TRIAl FOR AMISH MEMBERS OVER HORSE DROPPINGS
Members of an Amish community in Kentucky may take their cases to court after being cited for violating an ordinance requiring horses to wear bags to catch their droppings.
The Bowling Green Daily News reports 13 members of the Swartzentruber Amish sect in Auburn appeared in court and were told their trials will begin on August 2 if they can’t settle the cases before then. The defendants belong to a conservative sect that rejects motor vehicles and most modern technology and travel by horse-drawn buggies. They believe the bags violate their community’s religious standards. The city says the ordinance is meant to promote safety. A total of 37 cases are pending against 13 people. The judge set a pretrial conference for attorneys on July 19.
(AP)
MAN PRANKS TEEN SON BY DRESSING IN SPEEDO
An Oklahoma father earned himself a gold medal in the embarrassing dad-move Olympics by picking up his teen son from school in a Speedo.
Justin Beadles, whose son, Jack, 15, attends Stillwater Junior High School, showed up to pick the boy up on his last day of classes while dressed as Olympic champion Michael Phelps.
A video recorded by Beadles’ wife and posted to Facebook shows the dad wearing only a Speedo, a swim cap and some fake medals as he walks through a crowd of students leaving school to find his son.
“I was just like half embarrassed, half thinking I was going to run away,” Jack told KWTV. Beadles said pranking his son makes him feel closer to his own father. “My dad, he was the guy who always said, ‘Make a memory every day.’ And since he has been gone, I’ve particularly tried to do that,” he said. Jack magnanimously allowed his father to post the video to social media. “I thought no one can make fun of me because it’s the last day of school,” he said.
(UPI)
SHARK lEAPS INTO BOAT, lANDS ON AN AUSTRAlIAN FISHERMAN
A 73-year-old Australian fisherman said he caught a far bigger fish than he hoped for when a 2.7-metre great white shark leapt into his boat, knocking him off his feet. Terry Selwood was left with a badly bruised and bleeding right arm where the airborne shark struck him with a pectoral fin as it landed on him on the deck of the 4.5-m power boat off Evans Head, 725 km north of Sydney.
Selwood sprung up on the gunnel at the bow of the boat to avoid the thrashing shark and steadied himself by clinging to the tubular metal frame of the sun shelter, known as a bimini.
“I didn’t give it a chance to look me in the eyes. I wanted to get up and get on top of the gunnel because it was thrashing around madly,” Selwood told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“Flash Gordon wouldn’t have caught me,” he said, referring to the athletic science fiction comic book hero of the 1930s. Selwood used a hand-held radio to call the Evans Head coast guard and stayed on the gunnel until a rescue boat arrived. Coast guard skipper Bill Bates said he misread the danger when Selwood reported his predicament. “He said, ‘I’m injured, I’ve broken my arm, I’ve got lacerations and there’s a shark in my boat,’” Bates said. “Often a fisherman will bring a small shark on board — maybe 2 or 3 feet — and they’re still ferocious. That’s what I was expecting, but I was totally wrong,” he added.
The coast guard crew rescued Selwood, but left the shark alone. The shark was estimated to weigh 200 kg.
(AP)
HOT AIR BAllOON CRASHES AFTER COUPlE GETS ENGAGED ON BOARD
A romantic moment aboard a hot air balloon nearly ended in tragedy when the balloon crashed just moments after a couple got engaged on board.
Christine Peters had just said ‘yes’ to Stephen Peters’ proposal in the sky near Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada last Saturday. She tells CTV Edmonton that the balloon then quickly began falling out of the sky and the pilot told the 10 passengers aboard to brace themselves.
Peters says the balloon landed in a tree. The pilot was able to free it for a bit before hitting another tree and then the ground. Peters says it dragged for another 100 to 200 feet before finally coming to a stop. No one was hurt. Martin tells CTV the crash has given him an “awesome” proposal story.
(AP)
BElGIUM’S KING, BURGER KING IN SPAT OVER WEB AD
Belgium’s royal family took issue with one of the world’s most recognisable monarchs, Burger King, over a marketing campaign a spokesman said is disrespectful.
The US-based fast food company Burger King, which is set to open its first location in Belgium next month, launched a website in Belgium to promote the launch. It prompts users to pick one: Belgian King Philippe, or the company’s mascot. If the user picks Philippe, the ad asks “Are you sureIJ He won’t be the one to cook your fries.” If they pick him again, it just says “no.” A spokesman for the Belgian royal family said the monarchy does not grant permission for photos to be used for profit, as it the case with Burger King’s venture.
“We disapprove of this approach,” royal spokesman Pierre Emmanuel de Bauw said. “Since it is for commercial purposes, we would not have given our authorisation.” The website does not use an actual photograph of Philippe, only a cartoon likeness of him, along with his name. A Burger King spokesman said they had not received any correspondence about the ad from the royal family.
(UPI)