednesday from Japan where the games were held.
``He slept for a while after drinking, but was not completely sobered up. Staff members did not realize the extent of his intoxication,'' Sung Kyung-hwan, the MBC announcer team head, said.
``Lim is a veteran in sports news commentating and he has reflected on his behavior. However, hosting news under the influence of alcohol cannot be accepted on any account,'' he said.
Lim was replaced with another announcer Friday. MBC is considering taking disciplinary action.
Television viewers posted writings criticizing Lim. An Internet user with the ID ``duduri'' said, ``I understand every human makes mistakes. However, drunk reporting is not acceptable, as broadcasting is for all people of the nation.''
Let's Go Giants!
This recent playoff run by the New York Football Giants has proven to many that Eli Manning possesses the same leadership qualities of his older brother and that earlier criticism thrown his was perhaps was unfair. Those same critics, the ones who earlier cursed Accorsi, who quoted the little brother's low rating, are now believers. I was, however, never a doubter.
Like Gayle Guyardo
God Bless Gayle Guyardo, the 41-year-old morning anchor and mother of three from Tampa who was removed briefly from her coverage of the Gasparilla parade Saturday due to the likelihood of being either a) too drunk, or b) too sick with the flu to remain on her "A-game".
This of course didn't keep her from her efforts to remain on the air. Reports claim that when initially told of her conduct, she could only answer, "but ain't this the sasparilla parade?"
"I'm Drunk" salutes Ms. Guyardo, a role model for those who sometimes may question, "am I too sick to go to work?", a question this intrepid newswoman would, I'm sure, scoff at.
For full coverage of this amazing feat...click here
But Then Again, I'm French
PARIS, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A drunk broke off his rendition of a Charles Aznavour song to ask rush-hour Paris commuters for 50,000 euros ($75,000) on Wednesday, inspired by the scale of the trading scandal at French bank Societe Generale.
"Got five euros sir? No? Maybe 50,000 euros then. I'm not a banker. I'd bet it on the horse-races," said the drunk, who got no money but plenty of laughs.
Societe Generale's board met on Wednesday with the job of chairman Daniel Bouton on the line after the bank announced a trading loss of 4.9 billion euros, which it blamed on a 31-year-old who bet a total of 50 billion on share markets. (Writing by Brian Love)
"Got five euros sir? No? Maybe 50,000 euros then. I'm not a banker. I'd bet it on the horse-races," said the drunk, who got no money but plenty of laughs.
Societe Generale's board met on Wednesday with the job of chairman Daniel Bouton on the line after the bank announced a trading loss of 4.9 billion euros, which it blamed on a 31-year-old who bet a total of 50 billion on share markets. (Writing by Brian Love)
On Patron & Sister 2 Sister Magazine
Drunk Bobby Brown Lost Home & Book Deal On The Same Day
Controversial video star-turned-author Karrine Steffans forced boyfriend Bobby Brown out of her home when he lost a book deal she set up because he was too drunk for a meeting. Brown and Steffans briefly dated last year after the fallen R&B star had split with Whitney Houston.
When he was rendered homeless by his ex-wife, Brown called on Steffans for personal and professional help and she welcomed him and his entourage into her home. But when the singer started taking her for granted, Steffans kicked him out.
And the last straw was a book deal that went bad.
She tells Sister 2 Sister magazine, "I got HarperCollins interested in a book deal for him... (but) he got too drunk to go to the meeting. I was trying to help him put his life back together. He drank a whole bottle of Patron (tequila) the day before and missed the meeting, and made me look like an idiot. I was doing more than anybody else was doing."
Steffans admits she felt compelled to offer Brown a roof over his head - even after they split as a couple - because he had helped her four years ago when she was struggling. But after weeks spent buying him clothes and letting him use her brand new Mercedes, Steffans threw him out.
She says, "I wanted to help him because someone did that for me."
Controversial video star-turned-author Karrine Steffans forced boyfriend Bobby Brown out of her home when he lost a book deal she set up because he was too drunk for a meeting. Brown and Steffans briefly dated last year after the fallen R&B star had split with Whitney Houston.
When he was rendered homeless by his ex-wife, Brown called on Steffans for personal and professional help and she welcomed him and his entourage into her home. But when the singer started taking her for granted, Steffans kicked him out.
And the last straw was a book deal that went bad.
She tells Sister 2 Sister magazine, "I got HarperCollins interested in a book deal for him... (but) he got too drunk to go to the meeting. I was trying to help him put his life back together. He drank a whole bottle of Patron (tequila) the day before and missed the meeting, and made me look like an idiot. I was doing more than anybody else was doing."
Steffans admits she felt compelled to offer Brown a roof over his head - even after they split as a couple - because he had helped her four years ago when she was struggling. But after weeks spent buying him clothes and letting him use her brand new Mercedes, Steffans threw him out.
