MANILA, Philippines (AP) – A two-meter python caused a commotion at a Manila police station Tuesday, when rattled policemen were forced to destroy an officer’s desk after the snake slithered in to hide, officials said.

Policemen and village volunteer guards at the station in Manila’s Quiapo district managed to subdue the animal. The desk had to be destroyed so the python could be removed from its drawer without being harmed, police said.

The incident started before dawn when a bystander saw the python near a fast-food restaurant in nearby Sta. Cruz district.

Village guards managed to capture the snake and bring it to the police station. But the python quickly slithered out of it’s captors’ grasp and sneaked into a small opening on a policeman’s table, causing a commotion.

The unharmed python was later turned over to Manila Zoo representatives.

—

MILWAUKEE (AP) – A police officer had part of a finger bitten off by a woman after he responded to a call about a dispute over a cat, authorities said.

Lt. Robert Menzel said the 40-year-old woman who called police Sunday afternoon had argued with a man about the animal and wanted him removed from her home.

The officer, a 10-year veteran, tried to restrain the woman, and she became belligerent and she bit off part of his right ring finger, Menzel said.

Surgeons at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital were not able to reattach the finger, the lieutenant said.

—

TULSA, Okla. (AP) – A Plymouth Belvedere that was buried in a concrete vault nearly 50 years ago as part of the state’s golden anniversary celebration will be unearthed in 2007 as part of the Oklahoma centennial festivities.

The 1957 Belvedere is underground next to the Tulsa County Courthouse. Also buried with it were five gallons of gas and a case of beer.

Old news reports indicate the gas was buried in case internal combustion engines became obsolete by 2007 and no fuel was available. Other buried items include the contents of a woman’s purse: 14 bobby pins, a lipstick, a pack of gum, tissues, a pack of cigarettes and matches and $2.43.

There was also an unpaid parking ticket, a bottle of tranquilizers and a spool of microfilm, which records the entries of a contest held to determine the winner of the car. The person to guess Tulsa’s population in 2007 or the heirs of that person were to win the car and a $100 savings account.

The account would be worth almost $1,200 today, if it can be found.

The Tulsa Historical Society and the centennial committee have been getting inquiries from all over the world about the car, including one from a Scandinavian who claims to have an exact twin of the buried Belvedere.

On the Net:

www.buriedcar.com

—

NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Fourteen senior citizens have decided to bare a little skin, all in the name of fundraising.

Inspired by the 2003 movie “Calendar Girls,” members of the Brady Beauties Red Hat Society struck poses for a calendar. While they didn’t bare all like the characters in the movie, given a little more time, organizers say they might have.

“I think if we had gone three more days, they would have taken off more clothes,” said Bonnie Glo Aubushon, 78. “They were having so much fun.”

Proceeds from calendar sales will help establish a library in Brady – estimated population 375 – and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The town has never had a library, group members said.

The 18-month calendar costs $30, and buyers can note on their checks whether their money should go to the library or to hurricane relief.

The movie “Calendar Girls” tells the true story of a British chapter of the Women’s Institute that became an international sensation after members posed nude for a fundraising calendar.

On the Net:

Red Hat Society: http://www.redhatsociety.com/