Free Republic

TAYLOR, AR - The Columbia County Sheriff's Office says that a Louisiana man was electrocuted when he was apparently trying to steal electrical wire. Roger Godwin of Sarepta, Louisiana., died Thursday after he was electrocuted along a county road near Taylor. The sheriff's office says they received reports of someone stealing electrical wire in Columbia County. Then, Thursday morning, officers were dispatched to the Springhill Medical Center in Springhill, Louisiana., where Godwin was pronounced dead. According the sheriff's office, officers found an aluminum ladder, wire cutters and a pair of eyeglasses in the area of Godwin's suspected electrocution. (Copyright 2006...

A Sumter man was severely burned late Sunday night after he reportedly climbed an electrical pole to try and steal copper wire. Authorities said Herbert Wayne Odom, 34, of 306 E. Charlotte Ave. was taken to Tuomey Regional Medical Center and later flown by helicopter to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Ga., following the 9:30 p.m. incident. "There's fluid around his heart, and he's burnt up pretty good," said a man who only wanted to be identified as Odom's brother. "We're not sure if he's going to make it." His condition could not be determined as of...

Mary Wiper, the leader of the Sierra Club in New Mexico, died Sunday after being struck by lightning while hiking with friends in Breckenridge, Colo. "This accident— it's just about as random as anything nature can serve up," said Lawson LeGate, the senior Southwest region representative for the Sierra Club and Wiper's boss. Wiper, 28, and two others were struck during a thunderstorm. The other two regained consciousness but were unable to revive Wiper. Wiper took over last May as Sierra Club's associate field representative for the Southwest. She oversaw projects in New Mexico, including the Sierra Club's participation in...