She says, "I wanted to help him because someone did that for me."
And Stuck in a Snowbank
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
OPP NEWS RELEASE
*************************
BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION, ON - A Sault Ste. Marie man faces drunk driving charges after putting his truck in the snow bank this morning.
At about 5 a.m. this morning a resident of the First Nation called the fire department after seeing an excessive amount of smoke in front of their Frontenac Street home.
Police attended the scene only to find a pickup truck stuck in the snow bank.
The driver was behind the wheel spinning the tires so bad that a cloud of smoke covered the street.
Conversation and observation of the driver quickly determined that he had way too much to drink and should not have been driving.
Just to reinforce these observations, police found open beer on the console beside the driver.
The driver was returned to the police station where he elected not to provide a breath sample.
As a result of this investigation, 40-year-old Thomas Beauvais of 188 Bloor Street, Apt. 1 Sault Ste. Marie, has been charged with three offences:
- Impaired driving.
- Failing to provide a breath sample.
- Having open liquor in a vehicle.
Police also learned that Mr. Beauvais also had outstanding arrest warrants issued by the City Police.
Mr. Beauvais was last seen resting comfortably in the City Police holding cells.
It is hoped that Mr. Beauvais will be sober enough to appear in bail court later this morning.
OPP NEWS RELEASE
*************************
BATCHEWANA FIRST NATION, ON - A Sault Ste. Marie man faces drunk driving charges after putting his truck in the snow bank this morning.
At about 5 a.m. this morning a resident of the First Nation called the fire department after seeing an excessive amount of smoke in front of their Frontenac Street home.
Police attended the scene only to find a pickup truck stuck in the snow bank.
The driver was behind the wheel spinning the tires so bad that a cloud of smoke covered the street.
Conversation and observation of the driver quickly determined that he had way too much to drink and should not have been driving.
Just to reinforce these observations, police found open beer on the console beside the driver.
The driver was returned to the police station where he elected not to provide a breath sample.
As a result of this investigation, 40-year-old Thomas Beauvais of 188 Bloor Street, Apt. 1 Sault Ste. Marie, has been charged with three offences:
- Impaired driving.
- Failing to provide a breath sample.
- Having open liquor in a vehicle.
Police also learned that Mr. Beauvais also had outstanding arrest warrants issued by the City Police.
Mr. Beauvais was last seen resting comfortably in the City Police holding cells.
It is hoped that Mr. Beauvais will be sober enough to appear in bail court later this morning.
And My Name is Kozumplik
Drunk guy in lawnmower booze quest
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wine: to blame
The long and noble history of people being found driving lawnmowers while drunk gained another chapter on Saturday night, when a drunk man in Michigan drove his lawnmower through a snowstorm on a mission to buy more booze.
According to police in Adrian, Michigan, 49-year-old Frank Kozumplik was apprehended while merrily making his way home from the liquor store. He was doing so on board his John Deere tractor mower, which he was driving down the center of the street.
Authorities say he had four bottles of wine in a paper bag with him, having already drunk two bottles (which is presumably what precipitated the booze emergency in the first place).
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Wine: to blame
The long and noble history of people being found driving lawnmowers while drunk gained another chapter on Saturday night, when a drunk man in Michigan drove his lawnmower through a snowstorm on a mission to buy more booze.
According to police in Adrian, Michigan, 49-year-old Frank Kozumplik was apprehended while merrily making his way home from the liquor store. He was doing so on board his John Deere tractor mower, which he was driving down the center of the street.
Authorities say he had four bottles of wine in a paper bag with him, having already drunk two bottles (which is presumably what precipitated the booze emergency in the first place).
Take That Homeland Security
Alleged drunk driver arrested on airport runway
Posted: Jan 28, 2008 09:59 AM
A female driver was arrested early Monday morning, after allegedly driving drunk on a Grand Junction Regional Airport runway.
Air traffic was haulted at the airport, after local dispatch received a call that a white SUV was driving on a runway near gate 17.
The call came in shortly after 2:30 this morning.
Multiple Grand Junction Police units responded to that last terminal located off Landing View Lane.
When reporter Brian Shapleigh arrived on scene, officers were searching that white SUV.
At about 3:30 this morning 36-year-old Jamie Bowden was arrested, suspected of drinking and driving.
Police and airport officials are trying to figure out exactly how she gained access onto the runway, but say Bowden may have made her way onto the runway after crashing through a fence that seals off the airport.
Posted: Jan 28, 2008 09:59 AM
A female driver was arrested early Monday morning, after allegedly driving drunk on a Grand Junction Regional Airport runway.
Air traffic was haulted at the airport, after local dispatch received a call that a white SUV was driving on a runway near gate 17.
The call came in shortly after 2:30 this morning.
Multiple Grand Junction Police units responded to that last terminal located off Landing View Lane.
When reporter Brian Shapleigh arrived on scene, officers were searching that white SUV.
