Bad Practical Joke Leads To Evacuation

Some residents at a Coeur d’Alene nursing home had to be moved out of part of their building Friday after a gag gift caused a bomb scare, police said.

The gift - manure made into flowers and packed into a box - was sent to the nursing home as part of a mean-spirited practical joke on one of the employees, said Coeur d’Alene Police Sgt. Greg Smith.

The employee at Lacrosse Health and Rehab Center received the gag gift Friday afternoon. Police suspect it came from her neighbor with whom she has had an ongoing feud.

At the time, the employee did not know who sent the box or what was in it. And with the recent explosions in Spokane and around the country, she misconstrued a note that was attached to it, Smith said.

“You deserve this,” the note read, Smith said.

Police were called after employees at the nursing home thought a bomb may have been inside.

When authorities found what was inside they realized that it was a practical joke.

“It’s a neighborhood dispute that has been going on for some time. I have no idea how it got started.” Smith said. “It’s ridiculous that a neighborhood dispute turns out to be like this.”

, DataTimes