13 JAN 06: THE LATE-RISING BAKER

The Columbus South Revitalization Task Force announced its next big project Thursday: renovating the old Baker High School. For starters, they should surround it with some of those nice banners they showed off a few weeks ago - banners I haven't seen on streets since.

Once upon a time it was Baker High School, and then it became Baker Middle School. But when a new middle school opened nearby in 1999, the historic building became rundown. Well, some people might argue it was rundown well before 1999 - due to all those fights in the hallways.

(In fact, someone left spray-painted graffiti on a wall with the words: "This was a school" - someone who apparently wasn't observant enough to notice the word "school" on the wall outside.)

WRBL reporter Susannah Avery dared to claim Baker High School was "once the center of Columbus." It was? When the center left downtown, it must have taken a hard left turn at Baker before heading for Macon Road.

Columbus South Inc. wants to take the old Baker High School out of proverbial mothballs. Leaders call it the first step toward revitalizing that part of town. So that new Sonic on Victory Drive wasn't good enough?

The Baker High School building will be surveyed by an architect for six to eight weeks, to determine how much reconstruction and renovation is needed. It will be easy for passers-by to learn the answer. Simply count the number of bins from "The Sandman" on the front lawn.

The Muscogee County School District still owns the Baker High School building, so it will have a lot of say over what happens to it. Superintendent John Phillips said Thursday it could make a nice elementary school. If they split the building with a city department, that sales tax proposal might pass.

One man who attended Thursday's announcement with special interest was J. Marvin Mills. For one thing, he graduated from Baker High School in 1955. For another thing, the first company to benefit from renovation might be his heating and air conditioning business.

If all this talk about renovating the Baker High School building sounds familiar, it should. Several public hearings have been held in recent years about what to do with it. In fact, you wonder why it simply hasn't become a debate and lecture center.

Several more ideas for the new, improved Baker High School building were tossed around at a Thursday media event:

+ Retail space on a lower floor, with loft apartments on an upper floor. Someone should remind these people that the sports bar near Johnston Mill closed several months ago.

+ A vocational-technical school. Does Columbus Tech need a south campus? Wouldn't a more likely candidate be "Troy University, a bit north of Fort Benning?"

+ A movie theater. Now THIS truly is dreaming. Carmike isn't even bothering to open theaters inside all those empty Phenix City supermarkets.

E-MAIL UPDATE: The writer of a Phenix City blog (and a Burkard Award winner 1 Jan) offers us a challenge:

Dearest Richard,

I write this knowing full well that you do not allow 'comments' directly to your web journal and that this communication may be published. Also, by that same knowledge, you must know that I do first insist that if this is published, it is done so in its entirety and not dissected, rearranged or presented in part in anyway, at anytime.

I write this because I think you do yourself and your readers a disservice by keeping your 'comments' feature disabled. If you can read between the lines, you will already know this.

You may well be insecure of your writing talent or your ability to fend off a criticism but even with screening your incoming mail, you still get the same message. The only difference is in what your readers get to see of your abilities to defend your work and its contents.

In life, we are faced each day with any number of demands. We either respond to them correctly or we do not. Most often, we do not have the luxury of time to think about what we will do or say next…… and this is a good thing because real life does not tolerate indecision.

Richard, I enjoy your journal and I have gained a good measure of respect for your writing abilities. But I would like to seriously suggest that you reformat your journal to accept comments directly and through that, expand your contact with those who enjoy your work. Even as a reclusive writer, you do pretty well but I suspect that there is a vast, unrealized potential that is being denied via the cloak.

As your neighbor and fellow web journalist, I remain,

Redoubt

Thank you, Red - and please note I did not dissect or rearrange your words in any way. I don't even own an iPod to shuffle them.

(Wow -- no dissection, rearrangement or presentation in part? When did this person become Commissioner of Baseball?)

Redoubt has been dropping hints to me for some time that this blog needs a "comments" feature. It's never had one - and boy, did I feel brilliant when "comment spammers" started hitting blogs with great deals on Viagra.

