Revenge of the groundhog

Okay, this is not quite in State College, but any groundhog story qualifies for this blog.  From today's Centre Daily Times website:

Groundhog hitches ride with unsuspecting Pa. man

The Associated Press

May 23, 2011 2:46pm EDT

WHITEHALL, Pa. — A stowaway groundhog created quite a mess, not to mention a neighborhood ruckus that drew police, a state wildlife officer and even the mayor, when it became trapped inside a car in suburban Allentown.

The fat, furry rodent tore up the back seat of a 1995 Pontiac Bonneville and used the car as a toilet.

Tyler Duncan, 20, of New Tripoli, made the unpleasant discovery Sunday afternoon when he returned to the car following a sleepover at a friend's house in Whitehall Township, according to The Morning Call of Allentown.

"I screamed," he said.

He called his mother, Sharon Duncan, who was brave enough to get in the car and start cleaning it. As she was picking up pieces of cushion and animal feces, Duncan's friend's mother caught a glimpse of the buck-toothed varmint trying to escape from underneath the front passenger seat. She, too, began screaming.

Township police and a state wildlife officer worked together to catch the woodchuck, which was put in a cage and released to the wild. Authorities believe the critter had traveled with Duncan from New Tripoli to Whitehall, a distance of about 15 miles.

Whitehall Mayor Ed Hozza Jr. joked that he gave a "direct order" to take the groundhog back to New Tripoli.

Brotherly love

From the Centre Daily Times website:

Provocative fruit display causes sibling dispute

May 15, 2011 8:40am EDT

An argument over bananas has led to charges of harassment against a pair of siblings in Blair County.

Lester J. Helsel, 57, of Roaring Spring, and Julianne K. Stalter, 55, of Altoona, got into an argument at Helsel’s house at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.

According to police, Helsel accused Stalter of eating and hiding his bananas. The argument escalated as he discovered she had arranged the fruit “to resemble the human male anatomy on his computer.”

Helsel then approached Statler and, in response, she shoved him, police said. He then repeatedly punched her in her head and upper torso, police said

Great moments in small town crime, part 3. . .

. . .or, how not to escape from the police.  From this morning's Centre Daily Times:

Police: Men arrested after failed window escape

May 13, 2011 9:18am EDT

State College police said two men vandalized a State College apartment early Thursday before one fell out a three-story window and both were arrested.

Police said officers heard a loud crash at 1:48 a.m. and found Robert O’Mahoney, 23, of Caldwin, N.Y., face down and unconscious between the Shandygaff bar and the Tavern Restaurant.

After O’Mahoney regained consciousness minutes later, not knowing his name or location, officers went to the apartment, where Eric Paulson, 21, of Ferguson Township, was with employees of the landlord, police said.

According to court documents, Paulson said he and O’Mahoney, after drinking all night, entered the apartment with the key code intending to wreck it in retaliation for damage they said the apartment owner had done to their place.

Police said the apartment had about $1,000 in damages, including several holes in the walls, paint poured on the floor and walls, overturned furniture, fire extinguisher foam, and a destroyed closet door.

Paulson told officers that after he and O’Mahoney heard knocking at the front door, O’Mahoney wanted to jump out the window, police said.

Paulson said he started to help lower him from the window but let go when O’Mahoney said he was OK, police said.

O’Mahoney was treated at Mount Nittany Medical Center for unspecified injuries and released, police said.
Both men were arraigned on charges of burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and tampering with fire apparatus.