NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Notes of … what is that?
Acting on an anonymous tip, authorities in Dekalb County, Ala., raided the Rainsville Wastewater Treatment Plant on Dec. 17 and discovered a large illegal winemaking operation that appeared to have been in operation for a long time, reported WHNT.
The next day, plant supervisor Allen Maurice Stiefel, 62, was charged with unlawful possession of illegally manufactured alcohol and suspended without pay, according to Rainsville Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt.
The operation was found in a little-used building at the plant, where, Lingerfelt said, “Things happen like that.” The sale of alcohol was illegal in Rainsville until September.
High anxiety
As Delta Flight 462, en route to Atlanta, began to taxi away from the gate at La Guardia Airport on Dec. 21, passenger Brian Plummer noticed a man and woman with a service dog changing seats several times on the less-than-full plane, he told the New York Times, and heard the man say, “If I sit down, I’ll freak out.”
Plummer soon felt the plane come to a stop, and flight attendants revealed why: The man, Antonio Murdock, 31, of Florida, had forced open an emergency exit door, causing a slide to activate, and picking up the dog, slid down to the ground with the woman, Brianna Greco, 23, according to a complaint filed in Queens Criminal Court, where the two were arraigned on a number of mischief and endangerment charges.
No one was injured in the incident, but the flight was delayed for hours.
Circus cars for sale
Didn’t get what you wanted for Christmas? The North Carolina Department of Transportation put nine vintage train cars up for auction Dec. 15 that it purchased from the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus after it ceased operation in 2017, the Raleigh News & Observer reported.
NCDOT bought the cars for $383,000 to refurbish for use between Raleigh and Charlotte, but federal grants have enabled the department to buy new cars instead.
“These cars have a great and amazing history,” said Jason Orthner, director of the NCDOT rail division. At press time, there were no bids on the cars.
Not on her wish list
Andrea Ellis of East Moline, Ill., was wrapping presents Dec. 19 when she opened a package of garden flags she intended to give her grandmother and noticed something extra in the bottom of the padded envelope. It turned out to be a biohazard bag containing a Virginia woman’s COVID-19 test.
Ellis told the Quad City Times that when she failed to reach the woman, she called police, who sent an officer to retrieve it, but 15 minutes later, he returned with the bag, saying, “I was told to bring it back to you.”
A representative of the Rock Island County Health Department picked up the sample the next day and was trying to return it to the Virginia patient. Ellis also heard from a vice president at Kohl’s, where she bought the flags, who said the company was working to find out what happened and to prevent it from happening again.