Story Archive

Arachnophobia

What would you do if your coworkers decorated the office with fake spiders for Halloween? What if you were afraid of spiders? Chris White had a solution, Logan County, W.V., prosecutor John Bennett said: he drew his gun and threatened to shoot the fake spiders. Bennett issued a memo saying employees would no longer be allowed to carry guns in the office. He also consulted the Bar authorities. That’s right: White is one of Bennett’s assistant prosecutors — and he has “a bit of a temper every now and then,” Bennett was told after the incident. Weeks later, secretaries were still upset even though White assured Bennett the gun had not been loaded; Bennett suspended White with pay. “We’re just seeing if we can’t work our way through it as an office.” The Bar authorities saw no need to get involved, but the local sheriff’s office did, at least to the extent of launching an investigation. (AC/Charleston Gazette) ...Which is scariest: spider decorations, threats to shoot spider decorations, or the thought of how you’d be treated if you did this?