Sad drought-related news from Australia
November 1, 2007 at 11:45 am by Thomas Wheatley in NewsAn Australian man is killed when he turns a hose on someone who heckles him for watering during a drought. Worst part: The guy who died was allowed to water that day. Sad story.
Stick to calling the authorities if you catch your neighbors violating the watering ban. Bold emphasis added.
Man killed in water-rage attack in Australia – Thu Nov 01 04:42:56 UTC 2007
SYDNEY (Reuters) – A man has been charged with murder in Australia after an elderly man who was watering his garden was bashed to death in an apparent case of suburban water-rage.
Australia is in its sixth year of severe drought and most towns and cities have imposed strict limits on household water use, prompting a rise in suburban arguments and neighbors informing authorities about those who waste water.
In the latest incident, police said 66-year-old Ken Proctor was using a hose to water the front lawn of his suburban Sydney home when a man walking past made a remark about water waste.
Proctor then turned the hose on the passer by, prompting a fight. He was knocked [to] the ground and was punched and kicked. He was treated by ambulance officers, but died later in hospital.
Authorities said Proctor was not in breach of water restrictions, as he was using a hand-held hose and was watering his lawn on his allocated day. A 36-year-old man charged with Proctor’s murder appeared briefly in a Sydney court on Thursday. He was denied bail and will remain in jail until his next court appearance on November 15.
November 1st, 2007 at 1:23 pm
gosh thomas, they must hand you all the poopy topics cuz yr the new kid on the block? is that it? I feel for you. let me give you this.. It’s a brand new burned copy of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. feel better schmoogums.
November 1st, 2007 at 6:19 pm
Oh, eggtooth, thanks for the kind words, fuzzyface. I hate to be the bearer of bad news all the time, but unfortunately, the beats I cover — environment, transportation and development — don’t really offer any smiley-face headlines. But they’re damn interesting to cover.
I’m trying to convince the editors here to let me cover the carnival beat. Or allow me to fly the CL helicopter and cover traffic jams. Just give me time.
February 6th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Come and show your support by pledging a raindrop, and together with RSVP you can help break the drought!
http://www.breakthedrought.com.au