My new favorite hobby

No, I haven't given up knitting.

Back in college, I used to get immense enjoyment from reading the Independent Collegian's police blotter. I am now getting almost as much entertainment from reading the local newspaper on-line.

This isn't from the police blotter, but it will probably give you a clue:

"The Police Department’s “zero tolerance” policy on crime in the downtown area netted another dozen jaywalkers this weekend..."

In other words, while I wouldn't say that nothing happens here, it does appear that the volume is low enough that EVERYTHING, serious or not, gets reported. I guess I will have to be sure I am using a crosswalk if I cross the street downtown because jaywalking is a serious crime! Actually, reading the rest of the article, it seems the crackdown is occurring between approximately 11 p.m.-2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights in the vicinity of a certain establishment I have no intention of ever visiting, so I think I will be all right. In addition, the "zero tolerance" policy is intended to crack down on littering and public urination, and I am all for that, so no complaints from me.

Here is a sampling of some of my favorite police blotter reports:

A woman said Friday her sister-in-law sent a package of meat with the wrong address, and it was delivered to another apartment in her complex. She said that she would contact her landlord because she didn’t want to ask the occupants of the other apartment to return the meat.

A. woman said there were three males in the bushes behind her house Friday and that a suspicious car was parked in the Stadium parking lot. When police arrived, they found out that the males in the bushes were youths playing hide-and-seek. The occupants of the car were sent on their way.

A woman informed police Saturday that her neighbor’s large dog is always unleashed and in her yard and it always makes a large mess. The woman said she had spoken to the neighbor about the issue, but it keeps happening. Police told the neighbor to not let it happen again.

A man was reported to be walking on --- Ave. Wednesday wearing camouflage and carrying a shotgun. Police stopped the man and found he was carrying an umbrella.

A resident reported Monday that a sweeper salesman was dropped off at her residence for two hours and was asking strange questions. Deputies told the salesman’s supervisor to monitor where the salesmen were and if they were not wanted, they were to leave.

A resident Tuesday reported that he received a check for $4,950 from an alleged sweepstakes, of which $2,000 was to be sent back to the company for taxes. He said he wanted the information logged by police so other people don’t get caught up in the scam.

A black sheep that escaped Sunday night from a live Nativity at a church on --- Ave. was found Monday morning. Police were alerted to the escape Sunday night when a --- St. resident reported a suspicious male, who was a member of the search party, outside her residence.

This paper is just great. As I was scrolling through looking for old police blotters I came across this pair of headlines right next to one another:

A different kind of sled

Prosecutor reviews pact with Rosebud Mining to vacate