Odd digest 12/18/05

Police: Man alters ticket to get lower fine

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. -- A man faces a felony forgery charge after allegedly trying to alter a $100 ticket he received for parking illegally in a handicapped space. Police say William S. Shufro, 46, of Portsmouth, tried to alter the ticket to give the appearance it had been issued for parking in a no-parking zone, which carries a $20 fine. The altered ticket was sent to city hall, along with $20, Police Lt. Fred Hoysradt said. Police -- who had a copy of the original ticket -- saw the change, then charged Shufro with forgery, a felony punishable by 3 1/2 to seven years in prison, Hoysradt said. Shufro was arraigned Monday in Portsmouth District Court. A hearing is scheduled for Jan. 3.

Banana Boy sentenced to community service

HUDSON FALLS, N.Y. -- A local cable television superhero known as Banana Boy must perform 40 hours of community service for staging a fake brawl on a busy village street. Chris Phelps, 20, was sentenced in village court Thursday along with his brother Jonathan and friend Luke Van Scoy. They also were ordered to pay fines of $100 each, The Post Star of Glens Falls reported. The three were charged with disorderly conduct when police mistook their TV skit for a real-life knife fight. During filming, Van Scoy attacked Banana Boy with a prop knife just as Washington County Sheriff's Deputy Shawn Lovelace was driving down the street. The skit was being filmed for the trio's Glen Falls cable television show "The Ravacon," which is shown on Saturday nights and chronicles Banana Boy's adventures.

14-point buck turns out to be 14-point doe

DES MOINES, Iowa -- A hunter thought he might have bagged a trophy buck when he shot a 14-point deer in northeast Iowa earlier this month. Eric Weymiller, 25, of rural Harpers Ferry, started to field dress the animal when to his surprise he noticed it wasn't a buck at all. "I noticed right away it was missing some plumbing," said Weymiller, who shot the animal Dec. 7 in Allamakee County. He discovered he was dressing a doe sporting antlers with 14 tines, a big rack even for a buck. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Biologist Terry Hainfield confirmed that the animal was female. "It is unusual to find a doe with antlers, but what makes this particularly unusual is that the antlers had hardened and grown so big," Hainfield said.

-- From wire reports