Ice capades; Mining for trouble; Conveyor kitty; Streaming live from Tennessee; Christmas no joke
Conveyor kitty
GALT, CALIF. — It’s become somewhat of a trend lately for employees to bring their pets to work. But a recycling facility in California had an unexpected visitor recently when a tiny kitten showed up. The kitty was heading down a conveyor belt at Cal-Waste, about to fall into the composter, when he was spotted by loader operator Tony Miranda, according to KCRA. “I pretty much just found it between all the debris and bags and just everything,” he said. “I just grabbed it and immediately reported it to the line supervisor.” It’s presumed the kitten went for a ride in a garbage truck and was then pushed onto the conveyor belt. “We put so much material in here and we run so much stuff through it,” said Miranda. “It’s just amazing to see a little kitty survive through all this. It made my day today, definitely made my day.” In the end, shift lead Heather Garcia decided to adopt the new employee and name him Murphy. “It’s just so cute, I mean why wouldn’t you take it home?” she said.
Ice capades
STE. ANNE, MAN. — Drinking and driving is a no go — even if you are a Zamboni driver, as one employee found out recently. Police officers received a complaint one night in Ste. Anne, Man., about a driver who was running into the rink’s boards and moving erratically around the ice, according to the CBC. “He struck the gate where the Zamboni drives onto the ice, and broke the boards and also broke pieces off the actual Zamboni,” said Martin Kintscher, hockey team manager. “One piece got stuck under the Zamboni, which left a ridge on the ice with every lap.” Officials had to cancel the game due to the damaged surface. “He got fairly angry and said that it was fine, and then he was upset that we called supervisors in,” said Kintscher. RCMP took the operator into custody and he was charged with impaired driving and resisting arrest.
Mining for trouble
KYRGYZSTAN — Employees relocated overseas often face different cultures and customs, including foreign delicacies. But it might be best to withhold comment — especially on social media — judging by a recent situation involving a British employee. At New Year’s Eve celebrations, Michael Mcfeat, a British welder working at Kyrgyzstan’s biggest gold mine, felt compelled to post on Facebook that his Kyryz colleagues were lining up for their “special delicacy, the horse’s penis.” The dish, chuchuk, is actually sausage made from horse meat and intestines, according to Reuters. But the comment did not go over well — it caused a brief strike at the mine and Mcfeat faced calls for criminal prosecution. He was detained by police for questioning but they gave him a warning, even though other workers felt his actions incited hatred — a crime punishable by three to five years in prison. In the end, Mcfeat had to leave the country because he was working without an official permit.
Streaming live from Tennessee
NASHVILLE, TN. — When a huge snowstorm hit the United States in late January, many a reporter braved the elements to report live on the weather. One dedicated journalist did so despite a particularly runny nose, according to the Mirror. Of course, a video of the streaming action soon went viral, but Alexandra Koehn didn’t seem phased, commenting on her Twitter account: “People are cruel. I guess that’s a part of the biz. I did 8 liveshots in a snow storm, and was working really hard!!!” While some commentators weren’t so complimentary, there were many supporters: “Keep your head up. You’ve always been extremely professional. Something positive will come from this unwanted attention,” said McFooly@IrishCorps. “Let’s see all those cruel people get out there in the storm and do that job. They wouldn’t last 2 seconds,” said Natalie@nattyw222.
Christmas no joke
CARINTHIA, VIENNA — Visit any mall over Christmastime — and well before then — and you’ll likely have to suffer through the same old tunes celebrating the festive season, non-stop, over and over. That painful tradition didn’t stop an Austrian radio jockey from playing a prank on his listeners — and suffering the consequences, according to Reuters. The employee decided to lock himself in the studio — barricading the door with a wooden stick — and play the song “Last Christmas” by the British band Wham! 24 times in a row. It was only after the moderator’s daughter put a call into the studio begging her father to stop that the marathon ended. As a result, the radio employee had to work Christmas and New Year’s Eve as punishment, said Timm Bodner, programming chief of the station Antenne Kaernten in Carinthia. “In general, it was funny but there must be consequences.”
