Fun_People Archive
25 Sep
WhiteBoardness - 9/24/97

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From: Peter Langston <psl>
Date: Thu, 25 Sep 97 11:55:03 -0700
To: Fun_People
Subject: WhiteBoardness - 9/24/97

Excerpted-from: WhiteBoard News for Wednesday, September 24, 1997

Wallingford, Connecticut:

A local woman trapped inside her car after driving off the highway and
crashing into a ravine set fire to her clothes in an attempt to draw
attention, police said.

Three motorists spotted smoke and pulled Susan Cone, 41, from the car before
it became engulfed in flames Sunday night, police said.

Cone was trapped in the twisted metal of her Chevy Blazer more than 300 feet
from where it left the highway, near the exit 13 ramp on Interstate-91.

She radioed for help on a citizens band radio, and a truck driver eventually
picked up her distress signals.  Police searched the area several times
Sunday but said Cone had reported the wrong location.

It was unclear how long Cone had been trapped, but Trooper David Koonitsky
said the accident may have happened Friday night. The cause of the accident
had not been determined.

Police said Cone suffered a broken wrist, broken tibia and lacerations. She
was listed in fair condition Monday at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
==========

Manassas, Virginia:

The white tablets were good stuff, maybe the best in some circles -- Certs
Concentrated Mints.

But because 9-year-old Joey Hoeffer's classmate may have thought they would
do more than freshen his breath, Joey got a one-day suspension from Weems
Elementary School.

The parents of the other pupil, who was not identified, said Joey claimed
the mints would make his son jump higher.

"I don't want any kids offering my kids any drugs. It's as simple as that,"
said the boy's mother, who took the candy back to school and demanded some
answers.

School officials and a police officer called Joey in for some questions.
Joey said the officer confiscated the candy for analysis.

"He's not a breath-mint addict or anything like that," said Wayne Hoeffer,
Joey's dad. "I know the rules are there to stop illegal drugs, and if it
had been illegal drugs I agree he should probably have been expelled.  But
I think this is going a little too far."

School policy not only forbids drugs, but also anything that is made to look
like it might be a drug.

"We don't suspend kids for bringing Certs to school, or handing out Certs
to other kids," Superintendent Jim Upperman said. "We will, however, suspend
kids for bringing Certs or Lifesavers or anything else to school and acting
like it may be something else."

Joey stands by his story: "I only told him they were mints."
==========

Jerusalem, Israel:

What does it take to tempt a Trappist monk to break his vow of silence? The
thought of being unable to drive.

A monk from the Latrun Monastery in central Israel lost his license for two
months after being involved in a collision that slightly injured one person,
the "Maariv" newspaper reported Tuesday.

A traffic court in Beersheba ruled that the crash occurred because the monk
failed to slow down at a yield sign, the paper said. At the trial, he
exercised his right to remain silent, leaving his defense to his lawyer.

But when he came to reclaim his license, the motor vehicles department
refused because the number of his passport did not match the one listed in
the police computer. The monk had to go back to court and ask the judge to
authorize renewal of the license.

Judge David Landsman agreed, and the monk resumed his silence.
==========

Arlington, Vermont:

A man with epilepsy who was convicted of assault for grabbing a woman's arm
during a seizure has been cleared after convincing a judge that he wasn't
in control of himself.

Scott D. Vining was found guilty in July after he grabbed the woman on a
commuter train in the Washington suburbs and refused to let go. A third
passenger intervened.

On Tuesday, when he had been scheduled to be sentenced, Arlington County
Judge Griffin T. Garnett Jr. dismissed the verdict after seeing videotapes
of Vining having seizures, including some in which he lunged at people.

The tapes were shot over six days at George Washington University Hospital.
Vining voluntarily stopped taking his medication to prove that his epilepsy
could cause the behavior he exhibited on May 19.

The prosecutor who had obtained Vining's conviction joined the defense in
seeking the dismissal.

In finding Vining guilty, Garnett had discounted a letter from the man's
doctor and testimony about his previous seizures.

Vining, 35, had faced up to a year in jail and a $2,500 fine.

Alexandra K. Finucane, vice president of the Epilepsy Foundation of America,
said the case "demonstrates the crying need for educating not only the
general public about epilepsy but also the police, prosecutors and even the
judiciary."

© 1997 Peter Langston