At about 3:30 this morning 36-year-old Jamie Bowden was arrested, suspected of drinking and driving.
Police and airport officials are trying to figure out exactly how she gained access onto the runway, but say Bowden may have made her way onto the runway after crashing through a fence that seals off the airport.
And Pregnant
Pregnant woman charged with drunk driving
28/01/2008 6:24:02
A pregnant 19-year-old Bay of Plenty woman has been charged with drink driving for allegedly being five times the legal limit.
Police say the Te Puke woman, who is six months pregnant, had a breath alcohol level of 750 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit for anyone under the age of 20 is 150 micrograms.
Police say the woman told officers she was driving her three companions home because she was the least drunk of the group. She will appear in court next month.
28/01/2008 6:24:02
A pregnant 19-year-old Bay of Plenty woman has been charged with drink driving for allegedly being five times the legal limit.
Police say the Te Puke woman, who is six months pregnant, had a breath alcohol level of 750 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit for anyone under the age of 20 is 150 micrograms.
Police say the woman told officers she was driving her three companions home because she was the least drunk of the group. She will appear in court next month.
Either A Beer Bottle or a Fist
Isiah Thomas' son arrested in Indiana for underage drinking
NEW YORK - The New York Knicks said coach Isiah Thomas wouldn't comment Friday on a report that his 19-year-old son was arrested for underage drinking in Bloomington, Ind.
Joshua Thomas, a student at Indiana University, was arrested on misdemeanour charges of disorderly conduct, illegal consumption of alcohol and being a minor in a tavern, according to the New York Daily News. He was released from the Monroe County Jail on US$500 bail.
The News, citing a police source, said Thomas was arrested after he went to a Bloomington hospital to be treated for a swollen eye, which came when he was hit by either a beer bottle or another man's fist at the bar.
Isiah Thomas played two seasons for Indiana, leading the Hoosiers to the 1981 national championship.
NEW YORK - The New York Knicks said coach Isiah Thomas wouldn't comment Friday on a report that his 19-year-old son was arrested for underage drinking in Bloomington, Ind.
Joshua Thomas, a student at Indiana University, was arrested on misdemeanour charges of disorderly conduct, illegal consumption of alcohol and being a minor in a tavern, according to the New York Daily News. He was released from the Monroe County Jail on US$500 bail.
The News, citing a police source, said Thomas was arrested after he went to a Bloomington hospital to be treated for a swollen eye, which came when he was hit by either a beer bottle or another man's fist at the bar.
Isiah Thomas played two seasons for Indiana, leading the Hoosiers to the 1981 national championship.
Let's Get Married
Wedding day saves drunk who gave two finger salute to patrol car
by Martina Nee
A Ballinasloe man, who has spent up to 31 years of his life in jail, was saved from further imprisonment by his wedding day despite giving the two finger salute to a Garda patrol car.
Paul Greene (43) with an address at 24 New Estate Street, St Grellans, Ballinasloe, appeared at a special sitting of Athlone District Court last Monday and pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening and abusive behaviour and for being intoxicated in a public place.
A request for an adjournment, on the grounds that a complaint has been made to the Garda Ombudsman, was denied.
Garda Tom Higgins then told the court that on September 23, 2007 at 12.45pm he was driving an unmarked car with two other gardai, in the Irishtown area, when the defendant jumped out from the footpath in front of the car.
He said that Greene “started shouting” and that he put his “two fingers up in the air”. After the “two finger gesture” Garda Higgins had to stop the car and the defendant eventually moved back onto the footpath. However, when Garda Higgins was pulling the car in to the side of the road the defendant jumped in front of another car and gave the occupants the two fingers. He added that the defendant was “extremely drunk”, shouting and generally abusive, and was “not making any sense”.
Inspector Jarlaith Folan informed the Judge that the defendant has previous convictions for criminal damage, for which he received five months in January 2007, public order offences, and a three year conviction for robbery in May 2002.
Garda Higgins explained that when Greene takes drink he “loses the run of himself”. He said that on the day he was aggressive to gardai and members of the public.
“The real troubling part is that the defendant has a record second to none maybe. He hasn’t learnt his lesson and he needs to in a harsh way. To jump out in front of moving traffic and give them the salute. When I hear that the defendant had a number of encounters with the criminal justice system that worries me,” said Judge Gibbons.
Greene, who is originally from Athlone, told the judge that he has spent 31 years in prison and is planning to get married in two weeks.
“Thirty-one years in prison would be a deterrent to some, it would not deter you. You can be drunk at home but when in a public place it could be dangerous to yourself and others,” replied the judge.
The defendant, who is working on a building site, said that he took the pledge two weeks ago and that this was the first time he has done this.
Judge Gibbons said that he would give Greene a chance and put the case back to see how he behaves between now and then, especially on his wedding day.
“You’ll enjoy the day far better if you are sober, you’ll remember getting married,” said the Judge.
