Ashland, Pa. (AP) – State troopers have charged two Pennsylvania women with disorderly conduct for a hair-pulling fight that erupted over a newly shoveled parking spot on a snowy street. Troopers in Schuylkill (SKOOL’-kil) County say a 23-year-old woman claimed she shoveled the spot only to have her 43-year-old neighbor’s husband park his pickup in it. It happened in Ashland borough on Tuesday night. The region took the brunt of that day’s winter storm. Police say the women argued about the parking space before pushing and punching one another, and then pulling each other’s hair. Both have been charged with disorderly conduct. The citations are being mailed to the women.
Lawsuit alleging NJ worker was fired for passing gas tossed
Trenton, N.J. (AP) – A federal judge has dismissed a discrimination lawsuit that said one of New Jersey’s top pork roll makers fired a worker for passing too much gas. Louann Clem said her husband struggled with extreme gas and uncomfortable diarrhea due to gastric bypass surgery. Her suit claimed Case Pork Roll President Thomas Dolan complained about the side effects and told her husband to work from home due to the smell. She also worked at the firm. Clem’s initial claim was dismissed last summer. Her amended lawsuit said managers made “insulting and humiliating” comments that caused her mental and physical anguish. The court eventually dismissed that claim in January, saying she failed to prove the managers created an abusive work environment. Clem’s attorney couldn’t be reached for comment.
German dog-walker has close call with coconut cannon
Berlin (AP) – A dog walker in the German capital can be thankful he turned out to be a fruitless target after his close call with a coconut cannon. The man was walking in an industrial area on March 1 when he heard a bang and a ball-shaped projectile flew past him, hitting a nearby lamppost. Berlin police say officers called to the scene were surprised to find a large homemade cannon capable of shooting coconuts at high speeds with compressed air. A 23-year-old man told officers he had helped to build the cannon for an art project in the Antarctic and wanted to test it before it was shipped. Police said Wednesday they impounded the cannon and prosecutors are investigating whether it breaches arms control laws.
UK authorities seek owner of gold trove stashed inside piano
London (AP) – British officials are trying to trace the owner of a trove of gold coins worth a “life-changing” amount of money found stashed inside a piano. A coroner investigating the find on Thursday urged anyone with information to come forward. When the piano’s owners took it to be tuned last year in Shropshire, central England, it was found to contain a hoard of gold sovereigns minted between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Investigators have determined that the piano was built in London in 1906 and sold to a pair of piano teachers in Saffron Walden, eastern England. They are seeking information on its ownership before 1983. Anyone wanting to make a claim has until April 20, when coroner John Ellery will conclude his inquest. If the gold’s owner or heirs cannot be traced, it will be declared treasure, and the piano’s current owners will reap the reward. Officials have not disclosed how much the coins are worth. Peter Reavill, who assesses finds for the British Museum’s Portable Antiquities Scheme, said “it’s a hoard of objects which is potentially life-changing for somebody to receive.”
