Strange but True

OAKLAND — Even the experts are having trouble explaining why a solid block of ice fell from the sky, crashed and left a 3-foot hole in the grass.

The ice fell at Bushrod Park in Oakland when homeowner Jacek Purat was waiting to show apartments to prospective renters Saturday. No one was injured, police said.

"It was totally amazing. ... I saw this flash, like a streak,” he said. "Then I saw this explosion, like a big boom. I came over and it (the field) was all covered with ice.

"Some were this big,” Purat said, making a head-size circle with his hands.

Brooks and Judith Mencher said they were standing on their back porch when they heard a sound like a rocket. "It kind of went ’whoosh!”’ Brooks Mencher said.

The ice block was about the size of the hole — 3 feet wide and 2 1/2 feet deep.

The ice was pure water, so "it didn’t come from a toilet on a plane or anything like that,” said Lt. Charles Glass of the Oakland Fire Hazardous Materials Team.

Such incidents are not uncommon because ice can build up on airplanes and fall as they prepare to land, said Tony Hirsch, an aviation expert.

The National Weather Service said storms haven’t been violent enough to hatch a gigantic hailstone.

Turkey stunts

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A wild turkey shattered the calm — and a window — at the St. Joseph County Library when it crashed through, toppling books until a custodian captured the disoriented bird.

"I’ve heard of deer going through houses, but never turkeys going into a library,” branch manager Judy Falzon said.

Falzon was preparing to open the library shortly before 9 a.m. Friday when the bird crashed in. She and custodian Irvin Cygirt watched as the animal hopped around, hit stacks of books and flew onto a cabinet.

Cygirt put on leather gloves, caught the bird, took it outside and released it.

"I picked it up and threw it in the air,” Cygirt said. "It took off. I was glad to see that; I thought it was a goner.”

Tim Cordell, a naturalist at nearby Potato Creek State Park, said the bird might have been looking for females and lost its way.

"Its radar must’ve been off to be in the city in the first place,” Cygirt said.

Chin music

SAN FRANCISCO — A community college baseball player cannot sue to recover damages from the opposing school even though he was intentionally beaned in the head by a pitch, the California Supreme Court has ruled.

"Being hit by a pitch is an inherent risk of baseball,” Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar wrote for the 6-1 majority Thursday. It is "so accepted by custom that a pitch intentionally thrown at a batter has its own terminology: ’brushback,’ ’beanball,’ ’chin music.”’

Jose Avila, of the Rio Hondo Roadrunners, was 19 in 2001 when he was hit in the head during a game against the Citrus Community College Owls.

Avila now has sporadic seizures and sued the Citrus Community College District, alleging that it was negligent for failing to control its pitcher.

The justices reversed an appeals court ruling that Avila could sue for damages. The Supreme Court and lawmakers have historically sided against those participating in sports in which injury is a foreseeable risk.

In dissent, Justice Joyce Kennard lambasted her colleagues.

"The majority holds that a baseball pitcher owes no duty to refrain from intentionally throwing a baseball at an opposing player’s head. This is a startling conclusion,” Kennard wrote, citing the official rules of Major League Baseball, which does not permit such conduct.

Expensive pup

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — How much could a pet dog be worth? According to a Kansas appeals court, the answer for one Yorkshire terrier is about $1,300.

The case began when Sarah Burgess took her tiny terrier Murphy for a shampoo and a cut with a Kansas City, Kan. groomer. Murphy came out limping, and eventually had surgery for a dislocated hip.

Burgress took the $1,309 veterinary bill to Shampooch Pet Grooming, saying her dog must have been injured there. When the groomer denied the charge, Burgess went to court.

A Wyandotte County judge first ruled in her favor, ordering the groomer to pick up the tab. But Shampooch appealed, leaving the Kansas Court of Appeals to determine Friday the question of a pet’s worth.

Shampooch said any damages paid should be limited to a pet’s original market value. If Burgess bought Murphy for $175, then why should a groomer have to pay the full veterinary bill for a 13-year-old dog?

To which Burgess’ attorney responded:

"What is the value of a wet face-licking received first thing in the morning? To a ‘cat person’ it is probably nothing but to a dog owner who has raised her friend from a puppy it is like the MasterCard ad — priceless.”

Although Murphy died of cancer last year, Friday’s ruling may not be the end of the story. Shampooch’s owner, Merlin Stice, said she might appeal to the state Supreme Court, contending that Murphy was not injured at her shop.<