The Friends of the Mansfield Public Library are proud to announce that the selection for the ninth annual Mansfield Reads! One City, One Book program is "Rainwater" by #1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown.

"Rainwater" is a departure from Brown's usual thriller genre. It is set in the depression era in a small Texas community and is based on a story told to her by her father about her grandfather. Watch Sandra Brown talk about "Rainwater" in an interview here http://bit.ly/fd30yl. Books will soon be available, both for sale and for checkout, in the library.

March will be Mansfield Reads! month this year. We will kick off the month with our Evening with the Author event on March 2nd. Other programs and activities will follow during the month. Reservations will be required for the Evening with the Author. The Friends of the Library website www.friendsofmansfieldlibrary.org will have more information about when reservations will be available in the coming weeks.

Watch for more Mansfield Reads! news soon! Let's all read a good book!

How does Mansfield Reads! work?

In the month of March everyone in the community is encouraged to read the same book at the same time. The Friends and the Library sponsor many events, programs and activities in conjunction with reading the book. Public dialogue and discussion of the book is encouraged as a way to open conversation between all members of the community. Everyone gets to share a good book!

Join us for the 11th Annual Father-Daughter Dance on Saturday, February 18th from 6:30-8:30pm at the Mansfield Activities Center.

This year's theme is "Enchantment under the sea." See the flyer for more details.

It's tough to be without a name. And the water drop mascot that has come to symbolize the public education efforts of the city's water and environmental services departments doesn't have one. A name that is.

So the city is looking for some creative ideas and wants your help to "Name that Toon." The mascot will soon take on a real presence, making public appearances at special events and festivals to help educate residents on water-related issues.

If you have idea for the mascot's name, send your entries to name_that_toon@mansfield-tx.gov. The winning entry will be recognized with a plaque at an upcoming city council meeting and ride with the mascot when he makes his debut Saturday, March 17, at the First Annual Mansfield Pickle Parade.

Entries must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 24, and will be announced in the March 7 Mansfield News-Mirror.

The Mansfield Police Department is pleased to present the Every 15 Minutes program to the high schools of Mansfield Independent School District. The Every 15 Minutes program is for juniors and seniors and is a very powerful and important program that challenges participants to think about the effects of decision making, drinking, and driving. This is a very intense two-day program that involves your entire family. The program dates for this school year will be March 8th and 9th, 2012. In the past, the program has been held immediately around prom with the intention of encouraging students not to drink and drive during prom. However, this is only a short-lived experience. We want students to realize this is a life-long decision that applies to not only prom but graduation, college, weekend parties, spring break…….life.

While the program is presented through the Mansfield Police Department, it is really a community-wide effort. This program could not be capable with the cooperation of the Mansfield Police Department, Mansfield Fire Department, Mansfield Independent School District, Tarrant County Constable's Pct. 7, Arlington Police Department, Hospital, Funeral Home, Medical Helicopter, and numerous donations from businesses and community members.

This year we have created a website for the Mansfield Police Department's 2012 Every 15 Minutes Program. The website will serves as the official place for student's and parent's to learn more about our program and completing the participant application. Starting January 2nd, 2012 Mansfield Independent School District junior's and senior's that would like to participate in this school years program will be able to complete and submit their application from the website. The website can be accessed at the City of Mansfield website, MISD website, each high school campus website, or directly at https://sites.google.com/site/mansfieldevery15minutesprogram/. Deadline for applications will be Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 by the end of the school day.

Should you have any questions feel free to contact your campus coordinator, Crime Prevention Officer Brandi Howard at (817) 276-4757 or brandi.howard@mansfield-tx.gov or Traffic Investigator Richard Hash at (817) 804-5705 or richard.hash@mansfield-tx.gov.

The Mansfield Animal Care & Control Department has received several calls and complaints regarding wildlife issues, including Coyotes. Due to the recent increase in wildlife related calls it has become necessary for Mansfield Animal Care & Control to research and develop a comprehensive plan of action for wildlife related calls. Therefore, Mansfield Animal Care & Control are working closely with Texas Wildlife Services, a Division of the USDA, who has provided a specialist in the study of, and if necessary the trapping or lethal enforcement of, urban wildlife. It is expected to take several weeks to adequately complete this task and a public forum is being planned around the end of January to address these issues. In the meantime Mansfield Animal Care & Control would like to make the public aware of a few basic facts regarding wildlife.

