I never thought a morgue could be funny.

A group of students from Sidney Central School, however, made it just that.

Collin Brandl, Shana Gascon, Andrew Houck, Taylor Howes, Zachary Knapp and Hunter Sowersby are on the Division II team at Sidney for the Odyssey of the Mind problem "Out of the Box." The team came in second place last weekend in the state competition at Binghamton University. They are going to the world competition next month.

"It’s a funny skit," said Michael Dionne, one of the coaches for the team. "These kids just had a blast with it."

The students not only received second place for their problem and division, but they also received the "Ranatra Fusca" award for creativity. Only six teams _ including a team from Sherburne-Earlville Central School _ received that award. The award guaranteed that the students would be eligible to go on to the world finals at Michigan State University in May.

The skit included things such as having water on the knee, lungs with balloons that popped, and other things that might seem slightly reminiscent of the game Operation.

"They’re a very intelligent and creative group," Dionne said. "I knew they were the type that would do well."

Dionne said it will cost between $6,000 and $8,000 to send the team to Michigan. They had a meeting earlier this week about fundraising.

Several of the adults who went to watch the students _ including their coaches _ said they might have been more nervous than the students.

"I was very nervous," Dionne said. "It’s always nerve-wracking."[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Superintendent Sandra Cooper said she "always" gets nervous when watching the students. That’s even more true when watching a balsa problem, she said Sunday. Skits are scripted, she said, but "you never know how much weight the structure is going to hold."

The Sidney team’s structure held 686.5 pounds.

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Ask Sen. Charles Schumer what he really thinks of subprime lenders.

"This is a disgrace," Schumer said during a conference call last week. "These mortgage bankers are the underbelly of society."

Schumer told tales of some people who had been lured into the mortgages and then were unable to make their payments. While someone could have "complete sympathy" for those people, Schumer said, the same couldn’t be said for the lenders. He described them as preying on people like "vultures."

"That’s charged language," he said, "but I hate them."

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I honestly don’t know how some people find me.

Over the past week or so, I have been plagued by a man in the United Kingdom who either is spamming me or is slightly misguided in his public relations efforts.

Every day _ and sometimes multiple times a day _ I have received an e-mail from this person pitching an idea for a type of doggie diaper.

"I am more than prepared to appear on TV, radio or in your newspapers, to prove to you all that I am just not a nutter trying to sell something," one e-mail said.

I would have thought it was simply spam that I was receiving; he’s too consistent and coherent, though, to seem like a spammer. I was more amused when I saw the man’s profile on both the BBC website and on Virgin Radio.

I can’t figure out what he wants with a reporter in the States, however. The e-mails list various British publications and media groups _ BBC, the Guardian, Virgin Radio, and the Express _ but no other American reporters.

What makes me so special?

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Staff Writer Amy L. Ashbridge covers health and business news.