He remanded the defendant on continuing bail until February 18 with conditions that he remain alcohol free at all times.
by Martina Nee
A Ballinasloe man, who has spent up to 31 years of his life in jail, was saved from further imprisonment by his wedding day despite giving the two finger salute to a Garda patrol car.
Paul Greene (43) with an address at 24 New Estate Street, St Grellans, Ballinasloe, appeared at a special sitting of Athlone District Court last Monday and pleaded guilty to a charge of threatening and abusive behaviour and for being intoxicated in a public place.
A request for an adjournment, on the grounds that a complaint has been made to the Garda Ombudsman, was denied.
Garda Tom Higgins then told the court that on September 23, 2007 at 12.45pm he was driving an unmarked car with two other gardai, in the Irishtown area, when the defendant jumped out from the footpath in front of the car.
He said that Greene “started shouting” and that he put his “two fingers up in the air”. After the “two finger gesture” Garda Higgins had to stop the car and the defendant eventually moved back onto the footpath. However, when Garda Higgins was pulling the car in to the side of the road the defendant jumped in front of another car and gave the occupants the two fingers. He added that the defendant was “extremely drunk”, shouting and generally abusive, and was “not making any sense”.
Inspector Jarlaith Folan informed the Judge that the defendant has previous convictions for criminal damage, for which he received five months in January 2007, public order offences, and a three year conviction for robbery in May 2002.
Garda Higgins explained that when Greene takes drink he “loses the run of himself”. He said that on the day he was aggressive to gardai and members of the public.
“The real troubling part is that the defendant has a record second to none maybe. He hasn’t learnt his lesson and he needs to in a harsh way. To jump out in front of moving traffic and give them the salute. When I hear that the defendant had a number of encounters with the criminal justice system that worries me,” said Judge Gibbons.
Greene, who is originally from Athlone, told the judge that he has spent 31 years in prison and is planning to get married in two weeks.
“Thirty-one years in prison would be a deterrent to some, it would not deter you. You can be drunk at home but when in a public place it could be dangerous to yourself and others,” replied the judge.
The defendant, who is working on a building site, said that he took the pledge two weeks ago and that this was the first time he has done this.
Judge Gibbons said that he would give Greene a chance and put the case back to see how he behaves between now and then, especially on his wedding day.
“You’ll enjoy the day far better if you are sober, you’ll remember getting married,” said the Judge.
He remanded the defendant on continuing bail until February 18 with conditions that he remain alcohol free at all times.
Yet Still Going to School
Drunk man rides school bus
By Sonny Turner
sonny@athensnews-courier.com
Elaine Pack was alarmed when she learned an intoxicated 21-year-old man, pretending to be a student, flagged down a school bus and rode to Owens Elementary school with her 13-year-old son and other students.
She filed a complaint with county school officials after the incident Wednesday morning.
“You never know, he could have had a gun or some other weapon,” Pack said. “I’m concerned because I think the children on that bus could have faced real danger there.”
But a Limestone County Sheriff’s investigator said the bus driver, who allowed the man to get on the bus at Smith-Gover Road in western Limestone County, had no way of knowing the man was not a student.
Eric Allen Clem, of 22268 Sugar Way Road, Elkmont, was arrested Wednesday after Principal Cleo Miller saw him wandering the parking lot at Owens. He was charged with public intoxication and removed from the grounds.
“He could have passed for a student,” said Lt. Fred Sloss of the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department. “He told the bus driver he was a student at West Limestone High School, but when he got to Owens Elementary he got off the bus,” said Sloss. “The principal noticed him wandering in the parking lot and called the school resource officer.”
Pack said her son was the next to get on the bus.
“He said he got on and went to the back of the bus and sat down. He said the man then got up and walked to the back and sat down beside him,” Pack said. “My son told me the man kept asking for cigarettes. He said it was pretty obvious something wasn’t right – that he appeared to be drinking.”
Clem has previous arrests for burglary and possession of marijuana, Sloss said.
Clem told Officer Dean Murray he had taken some pain medication before flagging down the school bus. Investigators believed he was drunk.
By Sonny Turner
sonny@athensnews-courier.com
Elaine Pack was alarmed when she learned an intoxicated 21-year-old man, pretending to be a student, flagged down a school bus and rode to Owens Elementary school with her 13-year-old son and other students.
She filed a complaint with county school officials after the incident Wednesday morning.
“You never know, he could have had a gun or some other weapon,” Pack said. “I’m concerned because I think the children on that bus could have faced real danger there.”
But a Limestone County Sheriff’s investigator said the bus driver, who allowed the man to get on the bus at Smith-Gover Road in western Limestone County, had no way of knowing the man was not a student.
Eric Allen Clem, of 22268 Sugar Way Road, Elkmont, was arrested Wednesday after Principal Cleo Miller saw him wandering the parking lot at Owens. He was charged with public intoxication and removed from the grounds.
