Odds and Ends

GROVE, Okla. - Usually, parishioners offer money to their churches. This time, the church handed out money.

Pastor Steve Dyer of the Newsong Church gave $14,000 to congregation members to invest for seven weeks, after which they are to bring the money and profits back to the church to be used in missionary work.

"The idea has always been in the back of my mind," said Dyer.

Loud gasps were heard throughout the 125-member, interdenominational church as the envelopes containing $100 and $50 bills were ripped opened after the Sunday sermon.

Dyer had placed crisp $100 bills in red envelopes for adults and $50 bills in green envelopes for school-age children.

"That is going to be a lot of fun," Dyer said. "A lot of people already have ideas."

Dyer said the church isn't keeping track of who has the money. He only gave one stipulation: It was not to be used to buy lottery tickets or to gamble.

Teacia Williams, 14, of Grove said she is going to use her $50 to buy newspaper ads advertising her availability to baby-sit.

"I plan on doubling the money," she said.

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MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - A Valentine's Day gift sure created some sparks here - when it plunged 2,100 homes and businesses into the dark.

The heart-shaped metallic Mylar balloon caused an electrical outage when it drifted into an electrical substation, said Phil Miller, the general manager of Mishawaka Utilities.

"It said 'I Love You' on it," he said. "It looks like someone didn't hold onto their Valentine's gift tightly enough."

Miller said the balloon, trailing a wet string, drifted into the substation near the University Park mall in the city just east of South Bend.

The string caused a short circuit in a bank of capacitors, which are components that store electrical charges within the city's power transmission network.

The balloon "didn't look too pretty when we pulled it out of there," Miller said.

Power was restored to most customers within an hour, he said.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Attorney General Mike Hatch's office really went to the dogs.

Hatch brought his golden retriever Bella and her nine puppies to the office Tuesday at the request of his staff, which wanted to throw a "puppy shower." Laddie, the dogs' father, stayed home.

Leslie Sandberg, a spokeswoman for Hatch, said all the puppies have been purchased or spoken for. But it will be a few weeks before the month-old puppies head to their new homes.

The pups got a taste of politics when they wandered into a news conference, where Hatch was announcing a bill that would clamp down on pushy debt collectors.

Hatch said of the puppies, "They were born Republicans, but then they opened their eyes and now they're Democrats."

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ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Carol Birmingham almost had a heart attack when she realized her Mac Attack had cost $8,700.

The 62-year-old British tourist didn't notice until Sunday morning that she had left her cash-stuffed purse on a McDonald's counter when she bought lunch the previous day.

Inside was her down payment for a vacation home.

But the panic was short-lived since an assistant manager at the restaurant turned the money over to the Orange County Sheriff's Office for safekeeping.

Ilona Barattin, 23, said she found cash, mostly hundred-dollar bills, but no ID. On returning the cash, she said: "It was the right thing to do."

The Birminghams returned to McDonald's on Monday to give Barattin and fellow manager Aileen Norris an undisclosed reward.