Lead Stories
In March Doug and Veronica Wright celebrated their first wedding anniversary on the bridge between the U.S. and Canada at Niagara Falls because it’s the only place they can meet. American Doug is barred from Canada because of a criminal record that includes an illegal entry into that country; Canadian Veronica is barred from the U.S. because of a 1997 drug conviction. The couple’s six-month-old son lives with her and also visits with Doug on the bridge.
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In April a camera shop employee in Royal Oak, Michigan, reported to police that someone had dropped off a roll of film containing shots of naked women and an underage boy. Police confiscated the photos and questioned the man who had dropped them off. Shortly afterward, a 23-year-old dwarf showed up at the police station with identification papers and proved he was the “boy” in the photos. Police dropped the matter.
Enough Filthy Water and You’ll Live Forever
In April in Haridwar, India, about ten million people jumped into the Ganges river to purify themselves at the climax of the Kumbh Mela celebration, which is held every 12 years. Hindus continue to believe in the river’s purifying properties even though area sewer systems flush 300 million gallons into it each day.
In February a Canadian House of Commons committee asked the director of the national parole board why a convicted armed robber, Michael Hector, had been granted early parole in 1996 and had thus been free to embark on a murder and robbery spree the next year. According to the director, none of the four board members thought Hector was a dangerous man because they didn’t realize armed robbery was a violent crime.
Send your weird news to Chuck Shepherd, Chicago Reader, 11 E. Illinois, Chicago 60611.
