KINGMAN, Ariz.
11,000-acre wildfire forced evacuations
Firefighters saved six homes in a northwestern Arizona community that were evacuated Saturday after an 11,000-acre wildfire came within a quarter mile of the houses.
Evacuees of the Golden Valley community, about 15 miles west of Kingman, were allowed to return home Saturday night.
“It could have been a lot, lot, lot worse,” said Wendell Peacock, a spokesman for the team battling the blaze.
As the fire approached the community, Peacock said, a crew was able to burn vegetation between the homes and the fire, stopping the blaze.
The fire was 40 percent contained Saturday night.
GREENBELT, Md.
Father alerts police to son’s alleged plot
The father of a man accused of plotting to bomb an abortion clinic said he felt he had no choice but to contact police about his son’s activities.
Robert Weiler Sr. told The Washington Post for an article published Saturday that the decision was agonizing but that “our concern was just to make sure nobody got hurt.”
Weiler, 49, said that like their son, he and his wife, Catherine, oppose abortion, but they do not condone violence.
“It’s just something that he believed in very fervently, and in my opinion he went way over the top,” the father said.
Robert Weiler Jr., 25, was arrested Thursday and is expected to appear in federal court Monday to face four weapons charges.
The pipe bomb that authorities believe Weiler made for an attack at a clinic in the Washington suburb of College Park went off while technicians tried to defuse it Thursday, setting fire to the house where it was stored. No one was hurt.
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt.
Intel chief’s speech makes historical slip
His work drew protests when the national intelligence director spoke at a commencement, but it’s his history lesson that has raised eyebrows.
John Negroponte spoke at commencement at the St. Johnsbury Academy, where his son was graduating, and commented during his speech that the town and the academy were named for St. John.
Actually, Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen named St. Johnsbury for Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur, a French author who wrote about the American experience, said Graham Newell, a local historian and former St. Johnsbury Academy teacher.
Negroponte’s spokesman said it was an innocent mistake.
“It certainly was not any slight to the school or town,” said Carl Knopf.
LEWISTON, Maine
Rodeo “star” leads cops on a bully chase
A 1-ton rodeo bull escaped from a pen, setting off a chase that involved police and a horseback rider before the animal was captured in a backyard.
Dirty Rider apparently jumped a fence Friday night at the Colisee arena, where a professional bull-riding event was being held. He was cornered and roped within 15 minutes, but he gave handlers a battle and neighbors a start before being herded into a trailer.
“I was going to go to the rodeo tonight,” said Jim Nelson, watching at a safe distance. “I guess it came to me instead.”
Everyone came away fine, police Cpl. Tim Darnell said, “except for one unhappy bull.”
OSHKOSH, Wis.
Fancier of flamingos has one to look up to
A man is tickled pink by his newest purchase – an 8-foot-tall fiberglass flamingo.
Fred Kropp of Madison bought the giant pink flamingo from the city of Oshkosh for $715 in an Internet auction.
“It kind of became a ‘got-to- have’ kind of mentality,” he said. “You can find little lawn ornaments, but not an 8-foot flamingo.”
Kropp said he’ll sink the bird into his property off the Wisconsin River.
