9 Good News Stories: Uplifting And Quirky Stories On Patch

ACROSS AMERICA — A toddler could add another laurel to the crown of Joliet, Illinois, whose motto is “The City of Champions.”

Damien Salley, who will turn 3 in November, is competing in the USA Mullet Championships. He goes by “The Kentucky Waterfall,” a nod to his cascading curls in the business-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hairstyle.

“He’s a really bubbly kid,” mom Melissa Myers told Patch’s John Ferak. “He smiles a lot, and everyone just loves him.” Regardless of how it all turns out, Myers hopes her son keeps the mullet “and grows up to be ‘The Mullet Kid,’ ”

Online voting started this week, and the USA Mullet Championships website crashed for a time in a voting surge. Money raised in the competition goes to Jared Allen’s Homes for Wounded Warriors. » A Patch Exclusive by John Ferak for Joliet Patch

‘Theater-Splaining’

Katy Kahn has lived in her Philly suburb for enough years to know everyone around her bleeds green for the Philadelphia Eagles. Surrounded by faithful followers of the team. But not Kahn. Instead, she has her own following — 141,000 of them who have rewarded her with more than 4.5 million likes for TikTok videos riffing and spiffing on sports — ”theater-splaining,” she told Patch’s Dino Ciliberti. She’s known for zingers, like the time she called Brandon Marsh “the most confusing Phillie” because his “hair is always wet, and his beard is always dry.” » A Patch Exclusive by Dino Ciliberti for Hatboro-Horsham Patch

This Deodorant Wins For Men

An entrepreneurial team of students from Brewster (New York) High School already have their prize — $5,000 from the National INCubator Student Pitch Competition for their “downstairs” deodorant for men. They developed it for use by young male athletes “when showering wasn’t an option,” a district spokesperson said. “Sticks & Stones took the idea and made it a reality! They have already sold over 200 sticks!” » By Lanning Taliaferro for Southeast-Brewster Patch

‘Who Wouldn’t Take This Opportunity?’

Andrew Granger still carries some reminders of stage 4 neuroblastomas, a childhood cancer he was diagnosed with shortly after birth. It hasn’t kept the 22-year-old Northport, New York, from pursuing his passion with Razor’s Edge, a band he and his brother formed with two other guys Granger, who picked up his first guitar as a young child and hasn’t put it down since, told Patch’s Michael DeSantis that he’s both “very healthy” hopeful.” We want to take this and see how far it goes, you know?” he said. “Right now, it’s just playing at the local bars and stuff like that, which is great fun. If this were to somehow turn around, who wouldn’t want to take this opportunity?” And, by the way, “the other stuff” included a concert for the Relay for Life in Northport that raised about $100,000 for the American Cancer Society. » A Patch Exclusive by Michael DeSantis for North Port Patch

Fridge Fills Food Gap

A $100,000 grant from the charitable arm of the New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center to Newark’s United Community Center will go a long way toward filling a new community refrigerator, bringing the total in the city to five, one for each ward, Patch’s Eric Kiefer reports. The refrigerators — each located outside — provide free around-the-clock access to milk, juice, cheese, fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishables, no questions asked. Food insecurity is a problem citywide, and the demand only grew as inflation reached levels not seen in decades. The nonprofit UCC’s executive director, Craig Mainor, said one goal is to help people struggling with food insecurity be able to make healthy choices and “inspire lifelong habits that support a healthy lifestyle and prevent chronic disease.” » A Patch Exclusive by Eric Kiefer for Newark Patch

Bonebed: Some Only Dream About It

Opportunities like this are as rare for paleontologists as the 115 million-year-old dinosaur bones unearthed recently in Prince Georgia’s County, Maryland. “Finding a bonebed like this is a dream for many paleontologists as they can offer a wealth of information on the ancient environments that preserved the fossils and provide more details on the extinct animals that previously may have only been known from a handful of specimens,” said J.P. Hodnett, a paleontologist who made the initial discovery of the prehistoric artifacts. “Most paleontologists have to travel across the country or go overseas to find something like this, so having this rare find so close to home is fantastic.” People who share the dream can volunteer to help in the dig. » By Kristin Danley-Greiner for Bowie Patch

This. Yes Or No?

This kind of competition isn’t for everyone. Two South Florida python hunters, Stephen Gauta and Jake Waleri, who go as the Glades Boys, recently set a Guinness World Record when they captured, a 19-foot-long, 125-pound Burmese python. Taping the giant snake’s mouth shut was the first order of business after the capture, and “getting that bite of the equation was huge,” the Glades Boys wrote on Instagram. » By Tiffany Razzano for Sarasota Patch

Utterly ‘Otterwordly’

It’s not usually considered good news when there’s a thief on the loose, but the crime, in this case, is “otherworldly” — and misunderstood, according to marine wildlife experts trying to safely capture a 5-year-old sea otter whose been stealing surfers’ boards off the coast of Santa Cruz. The weasel’s hijinks made her internet famous, but it’s not all hilarity. She’s behaving aggressively toward surfers, a characteristic that appears to be generational. The otter was born in captivity after her mother was taken from the sea for aggressive behavior, and was only recently released into the wild. » By Lucas Combos for Santa Cruz Patch

Parting Shot

Two orphaned bear cubs were rescued last week by California wildlife officials after receiving a call about a dead bear on a residential property near the San Bernardino National Forest. They discovered the bear was lactating, and later heard the cubs calling back and forth. “Incredibly small” and weighing less than 15 pounds each, the cubs would have been prey for other animals if left on their own, said wildlife biologist Kevin Howells, so they will spend their first year of life at a rehabilitation center, where they’ll have as little human interaction as possible. “They’re getting on quite well,” Howell said. » By Anna Schier for Banning-Beaumont Patch

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