“He could have passed for a student,” said Lt. Fred Sloss of the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department. “He told the bus driver he was a student at West Limestone High School, but when he got to Owens Elementary he got off the bus,” said Sloss. “The principal noticed him wandering in the parking lot and called the school resource officer.”
Pack said her son was the next to get on the bus.
“He said he got on and went to the back of the bus and sat down. He said the man then got up and walked to the back and sat down beside him,” Pack said. “My son told me the man kept asking for cigarettes. He said it was pretty obvious something wasn’t right – that he appeared to be drinking.”
Clem has previous arrests for burglary and possession of marijuana, Sloss said.
Clem told Officer Dean Murray he had taken some pain medication before flagging down the school bus. Investigators believed he was drunk.
But Still Made it to Court - Pt. II
Defendant drunk during trial
By CAITLIN HEANEY
Evening Sun Reporter
Article Launched: 01/26/2008 04:05:30 AM EST
A man on trial for allegedly shaking and injuring his infant son was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs Friday after a portable breath test showed he was under the influence of alcohol during his trial.
Kelly Rolan Wantz, 38, whose last known address was 45 N. Queen St. in Littlestown, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.32 - four times Pennsylvania's level for driving under the influence of 0.08 - and was remanded to Adams County prison. President Judge John D. Kuhn also revoked Wantz's bail and berated him for his actions, telling Wantz he did not know what to say about how disappointed he was.
"You have created an inconvenience for the court," Kuhn said.
Wantz's trial started Thursday and resumed Friday but recessed shortly before 11 a.m. when the county sheriff's department took Wantz into custody. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
Wantz is charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment for allegedly shaking one of his month-old twin sons, Jacob Wantz, on Jan. 27, 2005. But District Attorney Shawn Wagner said Friday he did not plan to pursue the simple assault and reckless endangerment charges.
The prosecution had not yet rested its case Friday when Kuhn asked to speak privately with Wantz's attorney, Gettysburg-based Robert Chester, and Wagner, who had paused a few times while questioning witnesses earlier in the day when Wantz began speaking loudly to Chester.
Kuhn then decided to recess the trial for a few minutes, during which time the county's probation department gave Wantz a portable breath test. Kuhn later said it was brought to his attention that Wantz might have been under the influence of alcohol.
There was a concern the portable test's results might not have shown the extent of Wantz's intoxication, Kuhn said.
The jury did not return to the courtroom after the recess, so no jurors were there when Wantz left in handcuffs with sheriff's department officials.
Wagner said the prison would have to decide if Wantz needed to be taken to the hospital.
Chester said Wantz appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and believed, as Wantz's attorney, he needed Wantz sober to thoroughly proceed with the trial. Wantz was not drunk at trial Thursday, Chester said.
Wantz has not taken the stand yet in his own defense. Jacob's foster mother, Dana Talcott, was in the middle of her testimony Friday when the trial halted.
Adams County Children and Youth took custody of Wantz's sons shortly after the alleged shaking in January 2005 and turned the boys over to Talcott and her family, who live in Fairfield. At first the family did not know whether it would even take care of Jacob, she said.
"We weren't sure if he was even going to make it to be able to come to our house," Talcott said.
Dr. Mark Dias, a pediatric neurosurgeon who treated Jacob at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, testified Thursday that Jacob's injuries were caused either by slamming into an object, being shaken or both. Veins connecting the brain to a larger vein can break during such incidents, causing blood to build up in the brain. Scans of Jacob's brain show where blood gathered and that his brain shrank during the week following the alleged shaking, Dias said.
Talcott recalled visiting Jacob at Hershey Medical Center, during which time he used a feeding tube, barely opened his eyes and took medications to control seizures.
"He just basically laid motionless," Talcott said. "There wasn't a lot of response at that point."
Talcott and her husband kept Jacob's cradle next to their bed because of concern that Jacob might stop breathing. Jacob would open his mouth but could not cry like other infants when they first started taking care of him, Talcott said.
"You wouldn't know if he needed something because he couldn't cry," she said. "There was no way to communicate like a normal baby."
Jacob has undergone physical, occupational and speech therapy, but his brother has not had any therapy, Talcott said. Jacob has speech delays and difficulty with beginning and ending sounds of words, she said. People who know him can figure out what he says by the tone of his voice, she said, but it is frustrating for Jacob.
Becki Scott, an Adams County Children and Youth Services employee, testified Thursday that Wantz told her and Littlestown Police that he had been wiping down his twin sons, whom he put in their carseats on a table, on Jan. 27, 2005, when Jacob started to cry. The boy then began to fall asleep so Wantz rocked Jacob's carseat, but Jacob's head flopped forward and he was cold to the touch when, Scott testified Wantz told them.
