Don't mess with W
DES MOINES, Iowa - The University of Wisconsin is very protective of its W.
The university has pressured 20 schools to change their logos in the past three years because they looked too much like its red W, which is trademarked, said Cindy Van Mater, the university's director of licensing.
The latest violator: the Waukee School District in suburban Des Moines. Collegiate Licensing Co., which represents the U of W, sent a letter to Waukee Superintendent David Wilkerson claiming Waukee's W is too similar to the university's logo.
"We're not going to intentionally break the law, and if we're in violation, we're going to change it," Wilkerson said.
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Now, Waukee must find a new logo to go on everything from uniforms to a carved stone in front of its administration building if it wants to avoid a legal battle.
It wasn't an asteroid
OYSTER BAY, N.Y. - Don't blame extinction or evolution for this missing dinosaur.
A 265-pound fiberglass replica of a raptor was stolen last weekend by thieves who unbolted it from a trailer at the annual Oyster Festival.
The dinosaur had been brought to the festival as a promotional tool for an upcoming "Battle of the Dinosaurs" exhibit at the Center for Science Teaching and Learning in Rockville Centre.
Instead, the prehistoric creature was liberated from the trailer sometime after 6 p.m. Saturday, said Nassau County police.
Authorities are asking the public's help in finding the missing item, which they described as: 5 feet tall, 10 feet long, brown with dark stripes, and sporting large sickle-shaped feet.
Name passes test
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FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. - Organizers of the fourth annual Turkey Testicle Festival can keep their name, despite concerns about the propriety of the word.
The Fort Myers Beach Council voted 4-1 this week to allow the Surf Club bar to use the Turkey Testicle Festival name after a laugh-out-loud discussion, according to the News-Press.
"Who cares what the name is?" Mayor Dennis Boback said.
"Money is going for a worthy cause."
The festival has raised about $3,000 for the Harry Chapin Food Bank in each of its past three years. A change in policy requiring the council to approve special events brought the issue of the name to the table two weeks ago.
"We do have youngsters here," said Garr Reynolds, who opposed the name. "We're trying to uplift their thinking."
Today's best bet
Dock Hinman
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Christian rock music
Cornerstone Ministries
65 3rd St. N., Fargo
8 p.m.
(701) 232-5929
If there's something you want to see in The Rail, e-mail Features Editor John Lamb at jlamb@forumcomm.com
