Banana Boy must write for penance

HUDSON FALLS, N.Y. (AP) – Banana Boy and the rest of his bunch have apparently found a new superpower: escaping community service.

The local television character, who goes by the name Chris Phelps when he’s not donning a large yellow banana crime-fighting costume, and two others pleaded guilty last week to staging a fake brawl on a busy street.

They were sentenced to 40 hours of community service. But after a community uproar, a judge on Tuesday allowed Phelps, 20, his brother Jonathan and friend Luke Van Scoy to rescind their guilty pleas.

Instead, each will be required to write a 1,000-word essay about the case and its legalities.

The trio was arrested at gunpoint Dec. 8 on disorderly conduct charges when police mistook their skit for a real-life knife fight. The skit was being filmed for their TV show “The Ravacon,” which chronicles the adventures of Banana Boy.

Indiana town gets to keep Christmas

GREENCASTLE, Ind. (AP) – Christmas and Good Friday are going back on the city’s calendar after vocal opposition to a City Council decision to adopt generic holiday names.

Nearly 200 people – many singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” – filled the council’s chambers before a 4-0 vote to reverse the policy after less than a week on the books.

“I believe this was political correctness run amok,” Councilman Mark Hammer, who was absent for last week’s original vote, said during Monday’s meeting. “When we use the terms ‘winter holiday’ and ‘spring holiday,’ we’re not being inclusive, we’re being exclusive.”

The council’s initial 4-0 vote to change the name of the employee holidays caused an outcry in the community of 10,000 people about 40 miles west of Indianapolis.

Cajundome seeks 70 toilet flushers

LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) – The Cajundome is seeking volunteers to flush more than 200 toilets in the arena.

About 70 volunteers are needed to participate in the “Great Cajundome Flushoff” set for Dec. 27.

The Cajundome and Convention Center served as a refugee center for hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Use by thousands of evacuees for weeks took a toll on the arena’s plumbing system.

“We don’t know what ended up in the (sewer) system,” Cajundome Director Greg Davis said.

Operations manager Phil Ashurst said officials have already found pieces of brick wrapped in a towel, a T-shirt and diapers in the pipes.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency denied a request to inspect the sewer system with a camera, Davis said. So to test the plumbing before holding an event in January, a minimum of 70 volunteers are needed to spend 15 to 20 minutes flushing toilet paper down 220 or so toilets and testing urinals, he said.

Couple welcomes 14-pound baby girl

McALESTER, Okla. (AP) – A baby girl weighing 14 pounds, 3 ounces was born at McAlester Regional Health Center, the largest baby ever born there, a hospital official said.

Lillian Elizabeth Ross was born Friday by Caesarean section to Adrienne and Anthony Ross of Pocola.

The baby already wears clothes made for children 6 to 9 months old.

“The nursery had to go to pediatrics to get diapers for her because they didn’t have any that would fit,” Adrienne Ross said. “We’ve already had to start buying her new clothes. None of the stuff we bought will fit either.”

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, less than 1 percent of babies weigh more than 11 pounds at birth.