Community Corner

Snakes In A Bedroom + BK Workers Have It Their Way + Organ Mix-Up

Here's your 5-minute read to start the day: Two Jersey towns pull out the ropes; a picture-perfect rescue; and a kitten calamity averted.

A Sunday search for baby snakes led to the discovery of 17 babies and their momma in Trish Wilcher's bedroom in Augusta, Georgia.
A Sunday search for baby snakes led to the discovery of 17 babies and their momma in Trish Wilcher's bedroom in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo courtesy of Trish Wilcher)

ACROSS AMERICA — Trish Wilcher of Augusta, Georgia, didn’t think much of it Sunday when she went to pick up what she thought was a piece of fuzz on her bedroom floor — that is, until the “fuzz” moved, leading her to discover that 18 brown snakes had taken up residency in her bedroom.

“Honey, we’ve got snakes!” Wilcher screamed at her husband, who was upstairs and about 70 feet away.

The snakes that had made their den in Wilcher's house were later identified as Dekay’s brown snakes, a non-venomous species that is considered harmless. They had slithered into her neighborhood after some nearby land had been cleared.

Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Still, that did little to calm Wilcher’s nerves. With the help of her husband, Max, and someone named “Trapper Dan,” Wilcher rolled up her sleeves and went to work. Read the full story on Augusta Patch.

Kidney Given To Wrong Patient

Two employees of University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, are on administrative leave as the hospital investigates how exactly a kidney was transplanted into the wrong person. The hospital acknowledged the mix-up, but transplant surgery has since been delayed for the patient who was supposed to receive the organ. Read the full story on Cleveland Patch.

Find out what's happening in Across Americafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

More Reads

Picture-Perfect Rescue: A fawn saved by a family at a Montmorency County lake in northern Michigan looks positively grateful in a picture with conservation officer Sidney Collins, via Detroit Patch.

A fawn and its mother have been reunited after a family on a fishing excursion plucked the young deer from a northern Michigan lake. Conservation officer Sidney Collins used a recording of fawn bleats to lure its mother from the woods. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

Rare Side Effect: The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine has been linked to a rare neurological condition known as Guillain-Barré syndrome, which causes a patient's immune system to attack their nerves, via Across America Patch.

Pulling Out The Ropes: Thirty teams representing two New Jersey towns will face off in the ultimate battle for community dominance: an intercoastal tug-of-war across Manasquan Inlet for the Mayor's Trophy, via Point Pleasant Patch.

Workers Have It Their Way: The difficulty restaurants across America are having in finding employees was summed up in a Burger King sign over the weekend. “We all quit,” it read. “Sorry for the inconvenience,” via Omaha Patch.

Unruly Cargo: An airline passenger was duct-taped to her seat after she was accused of biting and assaulting a flight attendant after trying to open a cabin door mid-flight, via Charlotte Patch.

Kitten Calamity Averted: A 2-month-old kitten nearly lost one of its nine lives but got a reprieve thanks to the efforts of a Florida firefighter, via Brandon Patch.

Young Innovator: Thirteen-year-old Veda Murthy knew some of her teachers were having difficulty communicating with students who have autism spectrum disorder — so she made an app for that, via Fairfax City Patch.


Cameron King, 7, of Westfield sells cookies and gives a percentage of the proceeds to several charities, including one that pays for reconstructive surgery for disadvantaged kids. (Credit: King family)

"While she is self-conscious of her scar, I don't even see it anymore because she has such a beautiful heart. She would give you the shirt off of her back if she could, and she always sees the good in everything. She's wise beyond her years and honestly stronger than I ever could have been."

— Kara King on her 7-year-old daughter, Cameron, after she started a business to help fund reconstruction surgery for disadvantaged kids.

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