Police van crashes chasing 16-year-old drunk driver

A police van crashed while attempting to stop a drunk driver in Jõgeva County overnight Thursday, online news portal geenius.ee writes (link in Estonian).

A Volkswagen Bora first caught the attention of a police patrol on Siimusti-Kaave Road at approximately 12:30 a.m., and after the vehicle ignored the law enforcement officers' lights signaling for it to stop and sped off instead, other patrols in the area were enlisted to help stop the driver.

The driver, later identified as a 16-year-old male, ignored a second patrol's attempts to pull it over on Kaarepere-Palamuse Road, and when a third patrol driving a police van on Pikkjärve-Sääsküla Road tried to flag the vehicle down, it slid off the road in a curve and crashed into a tree.

The officers in the police van were unhurt in the crash, and another patrol shortly thereafter managed to catch the driver, who was determined to have been drunk. The driver was arrested and a criminal investigation launched into the incident.

Wolf sightings increasing in Southern Estonia

Wolf packs have repeatedly been sighted crossing roads in Valga County and along the border of Valga and Tartu Counties, and according to local hunters, wolf numbers have been increasing, regional paper Lõuna-Eesti Postimees writes (link in Estonian).

A six- or seven-strong wolf pack has repeatedly been sighted around Rõngu, and according to one local who posted about his sighting on social media, several people responded expressing concern about the safety of their farm animals and pets, among other things.

Wolves have also been sighted near Pikasilla, Puhja and Puka.

Elva Hunters' Society member Rannar Lehis expressed concern that wolves may be acclimating to humans' permanent settlements, and if they lose their fear of people, they may start cross-breeding with domestic dogs, which could ruin wolf populations.

Pühaste Hunters' Society president Meelis Mägi added, however, that without snow, it's impossible to track wolves.

Tallinn grocery store employees turn in found cash

Last Sunday, employees of the Maxima supermarket on Smuuli Road in Tallinn's Lasnamäe District found a large sum of cash at the store, which they turned in to the police, daily Postimees writes (link in Estonian).

According to Karina Fesjuk, a senior specialist at Ida-Harju Police Station, employees of the grocery store were able to determine based on security footage that the cash was lost by a man who they had seen at the store before.

"As the man hasn't contacted the store himself over the past few days, the found cash was brought in to the police station yesterday," she added.

Fesjuk said that honest people turn found items in to the police every day, including phones and other smart devices.

Sõmeru, Võsu school teachers trade places

Earlier this week, teachers from two Lääne-Viru County schools, Sõmeru School and Võsu School, traded places for the day, regional paper Virumaa Teataja writes (link in Estonian).

Sõmeru School Principal Virge Ong said that her school had entertained the idea of participating in a teacher trade for three years already, but decided to finally do it this year, with three or four teachers from each school volunteering to switch places for the day.

The two schools are different enough to ensure a unique experience for both sides, starting with the school day beginning almost an hour later than usual at Võsu School, and including the fact that nearly three times as many children attend Sõmeru School — 193 pupils to Võsu's 71.

Some of the teachers already knew each other from before, and both teachers and children alike enjoyed the change of pace.

"It's fun to see how things are done somewhere else," said Võsu School teacher Mall Ränkson

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