Batgrl sent me this Chicago Tribune story, “Town goes bit nutty over whiter shade of squirrel.”

OLNEY, Ill. — Pink-eyed and white as a wedding cake, the albino squirrels of Olney have the right of way on city streets. They’re protected by police officers who wear white squirrel patches. And to make sure the hard-to-miss baby squirrels aren’t eaten, cats are forbidden by law to roam beyond their owner’s yards.

Pampered with peanuts and handmade tree houses, these renowned squirrels already live several steps above the average rodent–but just wait until Saturday.

To honor the 100-year anniversary of the first recorded white squirrel sighting, when a pair of captured albinos were displayed in a tavern, this southern Illinois city of 8,600 plans a formal “Blessing of the Squirrels.” Residents will compete in a 5K “scamper” down Main Street; a youth group will sing “Willie, Olney’s Little White Squirrel,” and floats with squirrel themes will roll in a centennial parade.

Topping it off, city officials will unveil a $1,300 black-and-white granite monument to Olney’s favorite critters…

There’s more to the article, but I’m stuck on the mental image of the 5k “scamper” right now and I just can’t go on.

I particularly like the rivalry with Marionville, Missouri over who has the largest squirrel population. The people of Olney scoff at the people of Marionville, suggesting they’ve made this claim without even doing an actual count of the population. Some nerve, eh?