Odds and Ends

Toys for charity sent back to store shelves

STERLING, Colo. -- Toys placed in a drop-off box for charity at a Wal-Mart wound up back on the store shelves after a mix-up that frustrated organizers.

With 10 days left until the end of the annual Toys for Tots drive for the Logan County Chamber of Commerce, organizer Susan Kraich said she was back at square one.

But by late Wednesday, things were looking up -- with $425 worth of toys in hand for delivery.

The roller-coaster charity drive began its wild ride over the weekend.

"I've been keeping an eye on that box every time I went to Wal-Mart, and was so excited as it slowly began to fill. Over the weekend I heard that it was nearly full, so I went to pick it up. I was devastated when I found it empty," Kraich said.

Kraich said she complained to store management, but was told the store would only replace the items she knew for a fact were in the box. She was only able to replace three toys.

"I don't know how I am suppose to prove what was in there ... I thought since Wal-Mart agreed to place the box, they were agreeing to keep an eye on it," she said.

Wal-Mart manager Brad Barritt said the Toys for Tots organizer he met, whose name he could not remember, was instructed that donated items needed to be wrapped in Wal-Mart bags to ensure the items had been purchased.

Kraich, who works for First America Cash Advance, denied ever receiving any such instruction.

Since store officials didn't know if the gifts had been bought or not -- and no video camera was trained on the box -- Barritt said he decided to place all the toys back on the shelves for resale.

Barritt noted that the retailer is a regular benefactor to area clubs and organizations, donating more than $50,000 annually. Wal-Mart even offered a $1,000 cash grant to Toys for Tots this year.

"Not that that has anything to do with this situation. Only to say that, as a corporation, we are very community minded. I'd hate to see a discrepancy over a few toys change that perception in the eyes of the public," Barritt said.

Kayaker paddles upstream to reach reunion

NASHUA, N.H. -- A kayaker who began paddling last May from her Florida home to her high school reunion in Nashua has finished her 1,750-mile journey.

Along the way, 48-year-old Karen Ellis Richardson got five marriage proposals, seven nights of free lodging from hotels and lots of new friends. She camped on deserted islands when the weather forced her off course.

She thought she'd arrive before winter did.

"Snow. I never expected snow," she said.

Richardson left her home in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., on May 24 in a 17-foot sea kayak with 100 pounds of gear, planning to paddle up the Intracoastal Waterway in time for her Oct. 30 reunion.

Delayed by bad weather, she ended up docking the kayak near New York City and driving to the reunion, then returning to complete her trip. She finished with a 15-mile trip down the Merrimack River from Manchester to Nashua on Monday.

"It feels good to stand up," Richardson said.

Richardson missed only one stretch, from Sunderland, Mass., to Manchester. After spending Thanksgiving with friends, she left South Hadley, Mass., and began paddling upstream, even though she was ill.

"Here I was with a fever, but it was really fun paddling in the snow. I was thinking about how I started out in the tropics and now it's snowing," she said.

Back in her hometown, friends said they weren't surprised that she completed the trip.

"I knew she could do it," said Dan Jacocks, owner of Beach Bicycle & Kayak in New Smyrna Beach. "I know her strength, her persistence and her good luck on these trips."

--From wire reports