Wiarton Willie: Can he be trusted?

Bonjour, tout le monde.

If you haven't already heard, today is Groundhog Day!

I hadn't heard anything all day about what Willie had to say, so I went on a mission and decided to check it out. I Googled everything I could think of and nothing came up. Then, I had a brilliant idea: CBC.ca. "They will have the news," I thought to myself. And off I went...

Little did I know, I would find something bone-chilling about our rodent pal, Mr. Willie.

Let's start at the beginning.

I found the news on this page. "Paws up for spring, groundhogs predict" is the title.

Here are some excerpts that made me chuckle:

• Four out of four groundhogs polled report that spring will come early this year.

• The people of Wiarton insist Willie has been accurate 90 per cent of the time, but scientific studies show groundhogs are actually poor predictors of the weather. They're accurate only 37 per cent of the time, a worse predictor than flipping a coin.

• In Balzac, RCMP had to direct traffic out of the community hall early Friday.
  
  "That's how many people were here to see Balzac Billy jump out of his burrow and not see his shadow," said CBC traffic reporter Angela Knight.
  
  "They have stuffed him back into the burrow for next year."

Also, the photograph of Wiarton Willie is semi-funny as well. The photo is funny, but the fact that he looks absolutely terrified is not. I feel bad for him. Poor Willie.

Anyway, after the good laugh I had, I noticed something shocking in the "Related" column next to the article:

"Wiarton Willie suspected in double murder"

"WHAT!?"

I click on it and wait for the page to load.

Here is the article, word for word, as reported by CBC News on Tuesday, September 23, 2003: [I took the liberty of bolding my favourite lines.]

An official in small-town Ontario is being accused of covering up a murder, but she says she was protecting the town from bad publicity.

Francesca Dobbyn told Wiarton town council on Monday that she knew Wiarton Willie might have killed his two understudies, but hid the facts so the town's summer tourist season wouldn't be hurt.

Wiarton Willie is an albino groundhog that is brought out every Groundhog Day to predict the coming end of winter. He is also the town's mascot and main tourist attraction.

The Wiarton Willie Festival held every February generates about $750,000 for the town. That makes Willie a powerful rodent.

So last May, when two Willies-in-training stopped coming out of the burrow specially built to house the three, Dobbyn, who looks after the animals, kept quiet.

The missing pair were found last week, deep inside the burrow.

Groundhogs are naturally territorial, and some believe Willie eliminated his rivals.

On Monday, town council wanted an explanation. Mayor Carl Noble, however, rejected calls for Dobbyn's resignation.

Can he be trusted? You decide.

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PLEASE NOTE: I love Wiarton Willie and all animals. Killing animals is not a joke, nor is it funny. What is funny in this situation is the way that they have reported this terrible incident. Two young groundhogs lost their lives in this tale. Please remember that.

A moment of silence...