News

Possible cremated remains join “Pirates”

Anaheim, Calif. Nov. 15 (UPI) What may or may or may not have been cremated remains may or may not have been sprinkled in the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at California’s Disneyland.

The ride was closed briefly last Friday afternoon after the discovery of the suspicious powder in the water of the popular attraction, the Orange County Register reported Thursday.  Security officials said they couldn’t determine what the substance was and could not locate the female visitor seen sprinkling the powder.

“A witness described the substance as baby powder that quickly dissipated.  We re-opened the attraction after determining that there was no danger to our guests,” Disneyland spokesman Rob Doughty said in a statement.

A Disney watchdog blog said the incident isn’t the only one of visitors possibly scattering ashes of loved ones on the rides.  One blogger said park employees get reports up to once a month when witnesses or security cameras catch people tossing powders.

Disposing of human remains in Disneyland is illegal.

Family members accuse California public cemetery of re-selling flowers placed on graves

Some family members claim that employees of the South Kern Cemetery District in the Bakersfield suburb of Arvin, Calif., are selling flowers placed on loved one’s graves — and that it’s not uncommon for them to set out flowers at their loved one’s grave and have them be gone the next day, KGET-TV reports.

Minerva Orozco said that when she placed flowers on her father-in-law’s grave his headstone on Father’s Day, she expected to see them there when she returned a few days later. She believes the cemetery is selling them off. Orozco said a worker at the South Kern Cemetery in Arvin confirmed sometimes the flowers and the stands are sold for a few dollars to local flower shops and stands, the TV station reports. Cemetery worker Arnulfo Corona said he’s seen it before.

Cemetery manager Risto Rubio told KGET that because of the cemetery’s remote location, many of the arrangements are stolen at night. “After 4 o’clock, people come out here and they take flowers that are put out there,” said Rubio. “We are trying to stop it, but we can't ... We aren't responsible for what people put out here." Cemetery management said they’ve sold the flower stands from the headstones, but never the flowers, the TV station reports