for 15 AUG 06: TIME TO A-C-T

The Columbus Trade Center hosted talks Monday on sharing water between Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Alabama Governor Bob Riley showed up. Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue showed up. But Florida Governor Jeb Bush did NOT - so you can tell which one is NOT running for reelection this fall.

Alabama, Florida and Georgia have been feuding since 1989 over how to share water from two river systems, and six different rivers. You'd think this would be simple. Each state takes two rivers -- or failing that, have "alternate side of the stream" drinking rules.

The water dispute can get bogged down (pun) in shorthand and legal lingo. There's the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River system, or A-C-T. There's the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River system, or A-C-F. And there's "Alabama relishing Georgia headwaters" -- or ARGH.

With Jeb Bush missing, Governors Perdue and Riley couldn't really work on the A-C-F Monday. So they worked on the other river system -- figuring if you can pass the A-C-T test, you've already accomplished something.

The Alabama and Georgia Governors promised to work on a water-sharing agreement for the A-C-T system. All three governors reached an "agreement in principle" for the entire region in Columbus three years ago [22 Jul 03] - but then they forgot to tell the Army Corps of Engineers to buy new measuring sticks for the lakes.

Alabama Governor Bob Riley told reporters when it comes to water-sharing, it's important to "work on what we can get done now." Of course it is - because there's no guarantee he or Sonny Perdue will be in office five months from now.

Governor Bob Riley says only technical details remain, on an agreement to share water from the A-C-T system. If the state officials can't settle this, I like the idea I saw on the local news Monday - with a long rope across a river, and people on either side of a state line having a tug-of-war.

Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue noted there are times when Georgia lakes are important for the flow of Alabama rivers. One example is Carters Lake northwest of Atlanta - a lake I've never quite understood, because you never hear about Jimmy Carter fishing there.

But Sonny Perdue admitted he was "disappointed" that Florida Governor Jeb Bush chose to stay away from the water talks in Columbus. Maybe if Georgia's Governor used some of that state surplus to start building an Interstate 185 extension toward Tallahassee....

Governor Sonny Perdue said the A-C-F river system debate is very different from the A-C-T. For one thing, Florida argues it needs extra Chattahoochee River water for endangered mussels in the Panhandle. Georgia has challenged that in court - because it endangers the Governor's political muscles.

We hope Columbus did nothing to insult Florida Governor Jeb Bush, to make him stay away Monday. We hope he comes back to Columbus one of these days. And if it will make him feel more comfortable, we'll even go to a store selling Ozarka bottled water from Arkansas for him to drink.

LOOK OUT BELOW FOR MORE....

As of Tuesday, the countdown stands at nine days to the premiere of Power Frisbee of Georgia. If you missed our Free Frisbee Sunday, learn more about this new game at the official Power Frisbee web site; then offer your comments at the P.F.G. blog.

E-MAIL UPDATE: It wasn't the heat in Columbus Monday, it was the humidity. Yet this message reached us, about the Georgia High School Association:

Apparently the GHSA has been practicing their doublespeak. As heard on a local newscast Sunday night, the association is considering placing "heat monitoring devices" on high school sports fields.

Such devices, I believe, are commonly known as "thermometers".

K.S.

For a minute there, this explanation seemed to make sense. But then I remembered something - the cheerleaders along the sides of the high school sports fields. They can create heat for athletes, of a very different nature....

The death of a Rockdale County football player has put pressure on the Georgia High School Association to do something to protect football players during pre-season practice. For some school systems, this is easier than others. When IS Valdosta High putting a rolling roof on its stadium?

We combine schools and athletes in our quick wrap-up of other Monday headlines:

+ Phenix City School Superintendent Larry DiChiara showed WRBL a new system, which allows him to call up any security camera in any school on his computer. Phenix City has this?! Shouldn't Russell County schools have this, too - to watch the teachers?

+ CB&T, Synovus and TSYS announced a combined $15,000 donation, to help the Northern baseball team pay its way to the Little League World Series. Here's what I don't understand: why don't businesses sponsor the teams from the start of the year? My first youth softball team wasn't the North or the Yankees - but "Third District Commissioner Chet Matson." [True!] It seemed so strange, not having a nickname....

(WRBL tracked down 1999 U.S. Little League champion coach Tony Rasmus at Russell County High School. He says he's been scouting all the U.S. teams, and thinks Northern has an excellent opportunity to win. So there, you see - Bobby Howard isn't the one coach scouting right now.)

+ Instant Message to the City of Lanett: Did I hear it right - you paid part of the bill for three new defibrillators by selling hamburgers? Shouldn't they have been turkey burgers with less cholesterol, so the need for those defibrillators goes down?

SONG OF THE DAY: With a Middle East cease-fire seemingly secured, it appears safe to bring out a song we first developed about Lebanon in the 1980's -- something a militia member might sing to "The Happy Wanderer":

I love to ride the mountain roads, south of the Beirut track.

And as I go, I love to throw

A hostage in the back.

Hez-bol-lee! Hezbollah!

Hez-bol-lee - Hezbollah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Hez-bol-lee! Hezbollah!

A hostage in the back!

COMING SOON: An e-mailer who's fed up with Columbus home builders....

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