Caution: Boozing Bears Crossing

People in northwestern Montana are advised to be on the lookout for drunken bears. Black bears and grizzlies are gathering along Burlington Northern railroad tracks east of Essex, where a train carrying hundreds of tons of corn derailed in 1985. Some of the corn left behind has fermented, and the aroma is attracting bears. “The bears are actually intoxicated up there,� said Loren Hicks, a wildlife biologist for Plum Creek Timber Co., a BN subsidiary. As many as nine bears at a time have been seen at the site, he said. “We looked at one bear that was blotto,� Hicks said. “I’d never quite seen one fall off a corn pile and into a ditch like he did.� Officials, concerned that the bears may stray into the path of trains or fall victim to poachers, have unsuccessfully tried bells, buzzers and other devices to repel them, and railroad crews have mixed quick lime into the corn-laden soil.

--People in the market for a spouse may take heart from the story of how Victor Radeka met Deborah Francis: on the first of several “singles’ night� gatherings at a Publix Supermarket. Later, they were married near the checkout counters at the Davie, Fla., grocery. He is a mechanic in Pompano Beach; she is a telephone saleswoman with a Fort Lauderdale pharmaceuticals firm. When they decided to marry, store managers suggested they have their wedding at the market during another singles’ party, and about 1,000 reporters, shoppers and friends showed up for the ceremony. After the couple exchanged vows, the bridegroom said: “This is definitely a memorable occasion. There she was, standing in the meat aisle. I had to ask her out. A supermarket is a better place to meet someone than a bar.�

--The art department of Colorado State University in Fort Collins is in the soup. Officials removed two 10-foot-high, red-and-white steel Campbell’s Tomato Soup cans, autographed by Andy Warhol, that had flanked the building’s entrance. The cans, built by a student to mark Warhol’s visit to the school in 1981, aren’t being thrown away, but officials said the space will be used to display other sculptures. Art students have threatened to carry on a petition drive against the change, and some are wearing “soup can� arm bands in protest. After Warhol died in February, students draped the cans in black. Meanwhile, in Pittsburgh, a portrait of Warhol was stolen from a billboard. The work, by Pittsburgh artist Greg Puchalski, featured four faces of Warhol and the words: “Pittsburgh Remembers Andy Warhol, 1928-1987.� Warhol, born in nearby McKeesport, was buried near Pittsburgh.