Cow’s rare triplets surprise Canadian

FORT ST. JOHN, British Columbia (AP) – When one of Brad Giesbrecht’s cows was about to give birth, he put her in the barn to protect her from subzero temperatures.

He returned two hours later to find the cow had given birth to a calf. Then, noticing a second set of hooves coming, Giesbrecht helped deliver a second calf.

Thinking that was the end of it, Giesbrecht went to check on his herd. But when he returned for a look at the new mother, he found she had delivered yet a third calf.

The farmer’s wife, Elaine Giesbrecht, said the couple’s cows have given birth to twins before, but the odds of a cow giving birth to triplets range from one in 10,000, to one in 105,000.

A cow can nurse only two calves at a time, so the Giesbrechts gave one calf away.

Camel escapes moving trailer

HAVANA, Ill. (AP) – A nearly 7-foot tall camel named Bocephalus suffered only scratches and bruises and was expected to recover fully after jumping out of a horse trailer as it traveled 55 mph down a highway.

Leroy Bollinger checked his trailer after stopping for gas and found that the camel that was there when he began his trip wasn’t there anymore. He called police in this small central Illinois town along the Illinois River, and the camel hunt was on.

An hour after the two-county search began, Bollinger’s son, Robert, spotted the four-month-old male camel about 10 miles west of the river.

Bocephalus was bruised and scratched – not too bad considering the camel apparently hopped the trailer’s four-foot gate as it whizzed along the highway at 55 mph, said Bollinger.

“He’s in pretty good shape for having jumped out the back of a horse trailer,” said Bollinger.

Though sore and uncomfortable, Bollinger said Bocephalus is expected to fully recover.

Bollinger says he bought the camel to train him for children’s rides. He also has been used in live Nativity scenes.

Robber leaves his name with ‘bomb’

LOWELL, Mass. (AP) – A man who allegedly held up banks by claiming he had a bomb in a bag was arrested after police found the bag actually contained books – including a phone book that had a mailing label with the man’s full name and address.

“It was clearly not his best move,” Lawrence Police Chief John J. Romero said.

George Melendez was arrested Thursday at his home in Lowell and charged with the Jan. 6 robbery of a bank in Dracut. Police said he is also likely to face charges in bank robberies in Lawrence and Salem, N.H.

Investigators said Melendez would hand tellers a note claiming to have a bomb in his bag and demand large bills. As he left with the cash, he would leave behind the bag, prompting Dracut and Salem police to call in bomb squads as a precaution, police said.

In each case, the satchel-type bags contained tangled wires and books.

After he allegedly hit a Sovereign Bank in Lawrence last week, police found a Lowell-area phone book in the bag left behind. They went to the address listed on the label and arrested Melendez, who also fit the bank tellers’ description of the robber.

“It was so easy, so simple, it was hard to believe,” Romero told The Eagle-Tribune.

Melendez was arraigned Friday at Saints Memorial Medical Center in Lowell, where he was taken after complaining of chest pains. He was held on $10,000 cash bail and is scheduled to appear in Lowell District Court on Feb. 16 for a probable cause hearing.

Cannon fire used to scare off crows

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) – School workers have tried everything from Alice Cooper music to orange objects painted with the faces of predators to scare off the crows.

Now they’re using a cannon at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. Vigo County School Corp. crews began using a liquid propane cannon that produces a thunderlike sound every 20 minutes on Friday morning.

“So far, so good,” said Kim Salmon, the school’s secretary-treasurer.

The cannon will be used on school days 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 9 p.m. to create a boom reaching 130 decibels. Comparatively, smoke alarms produce noises between about 80 to 90 decibels.

Despite the school district’s efforts to frighten the birds from the area, Principal Sharon Pitts said they have become unbearable since Christmas break ended.

“It almost looks like a paintball gun has been used on the front sidewalk,” she said of the bird’s droppings.

Maintenance crews have had to power-wash the sidewalk several times.

Dan Raubuck, the school’s dean of students, and his son distributed fliers Thursday afternoon to tell neighborhood residents about the latest efforts to scare away the crows.

Resident Karen McCay said she did not object to the cannon plan.

“Whatever it takes to get rid of them,” she said.

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