Littlestown Police Department officer Douglas Hilyard testified Friday that Wantz was the man who dropped off a letter at the department in December 2005. The letter includes an admission allegedly from Wantz that he shook and threw Jacob into a crib in January 2005 and that his wife was not involved in the incident.
By CAITLIN HEANEY
Evening Sun Reporter
Article Launched: 01/26/2008 04:05:30 AM EST
A man on trial for allegedly shaking and injuring his infant son was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs Friday after a portable breath test showed he was under the influence of alcohol during his trial.
Kelly Rolan Wantz, 38, whose last known address was 45 N. Queen St. in Littlestown, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.32 - four times Pennsylvania's level for driving under the influence of 0.08 - and was remanded to Adams County prison. President Judge John D. Kuhn also revoked Wantz's bail and berated him for his actions, telling Wantz he did not know what to say about how disappointed he was.
"You have created an inconvenience for the court," Kuhn said.
Wantz's trial started Thursday and resumed Friday but recessed shortly before 11 a.m. when the county sheriff's department took Wantz into custody. The trial is scheduled to resume at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
Wantz is charged with aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and harassment for allegedly shaking one of his month-old twin sons, Jacob Wantz, on Jan. 27, 2005. But District Attorney Shawn Wagner said Friday he did not plan to pursue the simple assault and reckless endangerment charges.
The prosecution had not yet rested its case Friday when Kuhn asked to speak privately with Wantz's attorney, Gettysburg-based Robert Chester, and Wagner, who had paused a few times while questioning witnesses earlier in the day when Wantz began speaking loudly to Chester.
Kuhn then decided to recess the trial for a few minutes, during which time the county's probation department gave Wantz a portable breath test. Kuhn later said it was brought to his attention that Wantz might have been under the influence of alcohol.
There was a concern the portable test's results might not have shown the extent of Wantz's intoxication, Kuhn said.
The jury did not return to the courtroom after the recess, so no jurors were there when Wantz left in handcuffs with sheriff's department officials.
Wagner said the prison would have to decide if Wantz needed to be taken to the hospital.
Chester said Wantz appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and believed, as Wantz's attorney, he needed Wantz sober to thoroughly proceed with the trial. Wantz was not drunk at trial Thursday, Chester said.
Wantz has not taken the stand yet in his own defense. Jacob's foster mother, Dana Talcott, was in the middle of her testimony Friday when the trial halted.
Adams County Children and Youth took custody of Wantz's sons shortly after the alleged shaking in January 2005 and turned the boys over to Talcott and her family, who live in Fairfield. At first the family did not know whether it would even take care of Jacob, she said.
"We weren't sure if he was even going to make it to be able to come to our house," Talcott said.
Dr. Mark Dias, a pediatric neurosurgeon who treated Jacob at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, testified Thursday that Jacob's injuries were caused either by slamming into an object, being shaken or both. Veins connecting the brain to a larger vein can break during such incidents, causing blood to build up in the brain. Scans of Jacob's brain show where blood gathered and that his brain shrank during the week following the alleged shaking, Dias said.
Talcott recalled visiting Jacob at Hershey Medical Center, during which time he used a feeding tube, barely opened his eyes and took medications to control seizures.
"He just basically laid motionless," Talcott said. "There wasn't a lot of response at that point."
Talcott and her husband kept Jacob's cradle next to their bed because of concern that Jacob might stop breathing. Jacob would open his mouth but could not cry like other infants when they first started taking care of him, Talcott said.
"You wouldn't know if he needed something because he couldn't cry," she said. "There was no way to communicate like a normal baby."
Jacob has undergone physical, occupational and speech therapy, but his brother has not had any therapy, Talcott said. Jacob has speech delays and difficulty with beginning and ending sounds of words, she said. People who know him can figure out what he says by the tone of his voice, she said, but it is frustrating for Jacob.
Becki Scott, an Adams County Children and Youth Services employee, testified Thursday that Wantz told her and Littlestown Police that he had been wiping down his twin sons, whom he put in their carseats on a table, on Jan. 27, 2005, when Jacob started to cry. The boy then began to fall asleep so Wantz rocked Jacob's carseat, but Jacob's head flopped forward and he was cold to the touch when, Scott testified Wantz told them.
Littlestown Police Department officer Douglas Hilyard testified Friday that Wantz was the man who dropped off a letter at the department in December 2005. The letter includes an admission allegedly from Wantz that he shook and threw Jacob into a crib in January 2005 and that his wife was not involved in the incident.
But Still Made it To Court
Charge against ex-boxer dropped when witness shows up drunk
January 25, 2008
PORTLAND, Maine --A felony charge against a former women's boxing champion from South Portland was dropped Friday when the victim showed up in court too drunk to testify.
The prosecutor said she was reluctantly dropping the elevated aggravated assault charge against 57-year-old Margie Dunson, who could have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Instead, she will not have to do any additional jail time.
