Pig manure swamps German village
A village in the German state of Bavaria is recovering after being flooded with liquid pig manure.
A tank containing the fetid fertiliser burst, sending a deluge of porcine waste into the courtyards and streets of Elsa, police said.

The sewage was half a metre (1.6ft) deep in places.

"The village was swamped with green-brown liquid - the mother of all muck," police spokesman Rainer Prediger, from nearby Coburg, said.

The tank held about 52,800 gallons (240,000 litres) of fertiliser, Reuters news agency reported.

"It was not very pleasant for the villagers," Volker Munk of Coburg police told the BBC News website.

Officer Munk said the slurry ran down the main street, flooding the ground floors of several homes.

Police estimated the accident caused damage that will cost about 100,000 euros (£68,000) to repair, Reuters said.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4741262.stm

Jail reshuffles inmates in flap over gums
Accused jet thief placed in cell with dentist

By JOHN GHIRARDINI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/27/06

A Gwinnett jail inmate whose dental health issues have pitted his parents against Sheriff Butch Conway now has access to a dentist 24 hours a day.

On Friday evening Daniel Andrew Wolcott became a cellmate of a Dacula dentist facing murder charges in the death of his wife.

"I had him moved to a cell with Bart Corbin," Conway said Sunday. "[Corbin's] trained in dentistry, and if there are any complications, they can advise the medical unit. [Wolcott] just had his wisdom teeth out, so I think it's a good thing he's in a cell with a dentist."

Wolcott, 22, is awaiting trial for allegedly stealing a $7 million private jet in St. Augustine, Fla., in October and flying it to Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville.

He's been in jail since then in lieu of $175,000 bond. He faces charges in Florida and also may be subject to federal charges.

Wolcott's parents, Scott and Diane Wolcott, have been at odds with Conway since November over dental floss not being allowed in the jail.

They say their son's inability to floss caused him to develop gingivitis and gum pockets, which if left untreated could become full-blown periodontal disease.

The sparring culminated last week with a series of scorching e-mails and phone messages Scott Wolcott sent to Conway demanding immediate action on the issue or the sheriff's resignation.

Now, Scott and Diane Wolcott say putting their son in a cell with a dentist who can't practice his profession is no solution.

"This appears to be a very bad inside joke on someone's part," Scott Wolcott said Sunday. "I feel I have legitimate concerns that deserve to be addressed and resolved, not just brushed aside or made the brunt of someone's strange sense of humor."

The younger Wolcott, who goes by Andrew, was taken from his unit by a pair of sergeants Friday evening and brought to Unit K, according to his parents and Conway. There, he and Corbin were assigned to Cell 104.

Corbin was transferred from his original cell on the second floor of K pod. The third man in 104 is being held on a probation violation, his jail booking sheet shows.

Other inmates in K pod face charges ranging from aggravated assault and kidnapping to armed robbery and rape, according to jail records.

Scott Wolcott reiterated Sunday that his concerns are not simply for his son, but for any and all inmates who pass through the detention center.

A plan to carry small floss picks in the jail store late last year was abruptly canceled, the Wolcotts said.

"The Supreme Court has ruled that we don't have to provide floss to inmates," Conway said Sunday. "We're not breaking new ground here."

"I'm taking on a very serious health care issue, and I don't appreciate Sheriff Conway making a joke out of it," Scott Wolcott said. "I don't think the Georgia or American dental associations would find it very funny, either."