Emu's escape ends in death
ROME, Ga. - An emu's journey through a Rome neighborhood began with curious onlookers, as it strutted through fields and over streets after escaping from its owner.
But the animal's brief taste of freedom Wednesday ended in death.
Floyd County police spokesman Jerome Poole said that after animal control officers failed to take down the emu with tranquilizer darts, it was shot and killed at the owner's request.
Poole told the Rome News-Tribune that the emu was "thousands of addresses away" from its owner's property.
Five arrested in 2 drug cases
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. - Five people were arrested this week in two drug cases in Jackson County, Ala., according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
On Wednesday, deputies, drug officers, the Section Police Department and Alabama state troopers searched a home on Highway 35 in Section and seized methamphetamine, prescription pills and paraphernalia, the release stated.
Elvis Lee Burns, 47, and Patricia Ann Townson, 38, are charged with possessing meth, Valium, Lortab, other prescription medications and drug paraphernalia. They also are charged with manufacturing controlled substances. No bond had been set as of Thursday afternoon.
On Thursday, Jackson County narcotics officers and Stevenson police raided a house on County Road 287 where officers found meth and precursor chemicals, prescription pills, marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Arrested were Angela Thompson Guess, 38; William Lorenzo Guess, 38; and Charles Eric Dunn, 32, all of Stevenson. No bonds had been set as of Thursday afternoon.
Reward offered for vandals
GATLINBURG, Tenn. - The National Park Service is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for vandalizing stone walls at the Sinks in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Sinks is a 15-foot roadside waterfall that attracts visitors throughout the year.
On Jan. 31 visitors reported vandals had spray-painted pictures and profanity along the walkways, stone walls and natural rock throughout the area.
Man quits job over 666 on W-2
NASHVILLE - A maintenance worker at a Clarksville foundry says he quit his job because his W-2 tax form was stamped with the number 666.
Walter Slonopas told The Tennessean that accepting the number would have condemned his soul to hell, noting that it is the biblical "sign of the beast."
The company that handles payroll for Contech Casting LLC said the number meant that Slonopas' form was the 666th one it mailed out.