Monday 03/26/12

Human Interest News   —   Posted on March 26, 2012

Maybe they were trying to set a record for how many bees can fit in a Chevy.

A couple from Brighton, Tenn., left home for a few hours and, on returning, found an estimated 25,000 bees swarming their 2011 Traverse.

Tommy and Cristi Hill sped down a highway at 65 mph, then put the vehicle through a car wash. Both times, the bees returned.

A beekeeper couldn’t coax them into a hive, and suggested the couple scare them off with a hose and park a half mile away.

But he cautioned, “They’ve decided the car is their home’’ and instead of buzzing off, they may just wait in a tree for their “home’’ to return.

Texas, Politician Fires Self

As districts across the country tighten the purse strings and cut back on jobs in a tough economy, one Texas city employee is taking matters into his own hands, and sacrificing his own career.

A high-ranking official of Keller, Texas, decided he wasn’t needed — so he officially laid himself off.

City Manager Dan O’Leary, who made $176,000 a year, said two others do the same work and a third wasn’t needed.

According to the Associated Press, the town of 40,000 employed O’Leary as city manager with two assistant city managers also on the payroll. The town doesn’t need three managers, he concluded, and doesn’t need to pay him $176,000 a year to continue on.

O’Leary resigned at the March 20 city council meeting, saying the city should look to trim costs wherever possible, starting with eliminating his own administrative position, according to NBC Dallas-Fort Worth.

“It’s a little unusual for a city of our size to have three city managers,” O’Leary said after the council meeting, referring to assistant city managers Steve Polasek and Chris Fuller, according to the Star-Telegram. “There was a time that was needed, but at this point in time, I don’t think we need three city managers.”

101-year-old Utah woman sets world record

A 101-year-old Utah woman is being honored with a world record for a paraglide ride she took to celebrate her birthday.

Guinness World Records says Tuesday Mary Hardison of Ogden is officially the oldest female to paraglide tandem. The previous record was held by a 100-year-old woman from Cyprus.

Hardison took the tandem flight with an instructor in September while her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren watched.

Hardison says she remains busy because it helps her stay healthy and happy. She decided to paraglide because her 75-year-old son was doing it as a hobby, and she says she couldn’t let him do something she didn’t at least try.

Hardison says she is always excited for new challenges. For her 90th birthday, she rode all of the rides at Disneyland.

Why would a thief break into jail? To practice his trade.

A thief scaled the fence at a minimum-security prison in Salisbury, NC, dismantled an air conditioner and walked off with its copper parts.

He got away before any “coppers’’ could grab him.

From The Boston Herald and NY Post.