"I don't see that I have any other option at this point," District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said.
Dunson, who held the world welterweight title in 1977 and 1978, was accused of stabbing a friend, John Jackson, in the chest during an argument while they were drinking and watching the Super Bowl last year at Dunson's home.
Anderson said Jackson appeared drunk when he arrived at the Cumberland County Courthouse, and a test revealed that his alcohol content was 0.12, which is above the legal limit for driving.
The prosecutor also noted that a witness to the stabbing failed to appear in court
January 25, 2008
PORTLAND, Maine --A felony charge against a former women's boxing champion from South Portland was dropped Friday when the victim showed up in court too drunk to testify.
The prosecutor said she was reluctantly dropping the elevated aggravated assault charge against 57-year-old Margie Dunson, who could have faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Instead, she will not have to do any additional jail time.
"I don't see that I have any other option at this point," District Attorney Stephanie Anderson said.
Dunson, who held the world welterweight title in 1977 and 1978, was accused of stabbing a friend, John Jackson, in the chest during an argument while they were drinking and watching the Super Bowl last year at Dunson's home.
Anderson said Jackson appeared drunk when he arrived at the Cumberland County Courthouse, and a test revealed that his alcohol content was 0.12, which is above the legal limit for driving.
The prosecutor also noted that a witness to the stabbing failed to appear in court
But Don't Have Tuberculosis
Man with active TB found drunk in public
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A Puebloan who has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis exposed police and medical professionals to the disease again Friday, when he was found drunk in public and in violation of an isolation order issued by the local health department.
Gilbert Ortega Jr., 50, was found at 12:40 a.m. by medics in the 700 block of East Fourth Street. He was passed out drunk there, according to a report by Pueblo police officer Mindy Mangel.
Ortega was behaving combatively with ambulance personnel when police arrived.
Dr. Christine Nevin-Woods, head of the Pueblo City-County Health Department, issued an isolation order on Dec. 28 requiring Ortega to be confined to an apartment until his condition is deemed to be no longer contagious.
Ortega was treated at Parkview Medical Center and released to his girlfriend.
Police paid Ortega a surprise visit soon following his release from the hospital to make sure he was complying with the isolation order.
Officers found Ortega at home along with a 37-year-old man who shares the apartment with him and also is under an isolation order for active TB.
Police and jail staff have dealt with Ortega and his father, Gilbert Ortega, 71, multiple times in recent months. Those contacts exposed dozens of law enforcement members and medical professionals to the disease.
Police forwarded their reports about the incident to the district attorney's office for possible filing of charges over Ortega's violation of the isolation order.
As of last week, there were five active cases of TB in Pueblo
By PATRICK MALONE
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN
A Puebloan who has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis exposed police and medical professionals to the disease again Friday, when he was found drunk in public and in violation of an isolation order issued by the local health department.
Gilbert Ortega Jr., 50, was found at 12:40 a.m. by medics in the 700 block of East Fourth Street. He was passed out drunk there, according to a report by Pueblo police officer Mindy Mangel.
Ortega was behaving combatively with ambulance personnel when police arrived.
Dr. Christine Nevin-Woods, head of the Pueblo City-County Health Department, issued an isolation order on Dec. 28 requiring Ortega to be confined to an apartment until his condition is deemed to be no longer contagious.
Ortega was treated at Parkview Medical Center and released to his girlfriend.
Police paid Ortega a surprise visit soon following his release from the hospital to make sure he was complying with the isolation order.
Officers found Ortega at home along with a 37-year-old man who shares the apartment with him and also is under an isolation order for active TB.
Police and jail staff have dealt with Ortega and his father, Gilbert Ortega, 71, multiple times in recent months. Those contacts exposed dozens of law enforcement members and medical professionals to the disease.
Police forwarded their reports about the incident to the district attorney's office for possible filing of charges over Ortega's violation of the isolation order.
As of last week, there were five active cases of TB in Pueblo
Unlike Well-to-do Sections of Society
Drunk man molests air hostesses
There’s been another case of molestation of flight attendants, this time on a Goa-Mumbai-Delhi SpiceJet flight.
The incident, for which Delhi resident Raj Singh Hooda was booked, occurred on January 21 while the flight was airborne between Mumbai and Delhi. It comes close on the heels of Jaipur businessman Ved Prakash being thrown off a GoAir flight at Mumbai airport on January 17 for molesting a flight attendant.
According to the first information report filed at Palam police station in Delhi, Hooda was drunk when he boarded the plane. The four victims told police that he started groping them once the flight took off from Mumbai. Hooda refused to behave despite several warnings. Hooda was handed over to the police as soon as the flight landed.
The police booked him under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, which amounts to assault or criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty. Hooda, a farmer, by profession was let off on bail later.
A SpiceJet spokesperson, confirming the incident, said: “We have filed a complaint.”