Mansfield Animal Care & Control are primarily trained and equipped to handle domestic pet issues, ordinance enforcement of animal related ordinances, and loose pets or livestock. Wildlife are not domesticated animals and are a vital part of the ecosystem, even in heavily populated areas. wildlife, particularly Coyotes, cannot be safely trapped in most cases and if they are trapped cannot be successfully be relocated. As a general rule it is not good practice to remove wildlife, even from urban areas. The most common practice used by the majority of cities nationally is to implement a Wildlife Management Plan and make sure the citizens are aware of the behavioral patterns and natural lifestyle practices of wildlife in order to coexists with all forms of wildlife.

Until this program can be established it is important for citizens to understand that coyotes are not normally comfortable around humans. In most cases coyotes will only approach humans that they have previously encountered and have determined not to be a threat. Coyotes will normally only be in close proximity to humans if there is a viable food source close by. As a general rule, the only thing necessary for a human to do to ensure their encounter with a coyote, or a coyote pack is brief, is to make a lot of noise and movement in order to scare the coyote. This almost always works and is considered the industry standard preventative method. Should this not work a citizen should call for Animal Care & Control or if in imminent danger, call 911.

In most cases a coyote will not approach a human unless that human has a food source. Pets are definitely considered a source of food for urban coyotes as their natural food sources are limited in populated areas. Citizens who live close to parks, fields, golf courses or any other area with open, uninhabited areas close by, should be aware that wildlife does exists in those areas and pets should not be unattended, even in fenced yards. All pets are required to be on a leash, including cats, unless they are contained in a fenced yard and citizens should be aware that when walking a pet on a leash in a wooded area, or close to any possible wildlife habitat, there is a danger of being approached by various forms of wildlife seeking food. Normally humans are not in danger when this occurs and should therefore be very animated and vocal in trying to scare the predator away but keep in mind that you are holding what the predator considers to be a food source and an attack on the food source is possible. There is nothing that Animal Care & Control can do to eliminate this threat. There are no magic solutions to coexisting with wildlife so each citizen should be aware of the potential threat of wildlife. Should a citizen have a wildlife sighting and have questions about what they should do, Mansfield Animal Care & Control should be able to answer any questions. There is currently information available on our website and in print and available at the Mansfield Animal Care & Control, located at 407 Industrial Mansfield Texas 76063, at the Public Safety Building and at the receptionists counter at City Hall. This material should answer the majority of questions most citizens have regarding wildlife. We would ask that you please be patient and allow us time to address this issue in so that we are able to thoroughly investigate and research every plan of action to ensure the best possible solutions for our citizens.

Mansfield Animal Care & Control - 817-276-4799

AP - Under fierce election-year fire, President Barack Obama on Friday abruptly abandoned his stand that religious organizations must pay for birth control for workers, scrambling to end a furor raging from the Catholic Church to Congress to his re-election foes. He demanded that insurance companies step in to provide the coverage instead.

AP - An Indonesian terrorism suspect known as "Demolition Man" for his expertise with explosives told interrogators he used common household items, including a rice ladle and a kitchen scale, to build a massive bomb that ripped apart nightclubs on the tourist island of Bali, documents obtained by The Associated Press show.

AP - A top U.S. government official met Saturday with leaders in the Maldives to get a fresh assessment of the political situation in the Indian Ocean nation.

AP - Social issues dominated the 2012 presidential race Friday, as President Barack Obama tried to calm a storm over religion and birth control and the Republicans vying to replace him jockeyed to outdo each other in proving their conservative fervor.

AP - Satellite image provider DigitalGlobe Inc. released photos Friday that appear to show Syrian army tanks and other armored vehicles in the city of Homs.

AP - Gabrielle Giffords, the recently retired congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in an assassination attempt 13 months ago, returned to Washington Friday for double honors. The Navy named a ship after her and she saw President Barack Obama sign the last piece of legislation she authored into law.

AP - She's been a sensation since she's been born, and now Blue Ivy has made her public debut.

AP - Jeremy Lin outplayed Kobe Bryant, ended the mighty Lakers' dominance of the Knicks and then tried to pretend it was just another game.