3 DEC 06: THEY CARRY A BADGE

When last we heard, the Chattahoochee County Police Department remained frozen by court order. But given the history of Chief Ken Suddeth, that's probably not stopping him from doing his job. Why, he probably has dozens of spare police badges ready to give to volunteers....

Did you see the story in the Ledger-Enquirer about one of Ken Suddeth's "Honorary Marshals?" One of the badges showed up this past week in suburban Atlanta, when a man was stopped for a traffic violation. It's nice to know Suddeth gave those badges to fine, upstanding and honest people.

This issue really goes back to the 2004 election. When Greg Countryman defeated Ken Suddeth for Muscogee County Marshal, we learned Suddeth had given more than 140 honorary badges to friends and supporters. Some of them apparently still are scattered across Georgia -- and apparently are becoming more collectible than PlayStation 3 systems.

Marshal Greg Countryman estimates about 100 Honorary Marshal badges are still out there somewhere. He wants them all returned -- and in fact, he says he'll prosecute anybody caught with one. So you may wind up with an honorary criminal record as well....

But somebody has to ask it - if Ken Suddeth handed out these "honorary" badges, how can Marshal Greg Countryman prosecute someone now simply for having one? Why, that seven-pointed star can be the most talked-about letter opener in any office....

To be sure, I can understand why the marshal would want to prosecute that man in suburban Atlanta. He reportedly showed his honorary badge in hopes of escaping a parking ticket. But that "marshal" apparently doesn't know law enforcement very well -- because police departments can check him through computers now.

While he looks for the honorary badges, Marshal Greg Countryman says he's had to design new ones for the force. The old "star" badges had seven points. The new ones have six points. And the rest of you should be careful, if you drink too much "five-point."

By the way, Marshal Greg Countryman told the newspaper he gives office volunteers a different sort of thank-you gift. He gives them plaques and sweater vests -- while saying the badge controversy cost his department money for important items such as new radios. Maybe Mayor-Elect Jim Wetherington needs to give his marshal a lesson in "common sense."

If this whole thing is still an issue two years after the election, it shows former Marshal Ken Suddeth doesn't really care about collecting the honorary badges. He's apparently moved on - and may be collecting little more than honorary paychecks from the Chattahoochee County government.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now for other unfinished business - this time from the West Point water works:

Monday night on the news the report was that the following was not known:

* Do not know what contaimenant might be.

* Do not know what may have caused this

* Do not know how this may have been caused

But they made sure that we did know the following:

That they were absolutely sure that their was NO security breach?

How can this be the case? Let's see, they are sure someone did not climb a fence and put somehting in the water, how? The fact that the television crew did not even think how can this be known was a question for me?

Just wondering how something that could not be known was a certainity?

Chris Taylor

Phenix City, AL

Hmmmm - Chris asks a deep, probing question. It's about as deep as the one "D-Bo" asks in this weekend's Rivertown Ford infomercial. "It's not even 2007 yet, but we've got '07 models on sale. How did THAT happen?!?!"

I'll try to answer Chris's question -- but keep in mind, this is merely a guess. Maybe no alarm went off at the water department. Maybe security cameras noticed no one breaking into the plant. And maybe they've boiled it down to three employees, but they're for one to rat on the other two.

While you ponder those mysteries, here are other certain items from the first weekend of December:

+ The Columbus RiverCenter held its first art festival, called Winterfest. So has the picket line formed yet, from people demanding the name change to Christmas-Fest?

+ The Open Door Community Home staged an unusual fund-raiser at Kinnett Stadium. People slept outside in cardboard boxes, to learn what it's like to be homeless. I think some mobile home residents on Farr Road would have happily taken them in - because they're in a similar situation on some cold winter nights.

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue was named the chairman of the Republican Governor's Association. I didn't know other governors were allowed to put items on his "Sonny-Do" list.

+ National Public Radio played tape of Georgia Secretary of State Cathy Cox, at a recent conference on touch-screen voting machines. Several times she said a hard-copy record of people's votes would be complicated by "paper jay-umms." Only in the South can someone turn "jams" into a two-syllable word.

+ Alabama Power announced it's asking for a 5.3 percent rate increase, effective January 1. Now that's the way to celebrate Auburn appearing in a televised New Year's bowl game.

+ Carver and Shaw both won high school football quarterfinal games. They'll face each other next weekend at the Georgia Dome - and why do I have this feeling the Northern All-Stars Little League team will be involved in the halftime show?

+ Georgia Tech's football team lost the Atlantic Coast Conference title tilt to Wake Forest, 9-6. And here's what stings even more for Tech fans - on the same day, Georgia's basketball team scored 81 more points against Wake Forest, and won.

+ Meanwhile, Troy University won the Sun Belt Conference football title by flooring Florida International 26-13. Troy has a title, has a better record than Alabama -- and a bowl game in New Orleans instead of Shreveport probably will be a lot more fun.

+ The Columbus State men's basketball team crushed Carver Bible College 121-74. Aw c'mon - Carver Bible College?!?! Did Beacon University refuse to put together a team?

(C.S.U. made a record 25 three-point baskets in the win. They almost had enough "treys" to start a Piccadilly Cafeteria.)

+ Instant Message to ESPN/ABC's Mike Patrick: What do you mean, it's "good to see" Nebraska and Oklahoma together again and playing for the Big 12 football title? On behalf of all Kansas graduates everywhere -- awwwwww, shut up.

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