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White Settlement Council Gives Library Cat The Boot After Nearly Six Years Of Service

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Browser White has served as "Chief Library Cat" at White Settlement Public Library for almost six years.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: A beloved library cat in White Settlement faces eviction and unemployment; Donald Trump said Texans love him too much to ever secede; dozens of people got burned by Tony Robbins in Dallas; and more.

Update, July 1: Browser White was reinstated as beloved employee and tenant of the White Settlement Public Library.

There’s already a lot riding on the elections. And now, the fate of Browser White adds to the weight. White has served as a champion for reading at the White Settlement Public Library for almost six years. But unexpectedly, on June 14, two city councilmen voted to remove White from his position not only in the library but also in the community. If the next meeting on the matter on July 12 doesn’t reverse the current injustice, then White’s supporters are willing to see the fight all the way to November.

 

By the way, Browser White is a cat.

 

He has hung around the library since October 2010, and everyone (for the most part) would love him to continue his tenure as the reading mascot. Browser has 234 Facebook friends and two known enemies — Councilmen Elzie Clements and Paul Moore. The lone agenda item on June 14 was “consider relocation of Library Facility cat,” and with a 2-1 vote, Browser was given 30 days to find a new home, according to Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

 

The vote declared City Hall and city businesses were no place for animals — something Mayor Ron White suspects was made official because another city employee couldn’t keep his dog at work, and now Browser has to pay for it. Whether the library cat is spared by fans in mid-July or by a nail-biter in November, only time will tell. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]

  • Texas would never secede if Donald Trump were president...because Texas “loves” him. That’s what the presumptive Republican presidential nominee told reporters in Scotland Saturday. Trump was asked what he would do as president if Texas seceded from the U.S. during a tour of his Scottish golf course. “Texas will never do that because Texas loves me. Texas would never do that if I’m president." It was a timely question, given Great Britain’s decision to leave the European Union last week, and Texas secession has been a dimly glowing ember among grassroots organizations for a while, but The Texas Tribune says the state cannot legally secede whether it “loves” Trump or not. [The Texas Tribune]

  • It’s difficult to “unleash the power within” and not end up in the hospital. More than 30 people attending a Tony Robbins event in Dallas were treated for burns after the motivational speaker encouraged them to walk on hot coals, The Associated Press reported. Five people were taken to the hospital Thursday night, and Dallas Fire-Rescue treated others on the scene for burns. According to AP, the coals were spread outside the Dallas convention center as part of a Tony Robbins seminar called, “Unleash the Power Within” that continued through Sunday. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the first time people got burned at one of his events. [The Associated Press]
  • Eric Casebolt, a former McKinney police officer, was not indicted for pinning a teenage girl to the ground while disbanding a rowdy pool party last June. The now 16-year-old Dajerria Becton and her family plan to file civil right and personal injury lawsuits today, according The Dallas Morning News. The encounter between Casebolt and Becton was recorded on video showing the white officer slamming the African-American teenager to the ground and then drawing his guns on youths who rushed over to help her. Casebolt resigned four days after the incident. His lawyers have attributed his behavior to dealing with stressful encounters on the job before responding to the trespassing call at the private neighborhood pool.

 

  • It’s nearing the end of June, so how about a catchall of crazy from the past month or so? Texas Monthly writer Leif Reigstad compiled some of the #NotTheOnion headlines that have popped up from around the state in the past month. A couple from North Texas: Scooter, the 30-year-old Siamese cat from Mansfield was awarded a Guinness World Record for his age, but he had actually died a few weeks earlier. And Arlington police were taken on a slow-speed chase trying to wrangle a meandering bull. Read more from the list. Oh, Texas, bless your heart.

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