18 JAN 04: NAME-DROPPERS
On my way to church Saturday afternoon, I passed a couple of cars in the Martin Luther King Junior Parade. One of them said on the side, "ELECT GREG COUNTRYMAN MARSHAL." Marshal?! He could run for Sheriff, and get a lot more interest and votes.
It took 37 days, but Muscogee County Sheriff Ralph Johnson finally has named the Deputy who shot Kenneth Walker along Interstate 185. Maybe we were too impatient with the Sheriff about this. After all, none of the Democrats running for President have named their running mates yet.
The Ledger-Enquirer article we linked to this blog for almost two weeks turned out to be accurate - as Deputy David Glisson shot Kenneth Walker. Sheriff Ralph Johnson says most people probably knew the name already. He may not realize many Columbus people joined in the cover-up with him - including a few civil rights leaders.
(But then again, WRBL News apologized on the air Saturday night for identifying the WRONG man as David Glisson in a Sheriff's Department group photo. Maybe the station attorney who sued the Sheriff didn't know the Deputy's name, either.)
Sheriff Ralph Johnson explained he withheld Deputy David Glisson's name because there was a threat of violence, after Kenneth Walker was killed. The fact that Glisson's name finally came out may show Muscogee County needs its own witness protection program.
Sheriff Ralph Johnson says Deputy David Glisson has no prior record of firing at a suspect. Yet the Montgomery attorney for Kenneth Walker's fellow passengers has said he's heard evidence to the contrary. That lawyer must have heard about the
deputy's high scores in shooting contests....
Richard Hagler, the attorney for David Glisson, says the Deputy sends his deepest condolences to the family of Kenneth Walker for what happened December 10th. If Glisson thinks that's all he's going to send this family -- well, I guess that's why he hired an attorney.
As it happened, a Muscogee County sheriff's deputy stopped by my apartment complex around 11:00 a.m. Saturday. I was NOT nervous about this - since I was prepared to demand a search warrant, before he seized my computer.
The deputy actually was handing out subpoenas. He gave one to the neighbor two doors down. When he knocked on the door of my next-door neighbor, I opened my door expecting to be next. But to my surprise, there was NO subpoena for me - which may mean some people at the Government Center haven't heard about this blog yet.
I actually asked the deputy about a subpoena, and he replied, "Would you like one?" No thank you, I said quietly - in a classic non-military example of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
Not to be upstaged by the Muscogee County Sheriff, Auburn University President William Walker announced his sudden resignation late Friday. We're not sure exactly what led to this decision -- since we haven't heard of any searches for a new basketball coach, too.
You can't help wondering if Alabama Governor Bob Riley forced William Walker to quit, because of that trip to Louisville to interview a possible new football coach. But perhaps the bigger puzzle is why Auburn trustee Bobby Lowder hasn't named himself President yet.
(And what does Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville think of this change? If he isn't careful, he might get a big head and try to run for statewide office.)
Long-time Alabama State School Superintendent Ed Richardson will leave that job, and become Auburn University's Interim President. I can't blame him for bailing out, after years of dealing with budget cuts. But after years of abuse from local school boards, now Richardson will have to deal with the results of those boards directly.
Now some quick-drying notes from a rainy holiday weekend....
+ "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals" wrote a letter to Habitat for Humanity founder Millard Fuller in Americus, demanding he promise not to harm wildlife during construction projects. How strange is this?!?! We can't recall ever seeing wildlife along Cusseta Road or 30th Avenue.
+ A PETA protest developed in downtown Columbus, as someone dressed as a crippled chicken stood outside a KFC restaurant. If only Jim Rhodes had driven by, and talked to this bird about V.A. benefits....
(PETA's protest at 9th and Veterans Parkway was based on the claim that KFC tortures chickens by de-beaking them. So where's the survey showing people want to eat chicken WITH beaks?)
+ The Liberty Theater staged an all-female production, "A Salute to the Women of Chicago." For instance, to the women who shovel snow off sidewalks in the winter while their husbands have tailgate parties outside Bulls and Black Hawks games....
COMING MONDAY: The "quickie wedding" we promised, which lasted longer Saturday night than we expected. But you can look at pictures from the ceremony now!
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