'Loch Nash Monster' sighting in Easthampton is the talk of the town

Published: Monday, January 31, 2011, 7:15 PM
Updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2011, 7:59 AM
Patrick Johnson, The Republican By Patrick Johnson, The Republican

EASTHAMPTON - Scotland is famous for its mythical Loch Ness Monster; Easthampton has the “Loch Nash Monster,” and it’s no myth.

Since Sunday, Nashawannuck Pond in the center of Easthampton has been graced by a multi-stage snowbeast in the shape of a sea serpent.

Dubbed the "Loch Nash Monster," the creature immediately attracted the attention of hundreds of passersby, and the local media.

WWLP did a piece on it Sunday night that Yahoo news linked to. abc40 sent a crew out on Monday afternoon.

Easthampton resident Patrick Brough said the snow sculpture is the product of a spontaneous display of community pride.

Brough, who maintains the Easthampton Good News page on Facebook posted on a whim Saturday afternoon that he was looking for volunteers to help build a snowman on the frozen pond.

By Sunday, Brough said his plan for a traditional snowman evolved into the multi-sectioned sea monster, while the call to to action took hold among people in town, he said.

“We had 10-20 people helping out,” Brough said.

“We must have had six families, there was me and my two kids, John Atwater and his kids, Tom Connor and his kids,” he said. “There were four or five people that I never even met.”

One woman came out of the blue to deliver cups of hot chocolate, he said.

It took about 3 1/2 hours, from 11 a.m. until about 2:30 p.m., he said. The finishing touch was to apply green food coloring to give it a monster-like hue.

As they were building it and it began to take shape, passing cars on Cottage Street started honking their horns in support, he said.

Brough said when he dropped his kids off and grabbed his camera to go back for some pictures, he found word of the monster was already spreading.

“When I go back, there were probably 20 people on Williston and Cottage streets with cameras taking pictures,”

The interest in the Loch Nash Monster, both before and after the build, is a reminder of the community pride in Easthampton, he said.

“It’s just such a feel-good thing,” he said.

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/loch_nash_monster_sighting_is.html

Gang members snort ashes they mistook for drugs

20 Jan 2011
By Gaby Leslie, Yahoo! News

Five teenage burglars snorted human and animal ashes after mistaking them for Class A drugs, it has been revealed.

After a burglary, which took place at a woman's home in Silver Spring Shores, Florida, thieves made off with electronics, jewelry and two urns - one filled with the cremated remains of the victim's father and two for her Great Danes.

Police discovered what happened to the stolen ashes after the suspects were arrested last week in connection with another attempted burglary.

In a statement, deputies from Marion County Sheriff's Office said: "The suspects mistook the ashes for either cocaine or heroin. It was soon discovered that the suspects snorted some of the ashes believing they were snorting cocaine."

Speaking after the burglary, which took place in December, grieving victim Holli Tencza, 35, told a local Ocala news site: "I understand why the burglar took my flat-screen television, the Blu-ray DVD player, laptop computer and jewelry… but there's no monetary value in the ashes, so who knows in this crazy world. I just want them back. I don't care if I ever know who took them."

When the gang members discovered their mix-up they threw the remaining ashes into a lake in fear that their fingerprints were left on the urns.

Marion County Sheriff, Jenifer Fisher Lowe told Yahoo! News: "On Thursday at 11AM EST, underwater divers at Magic Lake in Gail d'Helvie Park recovered two urns containing the ashes of the owner's dog and father."

The ashes were protected by plastic bags inside wooden boxes stored in the urns. The delinquents have been jailed on a number of charges, including burglary.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20110120/tod-gang-snorts-ashes-they-mistook-for-d-045b8e8.html

Gang members snort ashes they mistook for drugs

20 Jan 2011
By Gaby Leslie, Yahoo! News

Five teenage burglars snorted human and animal ashes after mistaking them for Class A drugs, it has been revealed.

After a burglary, which took place at a woman's home in Silver Spring Shores, Florida, thieves made off with electronics, jewelry and two urns - one filled with the cremated remains of the victim's father and two for her Great Danes.

Police discovered what happened to the stolen ashes after the suspects were arrested last week in connection with another attempted burglary.

In a statement, deputies from Marion County Sheriff's Office said: "The suspects mistook the ashes for either cocaine or heroin. It was soon discovered that the suspects snorted some of the ashes believing they were snorting cocaine."

Speaking after the burglary, which took place in December, grieving victim Holli Tencza, 35, told a local Ocala news site: "I understand why the burglar took my flat-screen television, the Blu-ray DVD player, laptop computer and jewelry… but there's no monetary value in the ashes, so who knows in this crazy world. I just want them back. I don't care if I ever know who took them."

When the gang members discovered their mix-up they threw the remaining ashes into a lake in fear that their fingerprints were left on the urns.

Marion County Sheriff, Jenifer Fisher Lowe told Yahoo! News: "On Thursday at 11AM EST, underwater divers at Magic Lake in Gail d'Helvie Park recovered two urns containing the ashes of the owner's dog and father."

The ashes were protected by plastic bags inside wooden boxes stored in the urns. The delinquents have been jailed on a number of charges, including burglary.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/38/20110120/tod-gang-snorts-ashes-they-mistook-for-d-045b8e8.html

Nepal university students told: Rats ate your exams

Hundreds of unmarked exam papers from the Tribhuvan had been handed to a local police station in Kathmandu to be stored safely.

Unfortunately for the students the papers had been placed in a room that was infested with rats and a number of the papers were destroyed.

"The exams were two and half months ago. We kept the answer papers in a secure room. But a few days ago we discovered that some of them had been eaten by rats," stated police inspector Ram Prakash Chaudhary. "We told the university officials about the problem straight away. But they only came to pick up the papers today, after the news came out."

According to the Rising Nepal newspaper, the exam papers had been stored in a building with a leaking water pipe and the news service criticised Tribhuvan University of 'utter negligence'.

Dog denied chance to run for mayor

By JENNY YUEN, Toronto Sun

BOWMANVILLE — A dog just can't win in a human world.

Genny, the three-year black Lab, was denied her papers to run for Clarington mayor Monday morning after a municipal clerk said she didn't qualify for the position because of canine genes.

"Her nomination was rejected even before we could sign the papers," said Genny's owner Marven Whidden. "We're disappointed but not surprised. Genny has more support in this town than any candidate running."

But the ambitious pooch isn't about to play dead as of yet. Whidden is hoping residents petition town hall for her candidacy or perhaps a law student could take up the cause and challenge the qualifications required for nomination.

"It has to be a person to be qualified to run in the election," said Patti Barrie, chief marketing officer of the municipal clerk's office. "She's not a person, she's a dog."

Whidden began a campaign several weeks ago on his blog that stated if he had 100 supporters for Genny, he would file papers on her behalf to run in Ward 3. He received so many responses from residents in other wards that he decided mayor was the way to go.

The main message, he said, is people are fed up with city councillors who don't listen to residents and a dog could do a better job.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/04/19/13639831.html