27 AUG 06: TURNER TOO LOOSE?

How about that Northern Little League - winning the U.S. championship Saturday! But please, Columbus, do NOT think about firing weapons to celebrate the win. Do NOT follow the example of local judges....

We'll get to the champs, but we begin with Muscogee County Judge Haywood Turner. He was arrested Friday, in what Columbus Police call a case of road rage. And in a mild surprise, he was NOT accused of wielding a gavel at someone's head.

The arrest of Judge Haywood Turner stems from an incident on the J.R. Allen Parkway, during Wednesday afternoon's rush hour. You'd think there would be room for all sorts of drivers on the J.R. Allen Parkway - unless drivers on the main road consider people merging from the access lane inferior.

Two drivers apparently mixed it up on U.S. 80, and police say Judge Haywood Turner pulled out two guns. Apparently he did NOT fire the guns -- else someone would have cracked a "Who shot J.R.?" joke by now.

Judge Haywood Turner turned himself in to Columbus Police Friday, on charges including "brandishing a weapon in public." You don't hear much about people brandishing anything in Columbus. It's more common in Atlanta -- especially when they have those "Pride Parades."

We really shouldn't be surprised if Judge Haywood Turner was brandishing weapons. You may recall several months ago, several Muscogee County Judges received firearms training by Columbus Police. We'll have to wait for the trial, to learn if Turner thought that driver looked like Atlanta's Brian Nichols.

Haywood Turner has had a reputation of being one of the more offbeat judges in Columbus. Four years ago, he said it would take a bomb at the Government Center to gain the attention of Columbus Council. Amazingly, no one called for Turner's arrest then - but some did years later for the NAACP's Bill Madison.

And wasn't it Judge Haywood Turner who oversaw some of the sentences years ago for S.O.A. Watch protesters? Did they go to federal prison that year - or wind up doing landscaping work at local parks?

It was Mayor Bob Poydasheff who first broke the news on Friday of Judge Haywood Turner's arrest. Hmmmm - Columbus already has one former mayor, serving as a local judge....

In another bizarre traffic note, a car crash in suburban Atlanta early Saturday killed controversial gynecologist Eric Buffong. Our sympathies go to his family - and we truly hope we don't get any e-mails about alleged victims playing games with voodoo dolls.

BLOG UPDATE: Now to "El Norte," which will play today for the Little League World Series championship. The Northern All-Stars stopped Beaverton, Oregon 7-3 Saturday to win the U.S. title - and considering Oregon State actually won the College World Series this summer, a victory by a bunch of Beavers wasn't that far-fetched.

The Northern Little League faces Kawaguchi City, Japan in today's title tilt. I suppose we could inspire the U.S. team by saying "Remember Pearl Harbor" - but I'm not sure they're old enough to have studied that in history books yet.

(Kawaguchi City, Japan is a northern suburb of Tokyo. Quick, someone call the sister city of Kiryu - and tell them to take a stand once and for all.)

Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff hurried to Williamsport, Pennsylvania for the U.S. title game, after taking part in a Fraternal Order of Police forum among the mayoral candidates. OK, who supplied the plane - and how much did they give his campaign on top of it?

(The F.O.P. claims it will use the forum to reach a decision on which candidate to endorse for mayor. Aw c'mon - if that candidate is NOT Jim Wetherington, I may actually pledge money to an F.O.P. telemarketer.)

The Northern All-Stars received encouraging messages the last couple of days from Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and former President Jimmy Carter. We have yet to hear if any influential calls got through from Columbus High's Bobby Howard or Russell County's Tony Rasmus.

It was interesting to watch the Saturday night late TV newscasts, and see how they handled the Little League win. Two stations made it the top story, with extensive coverage. But WRBL didn't seem to mention it until the sports section. It's just like Phenix City seven years ago - with WRBL seemingly deciding if you don't mention it, the viewers won't go away.

There's now a media race to welcome home the Northern All-Stars. WRBL is touting a live event at 4:00 Tuesday afternoon - which is asking for trouble, because Judge Judy is liable to get very upset....

