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Ruth and Charles Miller, former owners of the Haines Shoe House in Hellam, Pa., put the house up

There was an old couple who lived in a shoe – or boot

HELLAM, Pa. – Along a two-lane country road, the scenery offers up the architecturally impossible, or so it would seem – a 25-foot-tall beige stucco replica of a man’s work boot worthy of Paul Bunyan.

Until recently, an elderly woman even owned the place. She didn’t actually live in the shoe, although its three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and living room make it livable enough.

For the past eight years, 77-year-old Ruth Miller was the tour guide for curious motorists who stopped by the Haines Shoe House on Shoe House Road, just a few miles east of the city of York.

But Miller and her 75-year-old husband, Charles, decided in June to put the house up for sale (asking $129,000) because they wanted to spend a few years traveling and wouldn’t be able to manage the house at the same time. They were the attraction’s only employees.

The house was conceived by Mahlon N. Haines, an Old Washington, Ohio, native who moved to York County in his early 20s and founded the Haines Shoe Co. At its height, the company had more than 40 stores in central Pennsylvania and northern Maryland.

Stolen Mr. Potato Head statue found after multi-day ordeal

NEWPORT, R.I. – Mr. Potato Head was a little mashed and chipped but otherwise in tater-top shape when he returned home after being whisked away from his cushy estate.

Police said someone found the spud statue in a field. It was returned to owner James Leach over the weekend.

“Although he was ripped and mashed a little bit, he is expected to make a full recovery and soon be on display,” said Sgt. James Quinn.

The 6-foot-tall, 150-pound statue was stolen Friday from the driveway of a private estate. James Leach called police when an alarm went off.

The statue was situated within the gates of the 17-acre Malbone Estate. The gates were open at the time, Leach said.

In 2000, the Rhode Island Tourism Division introduced the Mr. Potato Head figures to promote the state as a family tourist destination. After the advertising campaign, several of the statues were auctioned, with proceeds benefiting charity.

The stolen statue of the popular children’s toy figure was originally located in the statehouse and clad in a colonial-era uniform.

Leach purchased the potato as a birthday gift for his son.

CNN’s Tucker Carlson angry over phone flap

WASHINGTON – Conservative CNN commentator Tucker Carlson’s snide humor backfired on him – and his wife. While defending telemarketers during a segment on “Crossfire” last week, the bow-tied co-host was asked for his home phone number. Carlson gave out a number, but it was for the Washington bureau of Fox News, CNN’s bitter rival.

The bureau was deluged with calls. To get back at him, Fox posted Carlson’s unlisted home number on its Web site. After his wife was inundated with obscene calls, Carlson went to the Fox News bureau to complain. He was told the number would be taken off the Web site if he apologized on the air. He did, but that didn’t end the anger.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Carlson called Fox News “a mean, sick group of people.”

Fox spokeswoman Irena Briganti said Carlson got what he deserved. “CNN threw the first punch here. Correcting this mistake was good journalism.”

Cool weather prompts State Dept. to issue mouse alert

WASHINGTON – As if the State Department did not have enough to worry about with Iran, Iraq and the French, the onset of cooler weather in the capital has prompted a mouse alarm.

The department issued a warning Monday in its main building, saying that “increasing numbers of mice and their larger cousins” were set to launch their annual search for warm lodging and food.

Unfortunately, the notice added, ongoing renovations in some areas of the building provide convenient pathways for rodents.

The department’s thousands of employees were told not to leave food around their desks, to pick up any dropped crumbs and to reduce clutter.

Supervisors were singled out for an admonition to make sure custodial workers are able to get into secure areas to remove trash.

Mouse sightings or questions about the pest management program should be directed to the facility management service desk, the warning advised.

Lost walrus visits Norway beach, becomes attraction

OSLO, Norway – A giant walrus has been delighting residents of the Norwegian capital during a rare visit as he lolls around on a sandy beach that is, for him, the sunny south.

“It’s very rare,” University of Oslo marine biology professor Asbjoern Voellestad said of the visit. He knew of only one other such event in the last 15 or 20 years.

“He’s definitely lost,” he said, adding the mammal likely got separated from his herd and wandered off.

Witnesses said the animal appeared to be at least 6 1/2 feet long. Walruses can grow as long as 9 1/2 feet.

The bewildered walrus swam all the way up the fjord, some 60 miles from the open ocean. And the swim home would mean at least a 2,200-mile trek, as he would have to round Norway’s southern tip before heading north.

On Sunday, the walrus became an unwitting tourist attraction as it rested on Fornebu beach on the outskirts of Oslo. It seemed relaxed about people approaching, lifting its head and rolling from one side to the other. Mussels that make the bulk of a walrus’ diet are plentiful in the fjord, so he’s not expected to go hungry.

On land, walruses are slow because of their girth, but in the water, they are fast swimmers.

Since walruses are highly social animals, Voellestad said loneliness will probably force the animal to resume the search for his herd.

Reports from Daily Bruin wire services.