Dateline: Canada— Dany Larivière, mayor of the small Quebec village of Théodore-d’Acton, is in a ton of trouble after dumping a giant boulder on his ex-wife’s driveway as a “birthday present.” Larivière, who also owns an excavation company, told the Winnipeg Free Press that he placed the 20-ton rock there to stop her from harassing him. Isabelle Prévost, who divorced Larivière last year following a 10-year marriage, told reporters he has been harassing her. The boulder, topped off with a pink bow and the words “Happy Birthday, Isa” spray-painted onto the surface in French was delivered at night using heavy-duty machinery. “I took a rock from one of my quarries and I brought it to her place with a little message and a nice ribbon, just like a real gift,” said Larivière. “She never had a rock big enough for her tastes. Now she has one.” Larivière has since removed the boulder, but police are still considering if charges should be brought against him for the prank. Police spokesperson Valerie Bolduc said the mayor could face criminal mischief or harassment charges. Dateline: Florida— A small green parrot struck by a motorist in Coral Springs is on the mend and now has more than a dozen people squabbling over ownership. The story began earlier this month when a woman hit the bird with her car. She assumed the bird was killed on the road, but she awoke the next morning to chirping sounds and spotted the bird peering at her from her car’s grill. She drove to a Coral Springs Fire Department station and firefighters removed the animal. The Monk parakeet, dubbed “Petey,” was taken to the Sawgrass Nature Center & Wildlife Hospital, where he was treated by veterinarians. Since Petey’s story came out in area newspapers, nearly 60 people have called the nature center with offers to take home the recovering bird. Anita Youngblood, a volunteer at the center, told the Sun Sentinel that 13 of those people have claimed the bird as their own wayward pet. Applicant interviews have begun and are expected to last a week or more. Those claiming to own Petey are being given the opportunity to draw the bird’s attention. So far, Petey hasn’t shown signs of recognizing anyone. “It’s going to know its owner, and it’s going to respond to them,” said Youngblood. If no owner is identified, the bird will be put up for adoption. The Monk parakeet, also known as a Quaker parrot, is a native of South America. Dateline: Oklahoma— An agitated man who scaled a 100-foot TV tower in Tulsa has finally been removed from his roost after a six-day standoff. According to the Tulsa World , William Boyd Sturdivant II spent more than 125 hours atop the Clear Channel radio antenna, beginning around 11 a.m. on the morning of Aug. 11. Rescue crews made multiple attempts to coax the 25-year-old down with offers of food and water. For nearly a week, however, he remained unmoved—even dozing atop the precarious tower of metal. Over the course of his standoff, Sturdivant became something of a local celebrity, attracting a crowd of onlookers who cheered him on. “We’ve had a couple of times when we’ve made some progress with him and then the crowd will start yelling and screaming things, it will distract him, and we’ll regress and go 12 hours back in time with the progression that we’ve made with him,” Ryan Perkins, of Tulsa Police, told KOTV-DT prior to Tuesday’s rescue. Sturdivant wore only a pair of shorts during his pole-sitting stunt as temperatures in Tulsa climbed to the upper 90s. He was eventually taken down via a Tulsa Fire Department truck and transported to a nearby hospital. Citing police, KOTV-DT reported that Sturdivant asked for a Whataburger and some Oreos and milk following his rescue. Dateline: Colorado— A woman called 911 in Greeley to report that her television remote control was missing. Amazingly, police actually came to her home and helped her look for the missing device. The woman, who did not wish to be identified by local press, called emergency services on July 27 to tell police she had been burglarized. According to her, the only item taken was her television remote. Since it was reported as a burglary, police showed up at the woman’s house. They searched for the remote, but did not find it. According to follow-up reports, the woman eventually located the remote in a drawer in her kitchen, but insists it was still the work of a burglar. “I just would never have put it there,” the woman told KUSA-TV in Denver.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