Unlike in the GoAir case, the SpiceJet flight attendants gave statements to the police at the time of the complaint. Prakash, the GoAir offender, was let off after being fined Rs 1,200 because the incident occurred close to take-off and the victims did not get a chance to speak to the police. Prakash has not yet been arrested.
Aviation experts said the industry would have to plan for such challenges as low-cost carriers like SpiceJet and GoAir have dramatically changed flier profiles in India. “Till half a decade ago when air travel was limited to the well-to-do sections of society, such incidents were rare,” said Gurcharan Bhatura, secretary-general, Federation of Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, an industry think tank.
There’s been another case of molestation of flight attendants, this time on a Goa-Mumbai-Delhi SpiceJet flight.
The incident, for which Delhi resident Raj Singh Hooda was booked, occurred on January 21 while the flight was airborne between Mumbai and Delhi. It comes close on the heels of Jaipur businessman Ved Prakash being thrown off a GoAir flight at Mumbai airport on January 17 for molesting a flight attendant.
According to the first information report filed at Palam police station in Delhi, Hooda was drunk when he boarded the plane. The four victims told police that he started groping them once the flight took off from Mumbai. Hooda refused to behave despite several warnings. Hooda was handed over to the police as soon as the flight landed.
The police booked him under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, which amounts to assault or criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty. Hooda, a farmer, by profession was let off on bail later.
A SpiceJet spokesperson, confirming the incident, said: “We have filed a complaint.”
Unlike in the GoAir case, the SpiceJet flight attendants gave statements to the police at the time of the complaint. Prakash, the GoAir offender, was let off after being fined Rs 1,200 because the incident occurred close to take-off and the victims did not get a chance to speak to the police. Prakash has not yet been arrested.
Aviation experts said the industry would have to plan for such challenges as low-cost carriers like SpiceJet and GoAir have dramatically changed flier profiles in India. “Till half a decade ago when air travel was limited to the well-to-do sections of society, such incidents were rare,” said Gurcharan Bhatura, secretary-general, Federation of Aviation and Sustainable Tourism, an industry think tank.
Like A University at Albany Student
Police say intoxicated man smashed in door at Harriman State Office Campus and slept there
Friday, January 25, 2008
ALBANY -- A University at Albany student trying to get home after a night of drinking downtown allegedly smashed in a door at the Harriman State Office Campus and fell asleep inside Thursday morning, State Police said.
Troopers found Daniel Johnson, 19, passed out in a second-floor hallway of the Department of Taxation and Finance Building after a grounds worker called around 5:25 a.m. to report a drunken man at that location, said Sgt. Kern Swoboda. Johnson lives nearby at UAlbany's uptown campus.
"He was unable to recall how he got to the state office campus, how he got into the building, or how he became injured," Swoboda said.
The student was "extremely intoxicated" and had a cut over his left eye and another one on the back of his head when troopers Kenneth Ahigian and Ben Fitelson arrived, Swoboda said
Police found a garbage can next to the shattered glass downstairs, which Johnson apparently used to smash the locked door's glass.
Johnson told police he was trying to get back to his dorm. The teen from Hopewell Junction claimed he had been drinking at a "downtown establishment," but didn't say which one, Swoboda said.
It's standard procedure for police to try to find out where the alcohol was obtained in cases of underage drinking, Swoboda said.
Johnson faces the felony charge of possession of a forged instrument for changing the birth date on his driver's license, Swoboda said.
He also was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing, both misdemeanors. Johnson was released after an appearance in Albany City Court. He's due back on Feb. 14.
Friday, January 25, 2008
ALBANY -- A University at Albany student trying to get home after a night of drinking downtown allegedly smashed in a door at the Harriman State Office Campus and fell asleep inside Thursday morning, State Police said.
Troopers found Daniel Johnson, 19, passed out in a second-floor hallway of the Department of Taxation and Finance Building after a grounds worker called around 5:25 a.m. to report a drunken man at that location, said Sgt. Kern Swoboda. Johnson lives nearby at UAlbany's uptown campus.
"He was unable to recall how he got to the state office campus, how he got into the building, or how he became injured," Swoboda said.
The student was "extremely intoxicated" and had a cut over his left eye and another one on the back of his head when troopers Kenneth Ahigian and Ben Fitelson arrived, Swoboda said
Police found a garbage can next to the shattered glass downstairs, which Johnson apparently used to smash the locked door's glass.
Johnson told police he was trying to get back to his dorm. The teen from Hopewell Junction claimed he had been drinking at a "downtown establishment," but didn't say which one, Swoboda said.
It's standard procedure for police to try to find out where the alcohol was obtained in cases of underage drinking, Swoboda said.
Johnson faces the felony charge of possession of a forged instrument for changing the birth date on his driver's license, Swoboda said.
He also was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing, both misdemeanors. Johnson was released after an appearance in Albany City Court. He's due back on Feb. 14.
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