Man upset over missing letter in Oregon sign claims to have bomb

SALEM, Ore. — A man brought a pressure cooker he claimed was a bomb into the Oregon Teacher Standards and Practices Commission office Wednesday and informed employees he had tried to blow up their sign because it contained a misspelling, an official said.

The man plunked down a pressure cooker with wires sticking out of it and said the “bomb” didn’t work, commission Executive Director Vickie Chamberlain said.

The sign in question displays the agency’s name and sits at the end of its parking lot. A letter “d” is missing in the word “and,” so it reads: “Teacher Standards an Practices Commission.”

The man also complained that the instructions he downloaded to make his device contained misspellings, Chamberlain said.

The commission office handles applications for teachers licenses.

Chamberlain motioned to an employee to call police and asked the man to leave. He left, taking his pressure cooker with him.

Police arrested Leonard Burdek, 50, of Salem, a short time later for investigation of disorderly conduct, Lt. Dave Okada said.

“It looks like he was just trying to get attention,” the police spokesman said.

The pressure cooker was not a bomb, Okada added.

Pressure cookers have drawn attention after two were used in the Boston Marathon bombings in April.