27 APR 06: KELLETT ME SOFTLY

Just in time for a feisty election year, the man who may be Columbus's most legendary radio talk show host is returning to the local dial. It's about time someone threatened to knock Mike Gaymon off his Chamber of Commerce pedestal....

Archway Broadcasting announced Wednesday it's bringing Doug Kellett back to WRCG-AM. He'll have his own afternoon talk show, starting May 15. This was surprising for several reasons. For one thing, I thought Kellett would be a good choice for White House Press Secretary.

While Doug Kellett will be on WRCG from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., "TalkLine" will remain on the air in the morning. Antonio Carter was added to TalkLine last year, to give balance to Robbie Watson. So far there's no "balance" for Kellett - so Bill Madison of the NAACP will have to call in often.

Some talk radio listeners say WRCG's "TalkLine" hasn't been as good a show since Doug Kellett left Columbus five years ago. Please note I said "talk radio listeners." I haven't heard that from any local elected officials.

The WRCG news release on Doug Kellett notes he spent years in Columbus "leading the charge against higher taxes." It neglects to mention Columbus voters didn't turn down a tax increase until after he left town.

Doug Kellett went from Columbus to a "Super-Talk" station in Nashville in 2001 - and from checking his web site, apparently he's bounced around a few large radio stations since then. For instance, he was a guest host on KLIF in Dallas. But I guess he's now over the KLIF....

The Archway Broadcasting statement quotes Doug Kellett as saying he'll be "focusing full-time on WRCG," while still working with other radio stations. Maybe Columbus will be the launching pad for another big radio network - though it's strange to compare Kellett with Duke and the Doctor.

Yet the Archway statement and the Doug Kellett web site don't come out and say Kellett will do his daily show FROM Columbus. He apparently has his own private studio somewhere. That was always the strange thing about Kellett hosting "TalkLine." He jabbed at Columbus city government, while living in Phenix City. [True!]

Doug Kellett says in the Archway statement he tries NOT to be rude, as a talk show host. In fact, he suspects talk show hosts "take ourselves way too seriously." It certainly led to a fancy new job for Tony Snow....

Doug Kellett will face a tough task, on his new WRCG show. Two of his three hours every day will pit him against Rush Limbaugh on WDAK. Maybe Kellett will bill himself as the clean and sober talk show host.

Your blog submitted several questions to Doug Kellett Wednesday - and he replied via e-mail he'd be ready "to get you some answers in a few days." A few days?!?! Does he still consider Columbus a sleepy Southern town? Or is he learning public relations ideas from the Russell County School Board?

The return of Doug Kellett apparently means Clark Howard will lose his afternoon show on WRCG. That's just as well - because he hasn't been able to find me gas for less than two dollars a gallon in a long time.

Assuming Doug Kellett will talk about local Columbus topics, he's picking a great time to come back. In only one hour of TalkLine on WRCG Wednesday, I heard....

+ A caller accusing Mayor Bob Poydasheff of turning off the Government Center's eternal flame. Yet I drove by it before 8:00 a.m. and it was lit - so maybe it's keeping First Avenue residents awake at night.

+ Another caller claiming potential challenger Jim Wetherington has operated a business on Earline Avenue without a city license. It makes me wonder when this caller has time to operate his OWN business.

+ The hosts of TalkLine quarrel with WRBL meteorologist Darren "Short" Stack. Stack's forecast called for rain by 9:00 a.m. Nothing reached the Columbus area on radar until after 10:00. Was there a traffic jam on Interstate 85?

E-MAIL UPDATE: As it happened, one of the TalkLine hosts e-mailed us Wednesday:

Hi, Richard! Do you know something I don't? Well, I guess it wouldn't be the first time. I thought Jim Weatherington served only one year as headmaster at Calvary. I recall when he left the church(Calvary) for Wynnbrook after a short stint. Robbie

That may be true, Robbie. I only remember the news coverage Wetherington received when he started at Calvary Christian School in 2003. Maybe after all his years in police work and corrections, the students there were simply too nice.

By the way, the web site we were first to mention Wednesday now confirms Jim Wetherington will announce today he's running for Mayor. Didn't he keep secrets better than this, when he was police chief?

We also heard again from "IsOurCitySafe" - as he commented on a news story, even before it reached the evening news:

I find it ironic that the recruiter for the Columbus Police Department has been recruited by someone else and will be leaving soon.

Chief Rick (Ricardo in Spanish) Boren noted the same sort of thing on TV - saying a new recruiter will have to be found from within the ranks. But to be honest, I never knew the Columbus Police Department HAD a recruiter. With more than 40 openings on the force, this departure might be worthwhile.

(The police recruiter is leaving law enforcement, to take a job with Geico Insurance. He probably won't be saving a big wad of money by switching to Geico - he'll be making it.)

Let's see what other news candidates passed our way Wednesday:

+ A South Korean newspaper reported the President of Kia Motors will be arrested, in a slush fund scandal. So much for opening a slushie stand near the new plant in West Point....

+ The Lee County Sheriff's Office unveiled a new web site, which will post the pictures of people arrested on drunk driving charges. In some cases, the mug shot camera might not even be necessary - because Auburn University students may have pictures posted already on Myspace.com.

+ Congressman Sanford Bishop received a challenge for reelection, as Republican Bradley Hughes filed for office. Hughes is a minister whose web site claims, "We are paying higher taxes than ever." Apparently he was too busy street-preaching to notice all the recent Republican tax cuts.

+ The Wikipedia web site confirmed a biography of Mark Taylor was adjusted by someone inside the campaign of Georgia gubernatorial opponent Cathy Cox. As if people go to Wikipedia to choose a candidate for Governor, anyway?! Many people don't even believe the campaign commercials....

+ The Georgia AAA high school golf regionals were held at Bull Creek Golf Course. The ladies' medalist was Columbus High's Carol So. Asked what made the difference, teammates said it was her "So cool."

+ Instant Message to the Boy Scout troop which stopped on the Riverwalk to chat with a good-looking woman walking a big dog: Thank you for letting me jog by -- and I can understand why you were distracted for a few seconds.

(Yet I can't help wondering something - were the woman and her dog REALLY what the Boy Scouts were searching for, on their field trip?)

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