28 MAR 05: A RIVER RUNS OVER IT

The Columbus area will try to dry out today from a weekend of rough weather. Some places had so much rain Sunday that a traditional Easter church greeting changed to, "IT is risen, indeed."

The Russell County town of Pittsview may have had the worst of the wetness, as more than five inches of rain flooded dozens of homes. Only after this occurred did I stop to ask a question - why would anyone want to live in a city which promotes a view of a pit?

The rain came so hard in Pittsview that flooding developed, and authorities had to evacuate a church. It's safe to predict this congregation will not sing the hymn "Showers of Blessing" for several weeks....

An Alabama National Guard truck carrying ten people in Pittsview ran off the road at one point, and almost fell into a flooded creek. In most other parts of the world, this would be considered a fun challenge on "The Amazing Race."

Fort Benning provided a helicopter to help evacuate several people in Pittsview. It's nice to see soldiers keeping busy -- especially the ones who get their jollies start all those smoky controlled burns....

Some locations south and west of Columbus may have received ten inches of rain. This includes parts of Clay County - but so far there's no talk of changing the name to Mud County.

The Chattahoochee River in Columbus rose more than 11 feet above its normal level Sunday. The last time a big rise like this occurred was two years ago - and despite all the talk since then, I didn't hear of one person kayaking under the 13^th Street Bridge.

The sudden rise in the Chattahoochee left the Columbus Riverwalk flooded in some places. So was the stage of the Phenix City Amphitheater - which I guess gives a whole new meaning to "flood stage," doesn't it?

Several intersections in Phenix City were closed due to flooding, and local officials urged people NOT to drive unless it was absolutely necessary. Considering it was Easter Sunday, hardly anyplace was open to visit on trips, anyway.

Troup County also received a lot of rain, leading to reports of cars hydroplaning on Interstate 85. How many drivers of four-by-four vehicles said to themselves, "It's about time we had a little fun on the highway"?!

All in all, Sunday was a great day to stay home and clean the house - and that's what I did for much of the afternoon. I'm into my "serious spring cleaning" season right now. This means another dust-off for my two pairs of suspenders - and someday I might actually wear one of them.

Reflecting on all the weekend rain, several thoughts come to mind:

+ March supposedly is the wettest month of the year in Columbus. But does all the rain have to come at one time?

+ Someone noted at church a few weeks ago West Point Lake seemed awfully low. He was told that was on purpose - and the 2003 flooding occurred because the Corps of Engineers failed to lower the level. Whatever "Farm Almanac" the Corps read this past winter, we thank them.

+ When severe weather happens, is it REALLY comforting to know a radar system on television is sponsored by a funeral home?

E-MAIL UPDATE: We're only one "IsOurCitySafe" letter from getting back to even:

So we don't have a problem with that lack of Police?

The names in this email have been left out to keep their privacy. This is an email in reference to a complaint received by crime stoppers.

On 3/21/05, Mrs. X and Mr. X of Oakland park came to the department and complained about criminal activities in their neighborhood. They stated that there is an ongoing problem with people racing automobiles on Hawthorne Dr. and Ramsey St. There is drug dealing going on in Rigdon Park. There have been numerous burglaries in the neighborhood and they think that prostitution is taking place on the 1st block of Hawthorne. I am working with them to get an active neighborhood watch going in the area. They stated that recently the Mayor rode through the area and promised them help. Mr. X believes that a male living at xxxx Hawthorne Dr. is stealing automobile stereos.

From Patrol Major Graham to patrol supervisors:

Please be advised of the ongoing problems in Oakland Park and have your officers patrol this area as much as possible. Forward and documentation in reference to arrests made to the patrol majors office.

