BURKARD'S BLOG
I searched on the Internet months ago, and found no one keeping a blog about events in Columbus, Georgia. So being the hip web-savvy guy that I am, I decided to start a blog of my own - chronicling happenings in the town I've called home for some six years, as well as my experiences in it.
But be warned.... I used to have a humor service called LaughLine.Com, so my views may be a bit amusing. And the views are my own; no one has paid me to present theirs. Pressured, yes - but paid, no.
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23 JUL 03: PAPER THIN SECURITY
We're approaching two years since the September 11 attacks - and journalists have done plenty of news stories about places with security problems. But there's one small puzzle about that. Some of the journalists work in offices where there's no security AT ALL. But, of course, we all know how expendable reporters can be....
I discovered the security holes without even trying, as I distributed a church news announcement around the area. The biggest one was at the biggest paper, the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. The woman at the front desk pointed me toward a second-floor office, without any checks at all. Of course, I wasn't wearing a backpack - or even top-dollar sneakers.
You could walk right into the Ledger-Enquirer's main newsroom on 12th Street without getting stopped by anyone. That's especially dangerous in this era of computerized newspapers. The editors don't have straight-edge copy knives waiting for
potential terrorists anymore.
(At least I was courteous enough to stop at the newsroom front desk. Imagine what School of the Americas protesters might do, while practicing for their November march.)
I found the same situation a short drive away, at the Phenix Citizen. There's not even a receptionist there - allowing me to walk right into the Editor's office. Why, any meanie could threaten his way right into the "Good News" section.
The security is a bit tighter at the Columbus Times -- beginning with the fact that the building on Buena Vista Road is almost impossible to find as you drive by, and it's near-impossible to park near it. Sometimes I wonder if the entire staff rides METRA.
There's a doorbell outside the Columbus Times for you to ring - but once I did that, I found the front door was open for me to enter. It's a good thing I only carried a piece of paper. Anything heavier might have made me a potential hate crime suspect.
It turns out I was welcomed to the Columbus Times office by Publisher Carol Gertjegerdes. With a last name like that, you can understand why she's in newspapers and not television.
In exchange for my church news announcement, Carol Gertjegerdes gave me a current issue of the Columbus Times - and a flyer about this Friday's annual "Summerfest." The list of activities includes a chili-cooking contest AND a health fair. We suggest you sample the chili first.
By the way, that issue of the Columbus Times had a front-page photo of the opening of Columbus State University's Center for Commerce and Technology. It showed Mayor Bob Poydasheff and "Ms. Debbie Buckner." Will someone please tell this newspaper Rep. Danae Roberts lost the election eight months ago?
The security is tighter at Columbus radio stations, with coded office doors and receptionists behind glass windows. That's understandable, since a terrorist could get on the radio right away.-- while he couldn't get attention at some newspapers for seven days.
Now let's review some other mid-week items, which passed my personal clearance:
+ Columbus State University unveiled plans for a $40 million "art and theater complex" downtown. Excuse me - but didn't we just build that? It's called the RiverCenter, and it has the C.S.U. name on part of it.
+ The new Houlihan's restaurant in the downtown Wyndham Hotel posted an opening date of August 4. Huh - they're not waiting for Notre Dame to start the football season?
+ Authorities searched for a suspect in the shooting of an animal at Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari. Maybe we can help prevent this from happening again. In our part of the country, "big game hunting" refers to football.
+ Taylor County teachers prepared for the opening day of school - which thanks to a modified calendar is this Friday. It was stunning to watch a report on Taylor County schools, without the word "prom" coming up even once.
(Or is this new calendar a ploy to hide from news reporters -- and Taylor County's going to have its next prom in February?)
+ WLTZ commentator Al Fleming compared the Kobe Bryant case to "the garden of Eden." I can see the comparison a little - but does that mean Bryant is a serpent?
COMING THURSDAY: The start of a "painful" week....