the rix mix

Two "Huh?" stories in the Star-Ledger today; From Newton up in Sussex County,

Man accused of huffing propane. A resident faces charges of tampering with propane gas tanks to inhale the fumes, police said last night.

Martin Gibbs, 42, was ar rested Oct. 20 after a report that he tampered with two 100-pound propane tanks alongside a High Street residence to huff the fumes, police said.

Witnesses who saw Gibbs near the tanks smelled gas and saw blood on the side of the tanks, police said.

Gibbs allegedly jammed a butter knife into the fill valves to allow gas to escape so he could inhale it, police said.

That could serve as the basis for one of the plots on CSI where they prove it wasn't a murder. How did this guy explode?

The other from Rahway, more alarming:

A West Orange teenager, apparently outraged after he failed his driver's test, is facing charges after allegedly e-mailing death threats to Rahway Mayor James Kennedy....

The suspect allegedly addressed several e-mails to the mayor's city account over the past few months, Kennedy said. The mayor's aide Jeffrey Jotz saw the first ones and handed them over to police before Kennedy could see them, the mayor said. He eventually showed them to the mayor....

The Motor Vehicle Commission is a state entity. It was unclear why the suspect thought the mayor has control over the agency.

The mayor's running for reelection this year, & believe me kid, if it was in his power to improve service at the Rahway MV, he would have done it a long time ago. But you still wouldn't get a "bye" on a lousy test. & Jotz already has enough to worry about, like his alma mater Notre Dame winning the final five games.