This is not a new problem. The citizens in Oakland Park have been complaining about the rise in crime for a long time. The only problem is that they are complaining to the wrong people. Complaining about response times and criminal activity will only get knee jerk reactions from the department such as officers having to keep logs of calls, arrests made, and emails to supervisors telling the officers to patrol as often as they can. Well, between having to run from call to call because we are dangerously short on officers, I am sure these officers do patrol as often as possible. The simple fact of the matter is that the officers are very busy answering domestic dispute calls, accident calls, and other calls and have very little time to patrol their beats in order to prevent crime. Our department is about 99% reactive and 1% proactive. If the citizens would take time to complain to city council instead of "preaching to the choir" about crime, something might get done. You don't have to tell the Police that there is crime in Columbus...we already know and are doing our best with what we have. The Mayor is talking out of both sides of his mouth when he promises these citizens help. I bet he just smiles his greasy smile, shakes their hands, and drives away. He tells them whatever they want to hear at the time. Our mayor has made NO EFFORT to increase the amount of officers in Columbus. What's even funnier to me is that the citizens will probably elect him again if he runs for office.

An opinion of our city councilors:

Nathan and Evelyn are the most arrogant of the 12 I think although I have yet to meet 4 of them.

Not enough of them listen. ..........reminds me of Judge Turner...peanut butter in the ears with too many years of service and a lack of understanding with regard to anyone's world but their own.

We need a big toilet bowl to just flush-em-on-down.

A fine candidate for Turner's seat:

I have purposely left this individuals name out of the email until he decides if he is going to run or not. I can honestly say that if he does decide to run... I will be campaigning heavily for him. He is an ex-police officer who understands the problems of the city first hand. He does not have his head in the clouds and his ears aren't full of peanut butter. He would do a good job.

He emailed me this:

I have been approached about running for council several times. With all of the things going on, I am going to seriously consider running. I am in Turner's district.

Lookout councilors! Your days are numbered!

Their days numbered, possibly. The Councilors numbered - well, that's another matter. Last time I checked, there were ten of them instead of 12....

This message raises a question "IsOurCitySafe" isn't even writing about. Who is releasing complaints filed with the Columbus police department, so they can be spread all over Columbus via e-mail? I've heard one person say this violates privacy rules. But maybe this is step one of the "police corruption" some almost expect to see.

But as to this complaint: Why are people racing cars on Hawthorne Drive? Does Victory Drive east of I-185 have too many hills?

(There's an easy answer to car-racing problems, on ANY Columbus street. Keep the price of gas above two dollars a gallon.)

So the Columbus Police Department is "99 percent reactive and one percent proactive"?! Somehow I thought the Metro Narcotics Task Force had more than three or four undercover officers....

I must admit I've never checked Mayor Bob Poydasheff's smile, to see how "greasy" it is. If civic groups would serve more baked chicken at their dinners and less fried, this problem could be solved in no time.

We should make something clear: "Judge Turner" is different from Columbus Councilor Evelyn Turner Pugh. Judge Haywood Turner is not related to her, as far as I know. I don't even know for sure if they share the same brand of peanut butter.

Now some more dry thoughts from a wet weekend:

+ WRBL reported METRA Director Lisa Goodwin will be nominated for Deputy City Manager. This would bring immediate savings in one way -- as a reserved parking space for one city employee should come open.

+ WEAM-AM announced its gospel programming is "moving to a new home" today - namely WEAM-FM. They've shared the same programming for two years. So did any radio preacher sanction this divorce?

(A check at our post time found WEAM-AM had replaced the gospel music with sports talk from ESPN Radio. But as of Saturday night, the network's web site still claimed to be on WSHE-AM 1270. If you're going to dump somebody, at least have the decency to call and let them know.)

+ The Columbus Cottonmouths knocked out Knoxville 3-2 in overtime, to advance to the Southern Professional Hockey League finals. The Snakes must have psyched out their opponent - because they stunned me by putting an ad for an "Easter Sunday" game in the "Faith and Spirit" section of the Ledger-Enquirer. [True!]

+ Instant Message to Jiffy Auto Painting on Victory Drive: I hope your paint jobs on cars look better than the paint job on your building - because that yellow paint is peeling badly.

COMING TUESDAY: I take a spin in someone else's car....

Your PayPal donations can keep this blog ad-free and independent-minded. To make a donation, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post a reply.

If you quote from this in public somewhere, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-05 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.