Funky Figures in the Penobscot Times

For those of you who don't live in the Orono-Old Town Area, The Penobscot Times is a weekly paper that covers the news in our area. It's a nice little publication and editor Greta Sproul also seems to be the sole reporter -- her name is always on every article.

Being the only reporter can be tough -- and I wonder if the workload is getting to Sproul. On the front page of the November 19th edition there is a story about a Maine dude, Gerald Brann, who impersonates Elton John. He was performing at Orono High School, "in conjunction with the presentation of a $20,000 check from Lane Construction on behalf of Project Graduation" Sproul reported.

$20,000 for Project Graduation! That number jumped out at my mother, who, back in the day, helped plan Project Graduation for both me and my sister. That is one hell of a donation...

But when you jump to page 4 to finish the story there is a photo of Brann (in his Elton John get-up) with two guys from Lane Construction and Sunrise Materials holding up a big fake check for exactly $1,500.

How the heck did Sproul get that wrong? Especially with a photo? $20,000 is a huge chunk of change for an after graduation party for about 60-ish kids and a huge red light for a fact check.