Weekly Daily Brickbats Archive 2011 January 1-31

When a 911 caller reported a deer stuck in the ice of Maryland's Patapsco River, a natural resources officer and a crew from the Baltimore County fire department promptly arrived, then began discussing whether to rescue the deer. But two passersby decided to do more than talk. Khalil Abusakran got a rubber boat out of his truck, and Jim Hart joined him. They rowed out to the deer, breaking the ice along the way and opening up a path for it to get free. They were then fined $90 each for not having life vests on the boat.

Students at New York City's Jamaica High School and Queens Collegiate, a smaller school within Jamaica High, spent the semester reading Antigone. They adapted the play to their own situation, writing a play about the city's plans to close Jamaica High School, and they planned to perform their work. But city education officials shot down the idea, saying the work was too critical of the Department of Education.

After Stephanie Milligan fell down a flight of stairs and injured her back, her doctor recommended she wear loose clothing while recuperating. He even sent not one but two notes to school saying she needed to wear loose clothing. Milligan attends Ohio's Lakewood High School, where the dress code bars "saggy, baggy" clothing. And Principal William Wagner says he doesn't care what her doctor says, Milligan can't wear sweat pants. "I don't write prescriptions for them and they should not write prescriptions to circumvent our dress code," said Wagner. "They don't understand what the dress code is all about or how it is imposed."

Troy Davis, a former Transportation Security Administration officer, has been sentenced to three years probation for stealing laptops and a Sony PlayStation from travelers' luggage. Davis, who worked at Philadelphia International Airport, used security scanners to identify bags with valuables in them.

A liquor store clerk in West Hollywood, California, called 911 to report being robbed. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies arrived quickly, and the clerk ran out to point out the direction the robbers went. Bad move. A deputy trainee mistook him for the robber and fired eight shots at him.