Town clerk saves Otisfield's only mailbox, and more

Town clerk saves Otisfield's only mailbox

Because the 1,750 people in Otisfield, Maine, drop only about six letters into the town’s sole mailbox every day, the U.S. Postal Service recently decided to scrap it. But this week, just as a Postal Service worker was set to uproot the mailbox, town clerk Sharon Matthews and her assistant intercepted him and refused to allow him to proceed. Amid the glare of TV cameras, the worker left the mailbox in place. The Postal Service is now reconsidering the removal. “We’re thrilled customers in Otisfield are as passionate as they are about their mail,” said a spokesman.

Toddler survives 8-mile river trip in a toy truck

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A 3-year-old Canadian boy who floated in his toy truck for eight miles down a river in British Columbia is none the worse for wear. Dressed in only a T-shirt and diaper, Demetrius Jones wandered away from his family’s campsite in Peace Island Park and drove his battery-powered vehicle into the Peace River. After a frantic two-hour effort, searchers found him downstream, perched atop the overturned truck, which was floating in 15-foot-deep water. “That couldn’t have happened twice in a million,” said rescuer Don Loewen, “so I’m thinking he’s one heck of a lucky guy.”

Passenger repairs Boeing jet before takeoff

Passengers aboard a Boeing 757-200 jet bound from the Spanish island of Minorca to Glasgow, U.K., groaned when the pilot announced that takeoff would be delayed because of technical problems. It would take eight hours, he said, before a technician could be flown in to fix the problem. But then one of the passengers announced that he was a qualified aircraft engineer and offered to make repairs. After checking his credentials, the crew allowed him to proceed. Within 40 minutes, the jet was ready for takeoff. “The man came to our rescue,” said another passenger, “and he really deserved the applause he got.”