Odds and Ends

NEW ULM, Minn. - Too bad firefighters didn't have a pile of popcorn handy - or better yet, loads of lobster tails.

An intense fire consumed half of the roof of the Associated Milk Producers Inc. butter packaging plant, sending melted butter flowing out of the facility.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but officials worried that the melted butter would interfere with the railroad tracks bordering the plant's east end.

The plant was holding an estimated 3 million pounds of butter at the time of the fire Wednesday.

A plant employee discovered the fire in a utility area, and the 30 workers in the butter packaging plant were evacuated and sent home.

Officials were investigating the cause of the buttery blaze.

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VIRGINIA CITY, Nev. - The state's first legal bordello is set to reopen, but the notorious Mustang Ranch name may be shut out of the action.

The Storey County Commission has granted a brothel license to Wild Horse Resort & Spa owner Lance Gilman to operate a second brothel next to the Wild Horse about four miles east of the former Mustang property.

The government seized the Mustang in 1999 after its owners were convicted of racketeering. Gilman bought it on eBay for $145,000 and moved the Mustang buildings to the Wild Horse site.

The commission will decide at its next meeting whether to let Gilman keep the Mustang Ranch name, which he says was part of his purchase.

Oscar Williams, the owner of Ambient Entertainment of Reno, claims to have the rights to the trademark for clothing and other merchandise and David Burgess, the owner of the Old Bridge Ranch, also objects to the use of the name. His brothel is located next to the former Mustang Ranch site.

Gilman said he has spent about $1.5 million on site preparation and moving the old brothel to his land.

While the original Mustang has 50 rooms, Wild Horse madam Susan Austin said the new one would open with about 20.

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CHICAGO - Gov. Rod Blagojevich turned on the humor after the lights on the city's giant holiday tree failed to turn on.

Blagojevich made light of the situation Wednesday, explaining to about 100 people gathered why nothing happened after a 10-second countdown and the flip of a switch by Blagojevich, his wife Patti and their daughter Annie.

"These are difficult budget times. We're cutting everywhere, including Christmas lights," Blagojevich joked.

Event master of ceremonies Allison Payne of WGN News got in on the act, first by asking the governor if he had paid the electric bill and then by calling for applause and asking the audience of about 100 to pretend the 25-foot-tall tree was lit.

"We've got a lot of mechanical types here with the state. Anybody want to try something to get our tree lit?" she asked.

The lights came on after a couple of minutes, and after the ceremony, Blagojevich jokingly assumed it was a state worker's fault.

"That's just a good old-fashioned human error. A state employee was just a little bit behind schedule and if you can't have compassion and love in your heart during the holiday season, you can never have it," he said. "And this is an administration that prides itself on being just the opposite of Scrooge and therefore, I'm thinking maybe that guy ought to get a raise."

Governor's spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff later said the culprit was the circuit breaker.

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OLATHE, Kan. - The Salvation Army's 20,000 shiny red kettles and trademark bell-ringers are easy to spot, but one helper stands out - on four legs.

Providence, a 6-year-old German wire-haired pointer, is in her third season as a Salvation Army volunteer.

She's able to do all the things her colleagues do. Providence rings a bell with her mouth and has also learned to take donations and put them in the kettle.

"This is not a drooly-mouth dog," said her owner, Penny Shaffer.

For a while, however, it looked as though the dog's charity work would end.

In April, a tumor was discovered on the roof of her mouth. It was removed, but another one appeared 12 days later.

"They gave her zip chances," said Shaffer.

Surgery removed Providence's second tumor, three teeth and part of her upper jaw. Her jaw was reconstructed, and she had to be on a feeding tube for more than a month while she healed.

She went through 18 radiation treatments, and there's been no recurrence of cancer.

And on Thursday, Providence returns to her bell-ringing post.