‘BRIDGE NINJAS’ TO THE RESCUE IN NEVADA
A team of heavy-machine operators drew a crowd of camera-toting spectators as they plucked downed trees and other dangerous debris from raging floodwaters in Nevada. The men then became internet sensations when video of their exploits spread online, with commenters dubbing them #CraneGuy, Bridge Ninjas and heroes of downtown Reno.
Emergency workers voluntarily evacuated about 1,300 people from 400 homes in a Reno neighbourhood last weekend as the Truckee River overflowed and drainage ditches backed up. Three-man teams set up an excavator, loader and dump truck on multiple bridges and started snatching huge logs and debris from the rushing river.
Jim Duncan, a team member, said it was fun but also nerve-wracking to spend hours operating machinery in the rain, scooping up heavy objects before they hit the bridge, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.
“It’s like playing a video game,” he said. Still, “it’s a challenge every day.” At one point, equipment operator Steve Coltra plucked a metal picnic bench from the water. Co-worker Aaron Bird grabbed a storage shed.
Officials said the men served as a first line of defense, preventing junk from piling up and putting extra strain on aging bridges. They worked for about 20 hours in three separate shifts.
The downtown Reno bridge teams said the task was no different than their everyday work with large construction equipment — digging holes and building things while avoiding pipes and wires.
While the bridge teams enjoy social media fame, other equipment operators and contractors around the city helped build barriers, place fences, block roads and make sand berms.
(AP)
ACTIVIST DENIED CITIZENSHIP OVER COWBEll COMPlAINTS
Here’s a fever that can’t be cured by more cowbell. A Danish animal rights activist was denied Swiss citizenship after her repeated public criticism of cowbells, a popular tradition in the country.
Nancy Holten has lived in Switzerland for 33 years and applied for citizenship. However, the request was denied after fellow residents in the village of Gipf-Oberfrick objected, labelling Holten’s constant public complaints about cowbells annoying.
In Switzerland, citizenship requests are decided by locals, not the Swiss Government. Holten, 42, a vegan animal rights activist who has lived in Switzerland since childhood, argued the cowbells are harmful to bovine because they are too loud and heavy and should be outlawed.
Her dislike of bells did not stop at bovine. Holten also complained about the noise of church bells ringing near her home early in the morning.
The complaining appears to have taken its toll. After a village vote earlier this week, Holten’s request was denied. It was the second time she has sought and been denied Swiss citizenship by her neighbours. “She annoys us and doesn’t respect our traditions,” local politician Tanja Suter said.
Others defended Holten, saying her opinions shouldn’t preclude her from becoming a citizen of a country where she’s lived for a majority of her life.
“Not liking cowbells or church bells is no reason to deny naturalisation, because in Switzerland we have freedom of expression,” village board spokesman Urs Treier told USA Today. But “if a person makes her criticism public, people may see it as rebellion against our traditions.”
(UPI)
MAN RETURNS 100-YEAR OVERDUE lIBRARY BOOK
A book of short stories titled Forty Minutes late has been returned to a San Francisco library — 100 years late. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Bay Area resident Webb Johnson returned the book last Friday. There was no fine.
Johnson’s great grandmother had checked it out from the city’s old Fillmore branch in 1917. She passed away a week before the due date, and the Fillmore branch is no longer around.
Johnson found the 1909 book by F Hopkinson Smith in an old steamer trunk in 1996. He assumed the library wouldn’t want it back, but a recently announced “fine forgiveness programme” that runs through February 14 inspired him to return it.
Head city librarian luis Herrera said the library was glad to, finally, get the book.
(AP)
MAN RECORDS SHARK CIRClING GROUP
AFlorida scuba diver captured a video of a 14-foot great white shark circling him and his diving companions about 3 miles off the coast. Corey Embree posted a video to Facebook showing him and fellow divers from Calypso Dive Charters swimming about 100 feet under the surface of the water about 3 miles off the coast of Juno Beach.
The video shows a great white shark, estimated to be 14 feet long and about 1,500 pounds, circling the group.
“It swam very slow, almost like a submarine,” Embree told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Embree said the shark circled the divers about three or four times before swimming away.
(UPI)