30 OCT 06: ACROSS THE BOARD

There's nothing quite like receiving blog fan mail. Take this message which came the other day:

I have recently become acquainted with your blog. I have to tell you, it really brightens my day! I had an excellent laugh over your coverage of the Liberty Theatre Political Forum [25 Oct]. The comment on Richard Hyatt left me in a fit of giggles!

Lisa Parrish

Thank you very much, Lisa - and I'm really glad Richard Hyatt did NOT keel over on the floor that night. It's been a couple of years since I had CPR training.

But we're not through with that forum at the Liberty Theatre. As promised, today we consider the four candidates for Muscogee County School Board who were present last week. Well, check that - Naomi Buckner didn't arrive until the school board presentations were almost over. Does she get an excused absence for that?

Advance voting opens across Georgia today, with two open races on the Muscogee County School Board. Naomi Buckner is in a District 4 rematch with Linda Parker. Each has beaten the other once - so I say this time, "loser leaves town" rules should be in effect.

Once Naomi Buckner arrived at the forum, she was allowed to give a three-minute presentation. "I began the change," she said about Muscogee County Schools. So how many textbooks did she lose?

Naomi Buckner contends Muscogee County schools were failing until a new wave of board members took office in recent years. Yet here's the strange thing - they have awards for the top teacher and school superintendent in Georgia, but never the most outstanding board member.

District 4 in Muscogee County Schools includes Kendrick High School. Naomi Buckner says while she's been on the school board, the construction there has been completed - AND the school now has clean water. I didn't realize Kendrick was made an environmental magnet school.

Opponent Linda Parker told the forum she's concerned about the classified employees in Muscogee County schools. She says some of them have worked for 40 years, earning only 500 dollars a month. Yeow - why didn't anyone tell Columbus Police recruiters about these people before?

When it comes to recruiting new teachers to Muscogee County, Linda Parker told the forum: "It's about money, money, money." So her school board and the Russell County School Board have something in common....

Linda Parker agrees with Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue that graduation coaches are needed in middle schools. She called them "completion counselors" - which some parents might confuse with football quarterback coaches.

Linda Parker also wants grade schools to offer physical education classes, to fight student obesity. If that's not possible, I can think of an alternative. Have all the children race outside once a week, in mock terror drills.

One Muscogee County School Board race is citywide - the at-large seat Mary Sue Polleys is leaving. Cathy Vaughn Williams challenged her four years ago, and is running for the seat again. But she's added the "Williams" to her name since 2002, perhaps thinking three names is the key to victory.

Cathy Vaughn Williams says she's not convinced the at-large school board seat has served all of Muscogee County. South Columbus schools are a personal concern, because she graduated from Spencer High -- and have you noticed that football team hasn't won a game since the last election?

Her opponent for the at-large school board seat is Rickey L. Jones. I didn't have the nerve to ask if the L. stands for "Lee," and if he sings songs about Chuckie being in love....

Rickey Jones says he's shown his concern for children by feeding hungry youngsters in his home. In fact, he mentioned twice at the forum that he's cut children's hair. I didn't realize head lice was a big issue in this campaign.

The candidates for the at-large school board race are different in many ways. One is Euro-American, one is African-American. One is male, one is female. One is busy with homebuilding, while the other has three degrees in education - perhaps busy building a resume.

The Liberty Theatre forum included an interesting question about improving race relations inside Muscogee County schools. Cathy Vaughn Williams said it starts by treating all schools with equality. This could make things fun - a dispersal draft of Columbus High School baseball players.

Rickey Jones said the key to improving school race relations is within each person. He says we need to start by addressing our own prejudices. It almost makes you wonder if Jones's wife is having second thoughts about voting for him.

In closing statements at the Liberty Theatre forum, Rickey Jones said he should be elected to the Muscogee County School Board because he's as "fresh as an empty glass." Uhhhh - has he ever washed dishes at a restaurant on a busy Sunday afternoon?

Cathy Vaughn Williams closed her presentation by saying she's the choice of change - and added: "I work in Columbus." Rickey Jones's campaign flyer has Randolph-Clay High School at the top of his work experience. So a vote for him could mean a school year starting in late July.

BLOG UPDATE: As if the Northern Little League All-Stars didn't have enough publicity, BellSouth confirmed Sunday it's put the world champions on the cover of the new Columbus phone book. This may disappoint some local schools - because next year, recycling money will drop to an all-time low.

A BellSouth statement said the Little League champions were "the perfect cover models" for the new phone book. It must be a difficult search in Columbus - because the phone company couldn't do any better for the current book than a bald eagle.

The cover choice actually makes the new Columbus phone book a double collector's item. Not only are the Little League champions on the cover, but it probably will be the last phone book with a BellSouth name. The merger with AT&T is coming -- and you may find the closest "Southern Bell" to Columbus is at the Eufaula Pilgrimage.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Did we mention there's nothing quite like blog fan mail? Oh yeah, we did. Well, anyway....

Richard..I love your blog...gives me a chance to vent and be entertained at the same time...you should replace "sound off'

Now, now - the "Sound Off" column in the Ledger-Enquirer is getting better, as people realize they can be creative with it. Take the recent column, where a person said he refuses to shop at any business with a Spanish name. That's one less person in the line at Taco Bell.

Thanks for all your comments - and a different sort of e-mail begins our review of Sunday news:

+ Our BBMI, the Burkard Bulk Mail Index of spam e-mail, dropped below the 5,000 mark for the first time in as long as I can remember. Maybe those people with red-hot tips about penny stocks are actually taking time to invest money in them.

+ The annual "Christmas Made in the South" exhibition finished at the Columbus Trade Center. I didn't go to this event - so how Southern WAS it, really? Did someone stroll around, playing carols on a banjo?

+ Oscar-winning actor Sidney Poitier appeared at a special Columbus State University event at the RiverCenter. The event was "invitation only" -- so hopefully Bert Coker will tell us what he said sometime today....

(I understand Sidney Poitier did NOT want to comment to journalists, during his trip to Columbus. Maybe he didn't want to be annoyed by young reporters mispronouncing his last name.)

+ The Columbus State women's soccer team won the Peach Belt Conference title, beating Armstrong Atlantic State in a penalty kick shootout. C.S.U. hopes a 19-3 record will pit the Lady Cougars in the NCAA tournament. It certainly would keep them from traveling to Boise, Idaho for a bowl game.

+ Tony Stewart won the NASCAR race in suburban Atlanta - but what surprised me was that a few bleacher seats were empty at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Maybe it was because the race ended after sunset, and fans were worried they might be late for work in the morning from being stuck in traffic.

+ Florida moved ahead of Auburn in the new Bowl Championship Series rankings. The Gators are fourth. The Tigers are sixth. And since it's the Southeastern Conference, Arkansas probably will win the conference title game anyway.

+ Instant Message to Cincinnati wide receiver Chad Johnson: Atlanta DOS-NUEVE, your Bengals 27....

(If you missed it, Chad Johnson asked reporters at the Falcons-Bengals game to call him "Ocho Cinco," referring to his number 85. Not only is that incorrect Spanish, Johnson doesn't realize Hispanic Heritage Month ended October 15.)

Thousands of visitors read this blog every month, in Columbus and around the world. To advertise to them, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 4841 (- 337, 6.5%)

If you mention this blog in public, please be polite enough to let me know.

© 2003-06 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.