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Anything off the toilet is a 2-shot penalty

By TIMES WIRES
Published November 24, 2006

Some people use scarecrows to chase away birds, or garlic to block vampires. Rick Froebe uses toilets to repel golfers. Froebe lives in Soap Lake, Wash., but this isn't about cleanliness. Froebe has planted a backyard "fence" made of seven old toilets, a few used bathtubs and some broken-down water heaters, all designed to prevent golfers from the adjacent Lakeview Golf & Country Club from approaching his yard. Froebe - who, of course, is a plumber (fill in your own punch line here) - insists his fence is not meant to be offensive. Besides, he says, "It's not like this is Pebble Beach."

Put down the glass ball and back away

We're all for workplace safety, but we're thinking a British town has gone too far. It seems the Town Council in Tower Hamlet (it's a London borough) recently told town employees they were not allowed to hang Christmas decorations or ornaments. It's not because the council hates Christmas - but because the workers are too clumsy to successfully stand on a chair. The council sent an e-mail saying that no decorations could be displayed that required climbing to hang from ceilings or walls. The council wanted to be clear, though: It was NOT canceling Christmas. No way. The staff could use all the tinsel and baubles they wanted. But no climbing.

Hello, police? Just wanted to say hi

When police dispatchers get a call from one of the blue emergency phones on the University of Colorado campus, there's a chance it could be someone in dire need of help. Well, okay, it's a really, really small chance that's what's actually going on. Most of the time, the calls are from, well, drunken students. University police dispatchers have taken 219 calls this year from 60 phones on campus, and 209 of those were groundless. Or in other words, there were a total of 10 calls that were actually legit. Still, school leaders say it's worth having emergency phones available for people who might need them - even if most callers are just drunk. "As a parent, I think it would make me feel better about the institution," says university police Lt. Brad Wiesley. But then, we're guessing he doesn't actually take the calls.

Robbery tip: Wait until cop leaves

The would-be robber had it all planned out. He was wearing a mask, was carrying a gun and knew exactly what he was going to say when he burst into the Shreveport, La., gas station. Only thing was, he didn't notice - until it was too late - that the line at the counter included a uniformed police officer. After that, the plan didn't work so well. And now the suspect, Derek Pierson Jr., 21, of Stockton, Calif., (and no, we don't know what he was doing in Shreveport, either) is in jail.

Compiled from Times wires and other sources.

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 01:22:08]