Friday, April 14, 2006

14 APR 06: K MY S



Hold it now - don't get the wrong idea. Out title is NOT a text message to Kansas State fans, atheists, or the staff of WRBL....



Our title refers to a big change which could be coming to Columbus streets. The parent company of "Circle K" stores is buying Spectrum - which means all the "S" signs could turn into K's. Now I'm concerned the Ku Klux Klan might attempt a local comeback.



We should note there's no guarantee at this point that all the Spectrum stores will be renamed Circle K. I suppose the new owners could rename only half of them - and at some intersections, visitors who don't know better will think they're competing against each other.



I didn't realize until this sale was announced that Circle K stores are Canadian-owned. I thought the chain had its headquarters in Arizona - but then again, maybe there was some big deal to sell Labatt's beer.



Overlooked in all the merger talk is the fact that Circle K and Spectrum both sell gasoline. Since Circle K has Canadian owners and Canada has oil reserves, shouldn't gas prices drop a bit from this merger? As long as fuel trucks avoid those extra-high prices in Illinois....



Circle K used to have stores in Georgia, but several in metro Atlanta were sold around 1990. So this buyout of Spectrum could mean the company is coming FULL-Circle K....



Some of you may be familiar with Circle K from its store in the heart of the Panama City Beach tourism zone. Maybe the management style there will move north, and we'll soon have big sales on suntan lotion and surfboards.



Spectrum has its headquarters in West Point, and early speculation is that the managers there might lose their positions due to this sale. Thankfully for them, a group of Kia executives could be looking at prison time in South Korea.



From a purely selfish viewpoint, I hope the new owners don't change the soda fountain rules at Spectrum stores. My 32-ounce "refill cup" gets filled with diet cola for 31 cents in my neighborhood -- so you see, there's still ONE thing you can buy there for less than one dollar a gallon.



E-MAIL UPDATE: "IsOurCitySafe" is online again -- but don't scroll down past his latest message, or you'll miss something revealing:



A recent study that our fine city government paid for (one of many) stated that in addition to the almost 40 police officers our city is lacking, we are in dire need of 100 more officers if we are to adequately provide quality service to our citizens of Columbus and have an adequate crime solvability rate. So according to the study, we are actually 140 officers short. The scariest thing about this information is that the study was completed BEFORE the military announced that Ft. Benning would be adding several thousand more soldiers to the area.



It still amazes me that all of the surrounding counties are scrambling to prepare for the arriving soldiers, but our city government is still saying we are prepared. WOW ! They must know something I don't know and I am actually out there answering 911 calls for service.



Sincerely,



Brent "Wade Sheridan" Rollins



Before we get to his point - what's this, a name change? If this man is using aliases because he's really on the run from police somewhere....



So it appears Wade Sheridan was the "nom de web" for someone else. Maybe he should go to middle and high schoolers, and explain to teenagers why they should do this with their Myspace pages.



But anyway: can Columbus find 140 qualified police officers to fill all its open positions and suggested positions? It's taken a long time simply to find enough truck drivers to work for The Waggoners....



This message leaves me wondering how the study defines an "adequate crime solvability rate." For some of us, 100 percent isn't adequate - it's expected.



We're honestly not sure if Wade/Brent reads this blog often -- but an item from Monday's entry brought a personal response:



+ A driver led police on a wild chase across the 13th Street Bridge from Columbus to Phenix City. A woman complained to me a Phenix City officer watched the speeding SUV run a red light at Broad Street, but didn't break off a left turn to join the pursuit. This woman concluded it was a protest of low police pay. I didn't know "IsOurCitySafe" was married.



Richard,



That's funny as hell !



Brent "Wade Sheridan" Rollins



Thank you, sir -- but I thought that "H-word" defined Columbus with a shortage of police officers.



We have one more e-mail, about an item on TV news:



Burkard,



Please tell me that shot you all used on XTX of those to unidentified bodies were artist reconstructions and NOT the actual bodies. I know the coroner likes to show off his collection of the gruetesque, and I also know you're a producer in that building, so you got the goods. Real or not?



AR



Sorry, AR, I don't know the answer to your question. I didn't see WXTX "News at Ten" Wednesday night when the story appeared, and I can't call what I didn't see. Not that it doesn't stop other bloggers, of course....



Those three unidentified bodies appeared in other newscasts Wednesday, but I didn't pay attention to them. All the friends I have are identified, none of them seem to be missing -- and I don't have any debt collectors breathing down my neck.



Now a quick check of other items from the last day or two:



+ Alabama's Governor signed a bill increasing the minimum amount residents must earn before paying income taxes. Signs at the ceremony said, "Cutting Taxes for Alabama" -- leading me to wonder how the state could afford to pay for those signs.



+ The Disney on Ice production of "Finding Nemo" opened at the Columbus Civic Center. I'm sorry, but I'm very concerned about this. They could ruin the Civic Center's ice rink, poking a hole in it to search for Nemo underwater.



(At least one bus filled with children from Schley County Schools attended a special Thursday morning performance of "Finding Nemo." Perhaps their field trip to the Georgia Aquarium was rerouted, to save fuel costs.)



+ For some odd reason, the Columbus Catfish played a special "hooky" game at 11:00 a.m. Didn't Muscogee County Schools have spring break LAST week? Or was this a reward for all the students who sat through the "Drug-Free You and Me" conference?



(At least one bus filled with students from the Phenix City Schools watched Columbus lose to Charleston 7-1. Maybe this "field trip" was to find secrets to beating Russell County High School.)



+ Instant.Message to District Attorney Gray Conger: That was a smart move on your part - having Assistant D.A. Maggie Bagley prosecute that father accused of shaking his baby to death. Putting an attractive blonde in front of Judge Bobby Peters was simply brilliant.



Your PayPal donations can build a better blog, and keep it 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.



BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 8347 (+ 380, 4.8%, record high)



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



© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, All Rights Reserved.




site stats