Man serves two days in jail for unlicensed pet

Man serves two days in jail for unlicensed pet

BISMARCK, N.D. -- A North Dakota man has served an unusually steep sentence for having an unlicensed cat: two days in jail. William T. Dennis, 38, was charged with failing to license his feline, which normally brings a fine. But a warrant was issued for his arrest when he didn't show up for a court appearance on the charge. Dennis spent two days in jail before appearing in court again. "He basically just received credit for time served," said Bismarck Municipal Judge Charles Isakson. Failure to license an animal carries a fine up to $1,000 and a possible 30 day jail sentence in Bismarck.

108-year-old woman still casting her vote

SHELTON, Conn. -- No one was surprised when Effie Hobby cast her absentee ballot in Shelton's municipal election. The 108-year-old has voted in every local, state and national election since women were given the right to vote in 1920. "It's important to vote because you get to have a part in government and in getting things done," Hobby said. "I was always taught that voting was just one of those things you should do. It's a privilege to vote." Hobby, a lifetime Republican, said she did not get involved in the fight leading to the adoption of the 19th Amendment Aug. 26, 1920, but did not pass up the opportunity to cast her first vote at age 23. She says she has voted in every election since.

Avid shoppers swarm mall, trap band members

LINCOLN, Neb. -- When shoppers couldn't wait to get into a mall for a reopening celebration and prizes, things got chaotic. Between 2,500 and 3,000 people who had gathered outside swarmed the mall, trapping 100 members of a high school marching band. One person reported being assaulted. "I saw people shoved around, kids separated from their parents, adults crying, people knocked down on the ground. I saw one woman with an ice bag on her head," band director Terry Rush said. He said he was told the crowd would follow his musicians into the mall, but about 100 band members were overrun in the commotion. Westfield Gateway was handing out 1,000 gift boxes, 10 of which held $500, according to the mall's Web site.

-- From wire reports

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LOVELAND, Ohio -- A woman accused of failing to pay a $1.16 tax bill is off the hook -- city officials dropped her criminal charges.

Deborah Combs, 51, had pleaded innocent to misdemeanor charges of failure to file city tax returns and not paying late fees. She faced up to $4,000 in fines and 18 months in jail if convicted.

But Mayor Brad Greenberg said Friday it wasn't worth spending thousands of dollars in legal costs.

"The circus is leaving town," Greenberg said. "I will not allow our taxpayers to spend any further money prosecuting this case."

Greenberg also waived $200 in late fees assessed against Combs. The City Council is expected to direct the city manager to dismiss the case at a Tuesday meeting.

Combs, who has been mostly unemployed since 2000, didn't earn enough to file state and federal returns and said she believed she also didn't have to file city returns.

But Loveland, about 20 miles northeast of Cincinnati, has a mandatory filing requirement.

"This will really help me out a lot," Combs said. "I am down on my luck."