Election Section

News of the Weird

Friday October 25, 2002

Postal carrier caught dumping mail 

BOSTON — A former postal carrier pleaded guilty Wednesday to dumping more than 1,000 pieces of mail into a Framingham pond. 

Patrick T. Doyle, 21, of Framingham, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of destruction of mail by a postal employee. 

Doyle delivered about half of the mail on his route April 3, and wrapped the remaining trays with tape and tossed them in Macomber Pond, prosecutors said. 

The part-time letter carrier was fired in April after postal officials investigated residents’ reports of seeing mail floating in the man-made pond. 

More than 50 people did not receive their mail on April 3 as a result of Doyle’s actions. 

Sentencing was scheduled for Jan. 16. Doyle faces a maximum of five years in prison, followed by three years of probation and a $300,000 fine. 

 

Fall colors get a late start 

BURLINGTON, Vt. — It’s getting toward the end of October and Vermont’s trademark fall foliage, usually on the ground by now, is still brilliant in many parts of the state. 

The fall colors had a late start this year. The leaves are making up for the delay by staying on the trees a lot longer than normal. 

The late color is a boon to late-season tourists. 

“There are still tourists around,” said Diane Konrady of the Vermont Department of Tourism and Marketing. “We’ve been trying to put out the word that it’s lasting a bit longer this year.” 

State tourism and forestry officials report good color in the Champlain Valley and lower foothills across the state, from Bennington to Burlington and on the east and west. 

Although the colors are fading, Konrady said, she expects some to hang on through this weekend and possibly until Halloween, barring heavy rain and wind. 

This is one of the latest foliage seasons Konrady can recall, she said. 

State officials have been working to promote the state’s late-season color, Konrady said. 

Two regional associations reported strong tourist business this past weekend, even though the Columbus Day holiday typically is the pinnacle of foliage season.