From the News Desk

The streets have been plowed and driveways have been cleared.

Almost everything that needs to be done after a big storm has been completed. The only remaining task is to clean up the accumulation of Sack news.

So, let the clean up begin.

***

Environmental problems have plagued the Sack over the last few days.

Gordon sounded the alarm after yet another broken tree branch in the Sack's centre circle. Members of the Sack Resident's Society received an email about it this morning. His missive on the matter sounded like a police report.

Apparently, Gordon discovered the broken branch yesterday. He has no idea when it was broken. He suspects that it happened while he was in Cuba. Unfortunately, no one else noticed that anything was amiss.

Gordon said he interviewed most of the Sack kids, but hasn't been able to learn anything about the guilty party. Young Doo, of course, is a prime suspect in Gordon's eyes, since Doo has been responsible for most of the previous broken branches.

But, Gordon hasn't been able to uncover any evidence that ties Doo to the scene.

Jimbo, Gordon's intelligence pipeline to the ways of Sack kids, is on a school trip to Quebec City. He probably won't be able to provide much help in this particular case.

It looks like this one is going to end up in the "unsolved" file.

***

Meanwhile, Computer Doug is having problems of his own.

Apparently, the air exchanger in his house isn't working. Normally, something like this wouldn't be worth mentioning. But, Computer Doug didn't even know he owned such a thing.

***

A friend of his was visiting this week and overheard the droning of the air exchanger's dying motor.

Computer Doug says it's going to cost more than three hundred dollars to repair it. He says he is not too upset about it, though. He said it's a bonus to find out that he owns an air exchanger. He thought it was just part of his furnace.

***

Elizabeth has been trying to gain entry into the new Burning Manor.

She wants to get a good look at the interior before Dirk and Dora move in. She remains irked by the apparent high quality of its exterior construction and expects to find the same on the inside. This would be further evidence, in her opinion, that Dirk and Dora are actually profiting from the fire at Burning Manor.

Of course, profit is not something Elizabeth has experienced from the Burning Manor fire.

She spent five hundred dollars on the insurance deductible when the melted siding on her house was replaced. She also has a ditch running up the side of her lawn, courtesy of a wayward delivery vehicle.

***

Elizabeth approached the workers inside Burning Manor this week. She only got as far as the front entry. The workers were busy in that area, so she couldn't find a way to get further into the house.

She did, however, learn more about Dirk and Dora's anticipated return to the Sack. The workers say the couple are tentatively scheduled to move into the new Burning Manor on March 4th.

This also happens to be Elizabeth's birthday.

***

Weed reports some interesting news about Maxwell.

Although it was already known that Maxwell has a child from a previous relationship, very little was known about this situation. According to Weed, the young woman and her son live only a few minutes away from the Sack.

Maxwell mentioned this to Weed at the coffee cathedral the other day. Maxwell was saying how funny it was that his two children would be living so close to each other. He said he couldn't have done better even if he'd planned it that way.

***

Others in the local area have told Weed that Maxwell is not particularly adept at paying child support. This is one of the reasons, according to the same people, that Maxwell has such a tepid interest in earning a living.

Oscar says there is a good chance that Mr. Bitterman's gallbladder will start acting up again soon. I don't think I'd bet against it.

***