Caution: Do Not Walk on Tracks

A Pennsylvania woman who was struck by a train has sued the rail company — for failing to warn her that trains travel on railroad tracks.

Patricia M. Frankhouser filed suit on Nov. 4 seeking damages in excess of $30,000 from Norfolk Southern Corp. (search), according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Last January, Frankhouser was hit by a train as she walked along railroad tracks in her hometown of Jeannette, Pa., a southeastern suburb of Pittsburgh.

Amazingly, she came away from the encounter with only a broken finger, some cuts and, according to the lawsuit, "pain."

Apparently, however, the incident was traumatic enough for her to hire a lawyer.

"Defendant's failure to warn plaintiff of the potential dangers negligently provided plaintiff with the belief she was safe in walking near the train tracks," Frankhouser's suit asserts.

It goes on to state that Norfolk Southern, based in Norfolk, Va., should have posted signs warning passersby "of the dangers of walking near train tracks and that the tracks were actively in use."

Nowhere in the filing does it say whether Frankhouser heard the train coming, why she failed to get out of the way or even whether she was walking alongside or in between the rails.

Her attorney did not return the Tribune-Review's call.

— Thanks to Out There reader T.J. H.

Man Bites Dog, and Cop as Well

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say a man bit an officer and his dog Friday after trying to stiff a cab driver on an early morning fare.

Mark. A McClarty, 28, of Kansas City, Kan., was charged Friday with assaulting a police officer, resisting arrest and stealing.

Capt. Rich Lockhart said the suspect broke the skin on an officer's hand when he bit him. The man then nearly bit the ear off the police dog.

Lockhart said a cab driver told a police officer at 2:15 a.m. that someone had refused to pay a fare. When the officer found the man nearby and got out of his car to stop him, Lockhart said, the man spun around and punched the officer.

Lockhart said the officer used a remote control to release his police dog from the patrol car, and the dog joined the fight. After the dog bit the suspect, the man bit back and nearly took off the dog's ear.

The suspect also bit the policeman's hand before other officers arrived and used a Taser stun gun to subdue him.

The officer was treated at a hospital, while the dog's ear was reattached by a veterinarian.

A Menace, at Least Until Thanksgiving

WHITTIER, Iowa (AP) — Commuters say a wild turkey nicknamed Jake is causing a daily traffic hold up in this eastern Iowa city.

Jake stations himself next to the road, ready to run off any vehicle that slows down for a better look, said Melissa Davidson, who lives nearby.

"He's out here every morning," she said. "People get out of their cars to shoo him off the road, and he just circles the cars. It's really funny to watch. He's not afraid of people."

Davidson said Jake started causing the traffic interruptions about two months ago. He roosts in trees behind her next-door neighbor's home.

Jake's behavior isn't normal for a wild turkey, said Rick White, six-time Iowa state turkey-calling champion who works at Hunter's Specialties in Cedar Rapids.

He said wild turkeys are territorial only in the spring during mating season.

"It might be a domestic turkey or maybe a wild turkey pen-raised from eggs," he said. "Domestic turkeys get used to people and have a little [territorial aggressiveness] in their temperament."

He said of a turkey that chases cars: "It's weird."

School Cleans Up in Janitor's Will

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A part-time janitor who worked at the University of Great Falls (search) has left the college $2.3 million — the largest gift the school has ever received.

Genesio Morlacci died on Halloween at the age of 102.

On Monday, university president Eugene McAllister announced Morlacci's generous bequest.

"This is the largest single gift ever received by the university," McAllister said. "Students on this campus will benefit from every hour of the 18-hour days he worked."

Morlacci, a former dry cleaner, owned Sun Cleaners for several years before selling his business and going to work as a janitor at UGF.

"He only had a third-grade education, but he knew his numbers," said Morlacci's longtime friend Bill Foy. "He wasn't afraid to work hard."

Morlacci and his late wife always lived frugally, Foy said. "He patched the patches on his pants and turned the collars on his shirts."

A native of Italy, Morlacci directed that 95 percent of the money go to scholarships. The university can choose how to spend the remainder.

Woman Fined for Messing Up National Anthem

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A woman who fumbled a few phrases of Mexico's national anthem while singing the song before a soccer game in Guadalajara has been fined $40 for the blunder.

Guadalupe Madrigal acknowledged she got the words wrong while singing before an Oct. 30 soccer match between teams from Guadalajara and Monterrey, Mexico's Interior Department announced Saturday in a written statement.

"She indicated she was sorry to have sang the national anthem poorly," the department announced. "She indicated that she did not do it on purpose or with bad intentions, but recognized that she had made a mistake."

Madrigal, who could not immediately be reached for comment, could have been fined up to $950 under Mexican law mandating respect for the national seal, flag and hymn.

Officials decided to apply a $40 fine after taking into consideration Madrigal's economic situation — and the fact that thousands of spectators from across Mexico witnessed the performance.

It remained unclear what the offensive lyrics had been.

Well-wishers Pay for Police Dog's Eye Operation

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — Newspaper readers were so touched by the story of a blind police dog named Timber that they paid for an operation to restore his sight.

In fact, they paid for the $2,500 surgery many times over.

Officer Michelle Rafferty was ready to cover the cost out of her own pocket rather than let her cash-strapped department exchange her partner for a new dog.

But when a story about Timber's cataract operation and Rafferty's devotion appeared in the Star Tribune of Minneapolis last month, readers sent more than $20,000.

"It has blown me away and changed my life forever," Rafferty said.

Donors ranged from the rich and famous to kids who emptied their piggy banks.

Two weeks later, 22-month-old Timber appears to see well, perhaps for the first time. When nature called last week, he had no trouble zigzagging through a stand of trees before selecting one that suited his purpose.

"He seems spunkier, a little more sassy," Rafferty said. "His operating speed seems like it's picked up a little."

The extra money went into the Duluth Police K-9 Fund (search), where it will pay for equipment, dogs or other needs of the unit where Timber and Rafferty serve in northern Minnesota.

Timber is about a month away from returning to work.

Compiled by FOXNews.com's Paul Wagenseil.

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