Errant chicken wiped out by close encounter

YUBA CITY, Calif. -- Not only did this chicken not make it across the road, but it wound up in a motorist's windshield wipers. Yuba City Police Lt. Bill Ollar said a man reported that he was driving along a Highway 99 frontage road Tuesday night when a chicken flew by and became entangled in the wipers. The man said he didn't want to try to free the bird himself so he drove to the police station. An officer suggested that he turn on his wipers to see if that would free the chicken, but it only set off a "wing-flapping, screeching frenzy," police said. Finally, an officer donned rubber gloves and freed the bird, which was unharmed but got away. "After a brief failed attempt to catch the chicken, none of the officers wanted to be seen involved in a prolonged 'chicken-chasing venture' in front of the police department, so the chicken was left to hang around the front of the office to do whatever chickens do," police said in a news release. Ollar said an animal control officer picked up the bird Wednesday.

Woman makes unusual deposit at branch bank

MOUNT VERNON, S.D. -- Call it a drive-through delivery. Elaine and Rodney Schabot were headed for a hospital about 25 miles from home, after Elaine Schabot went into labor Tuesday morning. But as they traveled east along Interstate 90, a blinding rainstorm cut visibility to near zero and Schabot told her husband she needed to stop. They stopped at CorTrust Bank's Mount Vernon branch, where they are regular customers. Fifteen minutes later, their 6-pound, 15-ounce daughter arrived. "This should show that we're a full-service bank," said Diana Descombaz, the bank's assistant manager. "I'm just glad it turned out well."

Fake fried baby foot found in family's food

BATESVILLE, Ark. -- A North Carolina family was not amused when what appeared to be a battered and fried baby foot turned up in a package of chicken pieces. The package of Banquet brand chicken pieces, which are produced only at ConAgra's Batesville plant, was purchased at a Lowes Foods supermarket in Durham, N.C., said Tania Graves, ConAgra spokeswoman. But the foot wasn't real -- it was actually made of dough that had been sculpted to include toes and toenails, then breaded and fried. Police sent the foot-shaped object to the state medical examiner's office, which determined that it was dough, not human tissue. Durham police said that the object had been intentionally shaped to resemble a foot. The investigation was turned over to the Durham County Health Department and United States Department of Agriculture, and the faux foot was given to ConAgra. Graves said the company had taken action to assure nothing like this would happen again, including discharge of some employees.

Seven-year-old boy goes down the drain

MONONGAH, W.Va. -- Sucked into a 10-inch storm drain, 7-year-old Dominick Fonseca was pushed downhill -- and underground -- more than 130 feet before a neighbor pulled him from the narrow pipe. Dominick was playing with his brother and sister when he fell into a drainage ditch and disappeared from sight on Tuesday. Neighbor Tom Huffman heard Dominick's sister call for help and he jumped into the ditch. "I was on my knees and the water was up to my chest," the 40-year-old Huffman said Wednesday. "Once I felt the suction of the pipe, I just happened to run [back down] the alley and flipped the lid up and there he was." The 3-foot-9, 45-pound second-grader needed 25 stitches to close the cuts on his skull, but was otherwise unharmed. Town crews on Wednesday cemented a heavy grate over the drain pipe opening.

-- From wire reports