22 SEP 05: ICE DREAMS
Ground was broken Wednesday for yet another big-name business in Columbus. The city's first Ben and Jerry's ice cream shop will open around January 1. The big question here, of course, is whether it will open before or after "Festivus."
This Ben and Jerry's will be different in several ways. For one thing, it's being built in partnership with Goodwill Industries - so if the ice cream is expensive, maybe there will be some cheap ties in the corner to make up for it.
Under this "partner-shop," the Ben and Jerry's store will be staffed by young people ages 15 to 21. And we're supposed to believe that's unique?! Aside from a manager, that sounds like almost every other ice cream shop in this country....
Columbus Goodwill Industries leader Jane Nichols explained this ice cream shop will be a "socioeconomic model" for young people to learn work skills. Recalling some of my high school friends who worked at an ice cream shop, it also could be an engineering model - for long-distance scoop flinging.
So where will Ben and Jerry's put its first Columbus ice cream shop? On Veterans Parkway near Adams Farm Road - yes, in North Columbus. Once again, the north side gets all the ice-cold cash....
The location is even more surprising when you consider the background of Ben and Jerry's - two men who have a reputation for social activism and environmental consciousness. Why not help the third-world section of Columbus, and put this shop near Fort Benning Road?
There are other reasons why the location of this Ben and Jerry's seems illogical. Consider the competition -- a Marble Slab Creamery at Columbus Park Crossing, and a Bruster's near Bradley Park Drive. In Columbus South, you have to listen for trucks playing "Turkey in the Straw."
Then there's the obvious political explanation. Liberal Democrats whom Ben and Jerry's backs live on the south side of Columbus. Wealthy conservative Republicans probably will boycott this northside shop from day one -- and tell THEM to "Move On."
Shortly after the groundbreaking ceremony, a public hearing occurred at the Columbus Museum on a plan to revitalize the midtown area. We're talking about a six-square-mile area, between downtown and Interstate 185 -- an area city officials want you to reach as slowly as possible on Cherokee Avenue.
But the boundary line for "Midtown Columbus" seems murky. Wednesday's evening news showed a reporter live on 13th Street near 13th Avenue, and she called that spot midtown. But a couple of blocks away, WRBL's Jeff Donald keeps saying he's downtown -- and he's up a hill to boot.
The group trying to promote midtown Columbus wants to preserve its history, by recreating original "suburbs" from the 1940's and 1950's. But isn't that the way things really are now? Wynnton and North Highland are suburbs of the REAL city of Columbus, which starts around Manchester Expressway.
One man who attended Wednesday night's public hearing says midtown Columbus has a great opportunity for renewal, with thousands of new soldiers moving to Fort Benning. Hey, I've got it! Open a series of tattoo shops, next to the Macon Road Kmart.
Back where we started: Ben and Jerry's ice cream is known for its distinctive names of flavors, such as "Cherry Garcia." So we'd like to offer some local ideas, especially for the Columbus store:
+ Koffee Sledge - with added syrup, chocolate chips, and whatever else it takes to make the ice cream look as black as possible.
+ Sonoma Pointe Mud - A watered-down version of caramel fudge. It cannot be served in a cup.
+ Candy-ice Cooked - Warm chocolate jimmies mixed with vanilla, which has to be perfectly scooped or it's unacceptable.
+ TSYS Pieces - M&M's mixed with chocolate, which you lick off a thin plastic card.
+ Val Mac-with-Guinness - or can you mix beer with ice cream, and have teenagers sell it?
E-MAIL UPDATE: Sometimes our brief notes are too brief for some readers. Take this message about an item we mentioned Tuesday:
Howdy,
I was reading today and found this post most interesting - Muscogee County School Superintendent John Phillips denied claims by school board members that he has a "buddy system" for hiring people.
Would you be able to share more information on this topic? This runs simultaneously with something "someone close to me" has experienced and I'm helping her research. In fact, I wondered why my email to Dr. Phillips received such a quick reply. I had no idea this was a touchy subject with them at the moment.
I'm seriously interested.
Thanks,
Michael
Michael's message leaves me wondering what the Superintendent wrote to him. Is Dr. Phillips ruling out the buddy system in swimming classes, too?
As I recall WRBL's story Monday, Muscogee County School Board members Bill Walker and Naomi Buckner raised questions about the hiring of three "instructional specialists." Do you remember when these people were called teachers?
But anyway: two school board members suggested the school district isn't searching widely enough for new employees. That's apparently where the "buddy system" concept developed. Yet here's the thing -- I'm not so sure Superintendent John Phillips has developed that many "buddies" in Columbus in the first place.
Aides to Dr. John Phillips assured WRBL the Muscogee County School District always looks for the most qualified candidates for positions. The fact that sometimes they show up and buy houses before they're introduced to the school board is beside the point.
Now other short (hopefully, not TOO short) items from Wednesday:
+ Chambers County Sheriff Sid Lockhart called on all hurricane evacuees who are sex offenders to register at the courthouse. Some of us have a better idea: evacuate further inland - like to northern Ontario.
+ Cott Beverages stock dropped about four dollars, as the beverage company warned full-year earnings will be lower than expected. What a shame -- "Royal Crown Cola" apparently has become about as unpopular as Britain's royal family.
+ A group of demonstrators marked the "International Day of Peace" by protesting in downtown Auburn. They group opposes U.S. involvement in Iraq, and says we should emphasize negotiation. So when does Usama bin-Laden plan to name his diplomatic team?
+ Allen Elementary School marked "Backpack Awareness Day," as third through fifth-graders had their backpacks weighed. So are the students with the heaviest loads allowed to eat more food at lunch, and become more obese to compensate?
+ Alabama First Lady Patsy Riley visited Auburn's Ogletree Elementary School, to kick off a new program called "Get Caught Reading." If Roy Moore becomes Governor, this will change slightly - to "Get Caught Reading the Ten Commandments."
+ Columbus State's women's soccer team knocked off North Georgia 2-0. The Lady Cougars are now 4-4 on the year - and as they once said on "King of the Hill," a tie in soccer means everybody wins.
+ Instant Message to the Georgia Office of Consumer Affairs: What do you mean, "state law" won't let you name which gas stations are accused of price gouging? [True/GPB Radio] How will we know which ones to boycott? Or deep-down, are you an office of BUSINESS affairs?
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