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Remember this report on The WeinerMobile? Must be Friday!<BR>
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Wienermobile wipes out <BR><FONT class=subhead>Famed vehicle spins, crashes on snow-covered Pa. highway; 'hotdoggers' OK.</FONT> <BR><FONT class=date>February 11, 2008</FONT><BR><A href="http://stargazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080211/NEWS01/802110323/1001#storychat"><IMG title=StoryChat alt=StoryChat src="http://stargazette.com/graphics/forums/storychat.gif" border=0><U><FONT color=#0000ff> </FONT></U><FONT class=smalltext><U><FONT color=#0000ff>Post Comment </FONT></U></A><BR><FONT class=byline><FONT class=byline>By George Osgood<BR></FONT><FONT class=byline><A href="mailto:gosgood@stargazette.com"><U><FONT color=#0000ff>gosgood@stargazette.com</FONT></U></A><BR></FONT><FONT class=byline>Star-Gazette Wellsboro Bureau<BR></FONT></FONT><BR><!-- SIDEBAR --><!-- STORY TEXT --><!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT--><FONT class=body><FONT class=body>MANSFIELD -- Let's be frank: motor vehicle accidents aren't much fun for anyone.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>But when a 27-foot-long tube-steak spins out on a snow-covered highway, it's bound to generate some grins.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>That's what happened Sunday to an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile on Route 15 about two miles south of Mansfield (at least it didn't roll over).</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>The growler contained two "hotdoggers" -- driver Emily Volpini, 22, of Lexington, Ky., and Caylen Goudie, 22, of Hinsdale, Ill. Although they didn't relish the experience, they weren't hurt, investigating state Trooper Rex Johnson said.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>"Hotdoggers" are goodwill ambassadors for Kraft Foods and Oscar Mayer. There are 12 of them in the country -- two for each of the six Wienermobiles. They spend a year on the job traveling around the country. Part of their job is to recruit their replacements.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>On Friday and Saturday, Volpini and Goudie and the iconic frankfurter were at Syracuse University, fulfilling the promise to the winner of "A Weekend with the Wienermobile" contest. Sunday morning, the women and the wiener on wheels headed south toward Penn State, where they will try to recruit candidates for the 2008-09 hotdoggers from a stable of Nittany Lion hopefuls.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>Mother Nature intervened, though briefly, at 12:20 p.m., putting the plastic porksicle on the median and out of service.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>"We thought we had come out of the blizzard," Goudie said. "We thought we were through it. Then we hit a patch of ice. The Wienermobile weighs 7,000 pounds, so usually ice and snow isn't much of a problem. It was this time."</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>Stuck, Volpini called 911 dispatchers in Wellsboro. Though skeptical at first, they notified state police at Mansfield. As passersby called in the crash on cell phones, the dispatchers became convinced that the barkburger was indeed in hot water.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>Police contacted Dave Kurzejewski of Costy's Truck and Auto Mart, and he showed up in short order with a heavy four-wheel-drive vehicle and some chains. Johnson, the trooper, grilled the women briefly and concluded that a routine and sober spinout was all he had on his plate.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>Kurzejewski hooked up and Emily fired up the highway hot dog, and a few well-timed tugs later, the Wienermobile was back on the highway.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>For Kurzejewski, veteran of hundreds of tows over the years, Sunday's experience was a new one.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>"I've pulled out a lot of vehicles," he said. "But that's the first wiener I've ever pulled out."</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>It was a first for the women, too. They left none the wurst for wear.</FONT><BR><BR><FONT class=body>"Usually we try to keep from scratching our buns," Goudie said. "But sometimes, things go wrong."</FONT><BR></FONT></FONT><BR><br /><hr />Going green? <a href='http://green.msn.com/galleries/photos/photos.aspx?gid=164&ocid=T003MSN51N1653A' target='_new'>See the top 12 foods to eat organic.</a></body>
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