But to be honest, I don't recall anyone else asking me to install a comments feature on the blog. For awhile, critics found a way to comment without even going online. They'd call "TalkLine" on WRCG and do it....

There are plenty of blogs without comment features, including several major ones. Wonkette doesn't have one. Brian Williams's "Daily Nightly" at NBC News doesn't. And WRBL's "Third Brigade Blog" doesn't - which probably disappoints peace activists in Auburn a little.

But don't be misled - there IS a way for you to comment on this blog. There's a "write me" link for e-mail at the bottom of every entry. And unless writers ask for privacy, I tend to post every message the blog receives - even if it means I get bashed. I'm much more "insecure" in dating than in writing.

You may not realize there are some blogs which don't offer a way to comment at all - not even with e-mail. The church I attend has a blog like this. And since it speaks the truth of God, it makes absolutely no sense for you to talk back to it, anyway.

As for the "luxury of time:" I'd think people could send e-mail to the blog every bit as quickly as they could leave a thought in a comment section. Although I must admit, my old computer's Microsoft Outlook can take a few minutes to fire up....

But come to think of it, maybe more of us need to develop a "luxury of time" to think about what we say or do. If you watched ABC's "Nightline" Thursday night, you know why - because both Pat Robertson and Bode Miller issued apologies for things they'd said.

I'll open up this topic for, well, "comment" from readers. Since I have a Big Blog Question in progress at the moment, I can't do it there. But if you'd like to see a comment option, please let me know. If enough readers want one, you may see one. If they want free pizzas - well, I make no guarantee about that one.

By the way - what do you mean, I'm a "reclusive writer?" My name is at the bottom of every entry here, compared to Redoubt's blog. And when I went to the opera Wednesday night, I walked right down Broadway where everyone could see me.

OVERHEARD OVER HERE: Two guys walk up to the counter at an east Alabama post office.

"We have these 37-cent stamps which are no good any more. We want to trade them for some 39-cent stamps."

Don't worry, they were joking - but for a moment, I seriously wondered.

Now some other items from Thursday's news, which could make you wonder as well:

+ My evening run (above three miles AGAIN!) revealed the Riverwalk is open again, between Rotary Park and "The Summit" at 22^nd Avenue. Be sure to watch for more details Friday, during "News 3 at 5:00" - since I suspect WRBL learned about the temporary detour from this blog in the first place.

+ Third Brigade Commander Steven Salazar returned to Fort Benning, aboard one of the planes loaded with soldiers. Judging from "in-flight video" of that long trip from Iraq, Salazar is NOT requiring soldiers to sit at attention.

+ Columbus State University announced it will begin offering programs for children at Fort Benning. One of the programs will be archery - since you'd figure Army children would know how to use rifles and machine guns.

+ The annual "One Columbus Recognition Dinner" featured a speech by former Secretary of the Army Togo West. He must hear plenty of jokes when he dines out - especially when he asks for a "Togo Box."

(Since I wasn't at the dinner - what was Congressman Sanford Bishop doing there on crutches? Did he hurt himself rushing to give away donations from lobbyist Jack Abramoff?)

+ WXTX "News at Ten" showed off two computers inside the Columbus Public Library, which are especially set aside for vision-impaired people. How many Library Board used those computers, before approving that Albert Paley sculpture?

+ The Georgia House voted 110-54 for a modified "Voter Identification" card. Civil rights groups oppose this, claiming it takes Georgia back to an era when African-American people needed cards to prove they weren't slaves. That's strange - I don't hear anyone proposing to hold elections 365 days a year.

+ The Columbus Cottonmouths lost 6-2 in Knoxville, ending their record 11-game winning streak. Maybe if Coach Jerome Bechard had reminded the team of Southern California in the Rose Bowl....

+ A Pensacola, Florida man was sentenced to death for murdering a retired police officer who wore a University of Alabama cap. The killer supposedly thought the "A" on the cap stood for anti-Christ. [True/AP] Some of these Florida football fans need to find another pastime.

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.

© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.