Odds and Ends

STEVENS POINT, Wis. -- When a black bear wandered into the city and climbed up a tree, residents here didn't panic or rush away. In fact, they did the opposite.

A crowd of screaming well-wishers gathered underneath the tree, causing the panicked animal to climb farther up and making the limbs wobble.

That was scary, and the bear became too afraid to come down.

Stevens Point resident Barb Yach said neighbors took turns on "bear watch" during the day to make sure it didn't get hurt.

Officials said they initially didn't want to tranquilize the 2-year-old bear, citing a recommendation from the state Department of Natural Resources to wait for it to leave on its own.

But about 16 hours into the ordeal, something had to be done. Finally, a Wildlife Services employee fired two tranquilizers into the 140-pound animal Saturday evening.

Authorities then dragged the bear onto a forklift and it put into a cage, to the cheers of about 50 onlookers.

Officials said the bear probably had wandered away from the nearby Schmeeckle Reserve.

MADISON, Neb. -- Are Nebraskans ready for bull fries?

Jackie Williams, of Valentine, is the proprietor of the portable Potato Hut at this year's Madison County Fair and Rodeo. She says even when people find out what the fries really are - bull's testicles - nine out of 10 fair-goers still want to do a taste test.

True bull fry lovers can go for a whopping half-pound, 10-piece serving of bull fries included on the menu of the Potato Hut, which Williams co-owns and runs with her husband, Dustin.

And there's more than just novelty to the fries, according to Williams.

"Bull fries are all beef and one of the leanest meats on the market," Williams said. "They're 100 percent cholesterol-free."

The bull fries come to the Williams eatery already sliced, breaded and seasoned from a food distributor, Jackie Williams said.

"We also add our own, secret, special spices," she said.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It's a little smelly after 89 years of housing sheep, but for anyone intrigued by turning old barns into stylish homes, the University of Illinois has a one-of-a-kind offer.

The school is moving its South Farms agricultural facilities, but it won't be taking along the 1915 sheep barn with its unique gambrel roof.

Rather than demolish it, the university and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency are offering to donate the barn to someone willing to move and rebuild it.

"It's architecturally significant," said Anne Haaker, deputy preservation director for IHPA. "Locally, it's one of the best examples of its type of architecture."

The 90-foot-by-35-foot barn has housed only sheep since 1915, so it stinks a little, admitted Kevin Duff, a UI planner. But it is in good structural shape, and the gambrel roof makes the building an architectural wonder.

"Instead of just a straight peak, it comes to a point and changes slope and comes to another peak. That's a nice quality," he said.

The university is taking proposals until Aug. 11 from anyone willing to take the barn down by mid-September and move it to another location, Duff said.

He said university officials would pick the winner based on the applicants' resources, ability to move the barn and plans for preserving it. There is no charge for the barn itself.

LEXINGTON, N.C. -- Barbecue apparently is not to blame for the polluted air in Davidson County.

Local officials complained after the county was found not to be meeting federal standards for fine particle pollution, saying the location of a monitoring device near a barbecue restaurant and railroad crossing could be to blame.

The state added two air quality monitoring devices in other locations. Tim Mather, spokesman for the Division of Air Quality, said Friday that initial readings show even air that is far away from barbecue joints is too dirty.

"The locals keep blaming this on the barbecue restaurants," he said, referring to Lexington's famous food industry. "The fact of the matter is there's other sources that are much more likely to cause it than those barbecue restaurants."

In February, to meet a federal deadline, state regulators recommended to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that Davidson County be designated as not meeting federal air quality standards for fine-particle pollution.

Local officials expressed concern that the county's air monitor was located near a wood-burning restaurant and railroad crossing in downtown Lexington where more than 25 trains pass each day.

Mather said particulate matter in the air could be from a large railroad switchyard in a neighboring county and large power plants in surrounding counties. He also said the area could be getting pollution from Charlotte on prevailing southwest winds.