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By TIMES WIRES
Published January 19, 2007

Slipperiness doomed doe, and saved it

Journalists aren't supposed to get involved in the story, but don't tell that to the helicopter pilot for KWTV in Norman, Okla. A deer found itself trapped on an icy lake Wednesday, and Mason Dunn spotted it. The deer had lost its footing, and couldn't stand up. So Dunn swooped in with his chopper, creating enough wind on the surface of the ice to propel the deer, which slid on its belly all the way to shore. Once there, it stood up and ran into the woods.

To tame a buck, try the Taser

The deer scene in Canby, Ore., was a little less sedate. Two police officers were called to extricate a buck whose antlers were tangled in a rope swing. He was quite stuck, and he was really tense about it, thrashing around like crazy. The officers' first thought was to kill the animal before it injured itself. But then Deputy Jeff Miller got an idea: How about the stun gun? It's used to immobilize out-of-control prisoners, why not a deer? So they hit it with the Taser, moved in and freed the buck. "(The deer) took off happy as a clam," said Lt. Jim Strovink. "That was pretty good thinking."

His vow to not gamble was a bluff

A gambler known officially only as "S.D." had a bad night at a New Jersey casino in July 2004. He was really upset about it, and drove to the Casino Control Commission, where he banned himself from Atlantic City's casinos. The agency gives you a choice of one year, five years, or life. S.D. chose life. If S.D. is a compulsive gambler, he now says his decision to ban himself from gambling was strictly impulsive. He's trying to get himself off the list, but the commission says, well, no, life is for life. Now, casino owners in New Jersey are using the list to keep people out of casinos they own in other states, which is crimping S.D.'s plan for a Vegas vacation. More than 500 people have signed up, about half for the lifetime plan.

This week on 'CSI: Kuala Lumpur'

Zulkifli Setapa and Isa Mohamed are farmers in Malaysia. They're having a bit of a disagreement over a 3-year-old calf. Seems both farmers believe they own the calf. It got pretty heated, and police were called. So finally they agreed that the only way to solve the problem is DNA testing. They agreed to split the $914 cost of the test. That comes to $457 each. The calf is worth $572. And complicating the issue is the fact that both of the suspected mother cows originally came from the same herd.

Globe trotter quits

Manfred Michlits, who set out on Jan. 1 to jog around the world by Dec. 31, gave up on Jan. 8. His week of running got him from his home in Vienna to just past Belgrade, Serbia, about 430 miles into his 14,000 mile odyssey. He had problems with antibiotics after getting a root canal in Hungary. He plans to try the run again after his dental problems subside. The run was an attempt to raise money for underprivileged children.

Compiled from Times wires and other sources by staff writer Jim Webster.

[Last modified January 19, 2007, 01:45:01]