Watercooler Stories

Residents complain of pig farm stench

TEWKSBURY, Mass., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts pig farmer says his neighbors are kicking up a stink about the stench radiating from his property.

A group of citizens in the Tewksbury area are pushing for an Oct. 2 vote on whether to regulate swine farms after numerous complaints about the smell emanating from John Cave Sr.'s farm, which houses more than 900 pigs and holds a 500,000-gallon manure pit, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Organizers said the petition, which is backed by state Sen. Susan Tucker, D-Andover, has already received more than 300 signatures in the town of about 30,000.

"I don't want to lose what I've worked all my life for," Cave said. "It stinks."

Neighbors have said the pig farm was much smaller when they moved to the area. However, Scott Soares, assistant commissioner of agricultural resources, said neighbors should have asked about whether the farm was going to grow before they decided to move in.

"It comes down to people really understanding what agriculture is. It's not a hobby for these folks, it's a way of life," he said.

Oregon court mulls deer ownership

HILLSBORO, Ore., Sept. 24 (UPI) -- An Oregon appellate court is hearing a case about a deer that a couple in the town of Molalla adopted as a pet seven years ago.

The court questioned attorneys representing the state and the Molalla couple, James Filipetti and Francesca Mantei, about Snowball the deer, which was sized from their farm by officials who said they did not own the proper permits for the animal, The (Portland) Oregonian reported Wednesday.

A Clackamas County judge ruled last year to have the animal returned to the couple, but the state appealed.

The appeals court, which met in Hillsboro's Century High School auditorium to allow students to observe the proceedings, is not expected to rule on the case for several months.

Teacher warned for giving pupils cat food

ALINGSAS, Sweden, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Local officials in the Swedish town of Alingsas have censured a preschool teacher who once encouraged children in her class to eat cat food.

The teacher gave the children cat food to taste in February, when the class was working on a project about cats, TT, the Swedish news service, reported Wednesday.

"We have decided to put this behind us and move on," Alingsas council spokesman Niels Bredberg told a local newspaper.

Principal Cecilia Knutsson issued a warning to the teacher, calling the her actions "unethical and inappropriate," it was reported.

"You have shown poor judgment in giving the children cat food," Knutsson in the teacher's warning letter.

Some parents have expressed their support for the teacher.

"We have the utmost confidence in her and her otherwise sound educational work," parents wrote in a plea to the disciplinary board.

Charges dropped in banana prank case

FLOWER MOUND, Texas, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Officials in a Texas school district have dropped charges against two students arrested after dashing across a football field dressed as a banana and a gorilla.

Sean Kight, 18, and Curtis Patton, 17, had been charged with criminal trespass after they ran across the Flower Mound High School football field during a game dressed as a banana and a gorilla, The Dallas Morning News reported Wednesday.

Karen Permetti, a spokeswoman for the Lewisville Independent School District, said that when the district decided to press charges, officials did not realize the pair would be spending 16 hours in jail overnight.

"There was never an expectation that these kids would spend overnight in jail," she said.

Permetti said officials were under the impression the boys were being charged with trespassing on school property, a Class C misdemeanor that would have had them issued citations and released within a couple of hours. However, she said the students were instead charged with criminal trespass, a Class B misdemeanor that resulted in the two spending the night behind bars.

The spokeswoman said that while the charges have been dropped, Kight and Patton could still face 10-day suspensions for the prank.

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