13 JUN 06: WETHERINGTON'S STORM?

Monday was a big day for Columbus mayoral candidate Jim Wetherington. He named two campaign co-chairs - leading some of us to wonder if he really wants to trim the fat of city government.

One of the Jim Wetherington campaign co-chairs is a very familiar name: Gene Hodge. It's the former police chief and the former sheriff, together again - and let's see someone dare speak against a public safety pay increase now.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that Gene Hodge is co-chairing the Jim Wetherington campaign. After all, Hodge was hired by Wetherington to join the Georgia Department of Corrections after he retired as sheriff. So where does payback end, and "good ol' boys" begin?

Another familiar political name will be finance chair of the Wetherington campaign - former Georgia Transportation Commissioner Sam Wellborn. Wellborn will come in handy, in telling the candidate which neighborhoods have the dumpiest streets with the most votes.

But another event connected with Jim Wetherington was mentioned on Monday's front page of the Ledger-Enquirer - one which could be a storm cloud for him. Monday marked the 25^th anniversary of the Columbus High School arson fire. It remains unsolved today - so can we really trust this man to solve a budget puzzle?

For years I've heard anonymous whispers that Jim Wetherington's son somehow was behind the 1981 Columbus High School arson fire, and Dad/Chief did something to get him off the hook. But no one's ever come forward with proof of it - and no one's told me about Wetherington's son giving tips to Adam Johnson.

The Ledger-Enquirer article never mentioned the rumors about Jim Wetherington's son, and never mentioned his part in the Columbus High School arson investigation at all. So when is the editorial page endorsement coming - in September or October?

Before you accuse ME of rumor-mongering, I repeat - these are rumors others were spreading well before I arrived. They're spread by men who call TV stations anonymously on Saturday nights, when an episode of COPS gets too boring....

I'm simply bringing this issue up now, before others do it in an election year. Think back four years to the anonymous mailings about Bob Poydasheff's traffic violations, and you'll know what I mean.

If Jim Wetherington wants to put the rumors to rest and avoid a political "October surprise," it might do him well to address the 1981 Columbus High School fire NOW. Talk about it. Answer questions. Bring forward his son - assuming he's not in a witness protection program somewhere....

By the way, Mayor Bob Poydasheff seems several steps behind Jim Wetherington in the election-year planning. I've heard no announcement of HIS campaign chair - and Monday he was out of the country, on that Chamber of Commerce business trip. Maybe he'll come home with a nice campaign donation from Hyundai.

BLOG UPDATE: As for the BIG reason why some people support Jim Wetherington, the F.B.I. released a new city-by-city crime report Monday. It shows violent crime increased last year nationwide - so someone should photocopy that University of Georgia police pay study and send it to every City Hall in the land.

The good news from the F.B.I. crime report is that rape cases in Columbus dropped 20 percent last year, and the murder count was almost even. But auto theft reached a nine-year high - perhaps proving those discount incentives at car dealers still aren't good enough.

Burglaries in Columbus also hit a nine-year high last year, and have increased by 51 percent since 2000. I stumbled upon an all-natural way to scare burglars off years ago, in metro Atlanta. Simply let squirrels roam around in your attic, making noise.

Fraternal Order of Police Randy Robertson suspects the burglary rate is jumping because of drug-dealing. Be careful, teenagers - and if someone drives to your sports practice offering a brand endorsed by Barry Bonds, just say no.

E-MAIL UPDATE: We always appreciate readers who want to set us straight. This one concerns a 9 Jun analysis of the primary vote in Smiths Station:

So you don't understand what's wrong with Smiths Station city employees working at the polls? Let me explain it to you. If the city employee's job is so unimportant that they can take the day off work to work for the county then maybe their city job isn't needed and should be abolished. Or do we even know if they took the day off or were they paid by two governments for the same day's work. (Note: This was not a city election. In AL all other elections (besides city elections) are conducted by the county. The county pays the poll workers $90. per day, supervisors more.

Also, having three fullly staffed polling places for Smiths Station in a Primary election was nothing more than government over-reaction to a problem that occurs only in General Elections (in November) every four years. We have many voters who choose to vote only every four years in the Presidential elections. Therefore, we've had long lines every four years at the one polling place (Smiths Station High School). This was a Primary election which normally gets a small percentage of voters. Therefore we paid lots of poll workers at three locations to do very little all day long. Check the numbers. And the Primary Run-off election next month will probably get less than half of the voters who turned out Tuesday (check the figures for previous run-off elections). So... will Lee County have all three locations in Smiths Station open and fully staffed again? If so, it will be another big waste of taxpayers money. But who cares? If they waste too much and run out of money all they have to do is raise our taxes again!

In summary, no voters should have to wait in lines like we've had in Smiths Station in the last two presidential elections. I just suggest that the county officials check the records, determine when the problem exists, correct the problem and not over-react.

Also, reference your comment that one change on our School Board couldn't make much of difference. Obviously you don't know what's going on with the Lee County School Board. There are two sides. Those who are loyal to the Superintendent and those who are not. One vote when you have the majority can make a huge difference. Smiths Station Observer

Thank you for the observations - and I still don't know whether or not Smiths Station city employees worked at the polls last Tuesday. If the city clerks can get ahead in their tax collection work....

If dividing one polling place into three displeases this Observer, we give this writer a gold star for patience. Most people nowadays probably don't like to wait three hours to vote - and get annoyed when the transmission shop has to keep their car overnight.

But isn't there a risk of the lines growing even longer, as Smiths Station grows as a city? If this new town has to have two Dollar General stores, it makes you wonder....

We'll see in months to come whether a new member on the Lee County School Board will tip the balance of power. I haven't heard of any move to throw out the Superintendent - but then again, I haven't heard any motion to name a school after him.

Now a quick check of other Monday items:

+ "Black Enterprise" magazine named AFLAC one of the 40 best businesses in the country, in terms of diversity. The biggest surprise on the list is Denny's restaurants - but I guess they're talking about diversity in employment, not the type of customers who get served.

+ Defense attorneys for former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman rested their case, without calling any witnesses in his behalf. Once an overconfident politician, always an overconfident politician....

(The main attorney for Don Siegelman called the prosecution's weeks of witnesses in the federal corruption trial a "rat-trap" of a case. Is this man being consulted by former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell?)

+ WDAK radio's Val McGuinness quipped during the morning news: "Most of our audience doesn't have a sense of humor." I think he was joking when he said that - but then again, what if he was talking about ME?

+ Georgia stopped South Carolina 11-5, to join Georgia Tech in baseball's College World Series. Maybe the teams can work together to find a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska which sells grits.

+ Instant Message to the producers of that new show "How to Get the Guy": I'll take Kris, the corporate litigator -- happily. She can be the life of my party anytime. And if she turns me down, I want my own sequel series where men look for Ms. Right.

(Uh-oh -- before I come across the wrong way with that last joke: I went back and forth between that dating show and the Stanley Cup Finals hockey game. Really. Carolina won, while Michelle lost....)

SCHEDULED WEDNESDAY: Where do Fort Benning soldiers REALLY live?....

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