xxxNews Of The Weirdxxx
Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.
New York City high school chemistry teacher Elihu McMahon, 69, reports daily to a do-nothing job, at $77,000 a year, as the result of being ordered out of the classroom based on various complaints and administrative findings. In fact, according to a February New York Post story, he has spent about three-fourths of his time in the last 15 years in such jobs (since New York teachers have generous job protections), costing the schools an estimated $600,000 in salary. Among the complaints against him: racist remarks to students (McMahon is black), insubordination, incompetent teaching, improper grading and sexual harassment (although McMahon blames the problems on bad administrators).
An 18-year-old man was transferred to Youth Court, with its more lenient procedures, after he was arrested and charged with stabbing a man to death at a New Year’s Eve party in Edmonton, Alberta. He will not be tried as an adult because the victim was stabbed just before midnight, and the alleged killer did not actually turn 18 until Jan. 1.
In December, Australia’s TV Channel 7 reported that many schools across the country, at the behest of the Australasian Performing Rights Association, were discouraging parents from making keepsake movies of their kids’ appearances in Christmas musicals, because recording the holiday songs might violate copyright law.
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Copyright © 2001 by Chuck Shepherd
NEWS OF THE WEIRD