A Pennsylvania bank robbery suspect was nervous when a construction worker saw him throw his shirt in a trash container – but not so harried that he didn’t stop to bum a cigarette, police said.  

Acting Ambridge Police Chief Sgt. James Mann said that Paul Carman, 36, gave a Huntingdon Bank teller a note saying, “This is a robbery. No dye packs. No alarms,” about 1:30 p.m. one Friday, the Beaver County Times reports. Carman also apologized to the teller.

Police gave a construction worker and others near the bank a description of the robber, and the worker told the newspaper that a man matching the description passed by a moment later and asked for a cigarette. When the suspect was told that police were looking for someone wearing a cap and a blue shirt, Carman allegedly threw those items into a nearby trash container.

Police caught up with Carman, who was also wanted for violating his parole in a 2008 bank robbery, later that day.

Source: Beaver County Times, http://www.timesonline.com/

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Shock the Monkey

Police in the Michigan city of Battle Creek have advised a woman that she shouldn’t expect to see a monkey, or her money.

The Battle Creek Enquirer reports a 25-year-old woman contacted police to report she lost $350 trying to buy a monkey from the African country of Cameroon.

The woman says she and her roommate found what they thought was a reputable website and received pictures and information about monkeys.

The so-called seller offered the monkey for $50. She sent it but received no simian.

After more back and forth, the woman shelled out $300 in two more payments but her contact wanted more money for a cage, license and shots.

Authorities smell a scam and say they are trying to gather her contact information.

Source: Battle Creek Enquirer, http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com

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Spell Bound

Students who worked on the Moorhead High School yearbook this year have learned a hard lesson about proofreading, after misspelling the Minnesota school’s name on the front cover.

A Forum News Service report says the 2013 yearbook arrived this week with the school’s name spelled “Moorehead.”

Moorhead school officials say the mistake slipped past an adviser and two classes of students who worked on it during the school year. They finalized it after graduation and sent it to be printed this summer.

The district can’t afford to reprint the yearbooks. Principal Dave Lawrence says one option is to use a high-quality adhesive label to cover the mistake.

District spokeswoman Pam Gibb says people feel very bad about what happened.

The yearbook’s title is “Moments Fade, But Memories Stay.”

Source: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com 

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Candy Comb

What appears to be red honey is showing up in some Utah beehives and state officials say it may be coming from bugs feasting on candy cane byproduct.

Utah Department of Agriculture and Food officials say they’ve received several complaints about the odd-colored goo in hives in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties. They say the bees were apparently fed the byproduct that came from a candy factory.

Officials say they don’t have any reason to call the red substance unsafe, but advise beekeepers not to mix it with normal-colored honey and to report it to the state.

Regulators are investigating whether the substance can be considered honey. Beehive State standards define honey as a product that originates from a floral source.

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Curses Spoiled Again

A state lawmaker who co-sponsored a bill that could have gotten police officers fired for cursing or using racial slurs while interacting with the public has withdrawn his support of the proposal.

State Rep. Paul Heroux (MA) now says he made a mistake in supporting the bill and won’t vote for it if it makes it out of committee, which he says is unlikely.

The Attleboro Democrat says he received calls and emails critical of the bill following media reports last week.

The presidents of two major police chiefs organizations in the state came out against the measure.

Police chiefs say most departments already have rules that would preclude an officer from using offensive language under conduct unbecoming an officer policies.