Animal antics and curious crimes: A recap of 2009's odd stories

Without exception, each year brings a quirky mixture of animals, criminals and - usually unwanted - national notoriety to our little town.

And in 2009, even something as mundane as infrastructure - or lack thereof - played a role in the "lighter side" of the news.

In April, we learned the restaurant chain KFC had selected Petaluma as one of four cities nationwide where potholes would be filled and marked with the slogan, "Re-Freshed by KFC."

It was part of a marketing campaign to boost the restaurant's profile around the same time that the federal government began doling out stimulus money for infrastructure repair.

But in a twist, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stepped in and said it would double KFC's $3,000 award if Petaluma instead stenciled freshly filled potholes with a devilish Col. Sanders logo that read, "KFC tortures chickens."

Mayor Pamela Torliatt, who entered Petaluma in the KFC contest with a letter detailing the town's twin reputations for chicken ranching and potholes, declined the PETA offer and said Petaluma would not be drawn into a "barnyard fight" over its potholes.

But just when it looked like all the clucking over the pothole contest would wind down, street-repair advocates Pierre Miremont and Tim "Animal" Sullivan stepped in with a third offer.

Their proposal: $5,000 for pothole repairs that are marked in yellow with the words "pothole capital."

When the debate was brought up at the next council meeting, Torliatt said the city would drop the whole thing to avoid ruffling any more feathers.

Animal antics: A furry, four-legged creature caused quite a stir in town late in April - but it wasn't a dog, or a deer, or even a mountain lion.

No, a bear - that's right, a bear - was spotted ambling along Washington Creek several times, heading east out of town.

Animal-control officers and even a CHP helicopter tried to find it, but were unsuccessful.

No one knows where it ended up, but the bear apparently made quite a journey that day- another witness had spotted it that morning in rural west Petaluma.

Not much than a month later, a hubbub of another kind erupted when a traveling circus show sought to set up in Petaluma. Animal-rights activists who track the Oklahoma-based circus accused organizers of mistreating their elephants, sparking two days of protest outside the big top.

The show did go on, but protesters said they believe many would-be spectators changed their minds and decided not to attend because of the alleged elephant mistreatment.

Concerns over the treatment of feral felines and bullfrogs were also aired in town when animal advocates went to the City Council this fall.

A long-debated plan to institute a "trap-neuter-return" policy for feral cats won support from the council, though some of the advocates who originally called for the changes complained that the city had compromised too much with wetlands docents who warned about the cats' hunting of native birds.

And some of the same animal advocates were back a few weeks later to criticize the removal of non-native bullfrogs from ponds at the sewer plant. The city responded that its hands were tied, explaining that the bullfrog eradication was required by state wildlife authorities as part of protection efforts for the endangered red-legged frog.

Curious crimes: A few months early for trick-or-treating, a man in a Halloween mask nonetheless spooked people inside the Golden Eagle center Curves gym in June when he demanded cash and then fired a gun when an employee refused.

And Petaluma and Holly-wood collided - but not in a good way - in September, when a local man was arrested in L.A. for stalking Audrina Patridge of MTV's "The Hills" reality show. The man's gifts to her included poems and a picture of a woman being strangled.

Closer to home, a Marin County report of a man in a vehicle masturbating outside a school implicated a Sonoma County police officer's car - but it turns out the officer was nowhere near the area.

Further investigation re-vealed that a Penngrove man had reported the incident as retaliation for the officer's arrest of his son - and the Penngrovian who filed the false report, Ed Gee, was no less than the president of the local fire district board of directors and a former fire captain.

After the news that he pleaded guilty to false reporting a crime came to light, Gee resigned from the Rancho Adobe Fire District in November.

Also in November, police issued a "school alert" after two boys reported a man in a vehicle stopping alongside them and saying, "I know who you are."

But it turns out the man simply thought one of the boys was the prankster who had ringing his doorbell and running away. Neither of the boys was responsible, however, and police subsequently identified another child as the true "doorbell ditcher."