About 350 Northern supporters watched Saturday's game at the Carmike theaters at Columbus Park Crossing. Who knows how many will show up this afternoon. Why, this could be the perfect time to avoid long lines at Old Navy.

POWER FRISBEE TODAY: We'll have to miss the Little League finals today, because the premiere weekend of Power Frisbee of Georgia is taking us to Valdosta. We don't have a portable TV to watch the game, our first match is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. - and for some reason, no one has set up a Little League radio network.

Today's Round 2 matches of Power Frisbee are at Valdosta Middle School, which has nothing much for us beyond a football field with goal posts. It has no bleachers, no concession stand, no scoreboard - why, you'd think the high school football team with all its money would donate something....

In fact, we declared this "Picnic Sunday" for Power Frisbee in Valdosta. Frisbee fans are invited to bring lawn chairs and blankets - but as we say in our radio ad, do NOT bring dogs. The football team might not appreciate what they find on Monday....

You may be wondering how Power Frisbee's big opening night went Thursday in Augusta. It honestly was so bizarre that it will have a blog entry of its own later in the week, after the Little League fervor calms down. But when both players decide to play the opening game barefoot -- and they did -- you know it's a bit different.

Before we take off our slippers for a good night's sleep, let's check other events of the weekend:

+ Columbus gas prices dropped another few cents, to a low of $2.65 a gallon downtown. But of course, there's now a tropical storm approaching the Caribbean - just in time to celebrate the first anniversary of the afternoon gas panic.

+ The Columbus Rainbow/PUSH Coalition challenged the candidates for mayor to declare whether they'll support a legal settlement with Kenneth Walker's family. Mayor Bob Poydasheff insists it's in litigation. Jim Wetherington is the pro-police candidate. So this civil rights group could give Burt Coker his only noteworthy endorsement.

(So did anyone dare to ask Rainbow/PUSH leader William Howell about his meeting with Senator Arlen Specter - the one he announced months ago he'd requested in Washington? Did Howell get tired of waiting to track Specter down, in a Capitol Hill hallway? Did he even try Cynthia McKinney's office?)

+ A Phenix City developer announced plans for a condominium and retail development along the riverfront. It will be called "The Phenixian" - which is simply asking for trouble, because who knows how many residents will misspell that.

+ The Phenix City "Skate-a-Rama" had a last all-night skating marathon, before going out of business. There actually is a large-scale alternative to this rink - if someone would install a giant boombox near the lake at Idle Hour Park.

+ The former Club Antifreeze on Buena Vista Road reopened as "L's Place." It apparently is no longer a rapper's delight, as the sign outside now claims it's "grown and sexy." Of course, after a certain age the spelling has to change to "groan and sexy."

+ The annual "Denim and Diamonds" concert found a big crowd inside the Columbus Civic Center to see Hank Williams, Junior. So did Williams ask the crowd, "Are you ready for some football?" - only to have fans leave disappointed, to find the Catfish playing baseball?

+ Those very Catfish had an extra-inning game Friday night - so scheduled post-game fireworks at Golden Park didn't go off until 11:23 p.m. I heard the first few booms, and thought the drug fight my late next-door neighbor warned me about was finally happening....

(Arrrgh, I blew it! I forgot to walk over to Golden Park Saturday, to see how much of the outfield fence was still standing after the fireworks show.)

+ The Atlanta Falcons topped Tennessee 20-6 in exhibition football. For some reason, the end zones at Tennessee's stadium had no markings on them. Is it tryout time for the grounds crew as well?

+ Instant Message to Faith Middle School Principal Julio Gonzales: I was impressed to learn on WRBL that you speak five languages. So how many do you talk to the tune of a hickory stick?

BIG PREDICTION: Columbus will get it done today! I say Catfish 6, Charleston River Dogs 4....

(COMING NEXT: If our Power Frisbee schedule allows, Monday will be a catch-up session on your e-mails. If it doesn't, look for them Tuesday.)

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