The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Odds & Ends
Christmas cone weed
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C.(AP) » At first, it was anorange traffic cone with a weed growing out of it. Now, the roadside attraction dubbed “Cone Weed” is something of a Christmasmiracle to locals.
WBTV reports someone decorated the “Cone Weed” with tinsel and ornaments last week. The weed has been growing unencumbered across from the Huntersville Fire Station for a year and has amassed a cult following. The fire station tweeted pictures of Cone Weed decked in tinsel and ornaments last week.
Property ownerMadeline Phillips said her son mowed around “ConeWeed” during the summer, and calls it “a beacon of hope.”
A graphic designer has created a line of Christmas clothes and has sold more than 200 shirts, with proceeds helping local families through HopeMatch.org. There’s also a Facebook fan page.
Cabbie calendar
NEWYORK (AP) » New York Citycabbieshavebeencalled a lot of things over the years ... courteous, reckless, sometimes rude. But sexy?
That’s the tongue-incheek goal of a quirky pinup calendar featuring a dozen New York City taxi drivers smirking and smoldering in provocative poses in and around their yellow cabs.
The NYC Taxi Drivers Calendarwas the brainchild of Phil and Shannon Kirkman, a husband-and-wife team who thought it was high time cabbies stepped out from behind the wheel and enjoyed a little of the attention that firefighters andothers have gotten from their steamy calendars.
“No. 1, you rarely see the driver,” Phil Kirkman says. “You get in a cab and they’re facing forward and that’s sort of your experience with the driver. And we saw that as an opportunity to shine a positive light on them and the industry that they work in.”
Aportionof the proceeds fromsales of the $14.99 calendar benefits University Settlement, a charity that helps low-income New York City immigrants. That fiveyear partnership, which has so far raised more than $60,000, makes sense, Kirkman says, because the great majority of taxi drivers are immigrants.
Eleven men and one woman camp it up in the 2018 taxi calendar. A shirtless driver in Chippendales-style bowtie and shirt cuffs leans against a vintage Checker cab. Another driver, also shirtless, licks icing from a cake with his picture on it.
Terry Samlall, Mr. November, is pictured draping his left hand over the steering wheel as a female passenger reaches from the back seat to tuck a $100 bill into his mesh T-shirt. The 46-year- old Samlall says, unfortunately, he doesn’t get tips that big in real life.
Luis Marte is appearing in the calendar for the second straight year. After he posed last year on the cover of the calendar with his shirt unbuttoned, women he didn’t know sent him Facebook messages.
“My wife was having none of it,” says the 34-yearold Marte.
Obscene sky drawing
SPOKANE, WASH. (AP) » The air crew who used their U.S. Navy warplane to create a vulgar skywriting above the town of Okanogan, Washington, this week have been grounded, the U.S. Navy said Friday.
An electronic warfare plane from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in western Washington state created sky writings in the shape of male genitals in the skies over the rural community on Thursday.
Many residents spotted the contrails in the clear blue skies above the central Washington town of 2,500 people. Witnesses took photos and placed them on social media platforms, where they were widely viewed.
“The actions of this aircrew are wholly unacceptable and antithetical to Navy core values” said a statement issued Friday by NAS Whidbey Island.
“We have grounded the aircrew and are conducting a thorough investigation,” the statement said, “and we will hold those responsible accountable for their actions.”
“The Navy apologizes for this irresponsible and immature act, and anyonewho was offended by this unac- ceptable action,” the statement said.
The aircraft involved was an E/A-18 Growler as- signed to Whidbey Island, the Navy said. The carrierbased plane carries a twoperson crew.