Canoe capsizes in creek

(Editor's note: The Bee's police blotter is a sampling of unusual, sometimes humorous calls received by the police department. It is not intended to be a complete record of all incidents reported.)

Friday, Jan. 5

+ Police were called to a Main Street store when a clerk reported receiving a counterfeit $50 bill and the suspect was still there. The money was real, an "old style bill."

+ A group of youths traveling in a car on Niagara Falls Boulevard were reportedly throwing beer bottles out the window.

+ A motorist on Arcade Avenue reported seeing a 3-year-old child lying in the back window of a car and waving at the complainant. The car was parked, and no one was around when police arrived.

Saturday, Jan. 6

+ A complainant on Lamarck Drive reported that children in the field behind the church were playing splat ball.

+ An intoxicated, confused man reported that two cars were stolen from Travers Circle. Both cars were located at a Travers Circle address.

+ Criminal mischief was reported on Allenhurst Road. Items were taken from a vehicle.

+ Police responded to Maple Road where a green Blazer had been parked for an hour with loud music playing. The parties inside had fallen asleep waiting for a business to open.

Sunday, Jan. 7

+ Someone cut the ends of extension cords for outside lights at a Kensington Avenue house.

+ A boat capsized in Ellicott Creek between Sheridan Drive and Maple Road. Everyone got out of the water safely, and the canoe floated downstream.

+ A father was reportedly letting a young child drive a vehicle on Marine Drive. The vehicle in question was gone when police arrived.

+ Two long guns were reported missing from an Evans Street address. Neither has a Social Security number and predated World War II. The victim suspects they were taken during the October storm.

+ A 911 operator who reported receiving a call from a North French Road home heard a baby on the phone and a man in the background stating that the waffles were done. There was no problem; the 18-month-old child was playing with the phone.

Monday, Jan. 8

+ Three or four cars were racing in the school parking lot on Sweet Home Road, causing their tires to squeal.

+ An Allenhurst Road resident complained that the neighbors are living in filth and that their cat pees on the complainant's door.

+ A Main Street school student had her clarinet stolen from her locker during the weekend. The theft warranted a grand larceny report.

+ A Carmen Road resident reported that the lids from all the garbage cans on the street had been stolen.

Tuesday, Jan. 9

+ A Sunrise Boulevard resident reported that someone siphoned gas out of his car and left the siphon in the car.

+ Police assisted an elderly woman who asked for directions twice in two hours at a Transit Road restaurant. Upon the second appearance, she locked her keys in the car. She was given directions back to Grand Island.

+ On Campus Drive, a complainant said she was charged by a pit bull or boxer-type dog that had been let loose by the owner. It was reportedly an ongoing problem.

+ Police ticketed a driver on North Bailey Avenue for marijuana possession. Police observed the man reaching for the center console where the drugs were located.

Wednesday, Jan. 10

+ A passing motorist on Interstate 990 reported sarcasm. When the complainant stopped to asked the driver of a broken down car if he needed help, the stranded man sarcastically said he needed twine.

+ Customer trouble was reported at a Main Street restaurant after a woman who owed $9.02 didn't have the money. She left identification and came back without any money, demanding the return of her ID. She called police because she wanted an officer to tell the restaurant employee to give her back the ID.

+ The wallet of an Amherst Town Board member was found and returned to the owner.

+ A suspicious person was loading his station wagon with stones on Dodge Road. The vehicle, with the stones still inside, was stopped by police near J.J. Audubon Parkway. The owner of the stones planned to prosecute.

Thursday, Jan. 11

+ A Little Robin Road resident suspected that a neighbor scratched her car.

+ Two skunks were fighting outside a building on North Forest Road. Traps were set for the skunks.

+ A group of eight to 10 youths, approximately 15 years old, were in front of a Hopkins Road store smoking a "foreign substance."