5 DEC 06: LESSONS IN DIVISION

Monday night marked the end of an era for the Muscogee County School Board. It was Mary Sue Polleys's final meeting as Board President. When her husband Hardy Polleys was Columbus City Attorney, they were one of the "power couples" in town. Now it'll be up to board member Patricia Hugley-Green to attend family reunions with the City Manager.

Much has changed in Muscogee County since Mary Sue Polleys became School Board President in 1993. Several new schools opened on the north side. The school district bought the old Sears building on Macon Road. And Guy Sims found it's much easier raising money as a school superintendent, than overseeing the United Way.

But some things have NOT changed in Muscogee County schools - such as the low test scores in some places. The latest idea at Cusseta Road Elementary School involves dividing most of the fifth-graders by gender. This is only happening in one grade, so you can't call it "long division."

WRBL visited Cusseta Road Elementary Monday, and explained the fifth graders are split into three classes. One has all boys. One has all girls. And the third has -- now, now! Shame on some of you! This is Columbus, not San Francisco....

The third class of Cusseta Road fifth-graders has both boys and girls, whose parents may not have volunteered for same-gender education. So it might be called a "control group" - except many teachers don't exercise much control over students anymore.

It was interesting to hear fifth-grade boys and girls divided by gender say they're learning more so far this year. Each group said the lack of another gender means they have "fewer distractions." Pulling on cornrows apparently isn't the same when they're on someone of your gender.

The fifth-graders at Cusseta Road Elementary are NOT divided by gender all day. They get together at the lunch hour, and for music classes. So they're not distracted by the other gender when they sing?! Wasn't that a problem several years ago for Jennifer Lopez?

We'll see at the end of the school year if "same-sex classes" improve test scores at Cusseta Road Elementary School. But let's suppose for a minute they do. Wouldn't this confirm what many Southerners argued for most of the last century -- that segregation is a good thing?

Of course, this same-sex experiment at Cusseta Road Elementary is voluntary. The racial segregation of years gone by certainly was not. But if test scores improve, I can hear the callers to WRCG's "TalkLine" now. Some probably will be veterans, trying to use a "divide and conquer" argument.

Another news item Monday divided Muscogee County High Schools. Carver and Shaw ONLY will be closed this Friday, because their football teams will play in the state AAA semifinals at the Georgia Dome - and the game has a 9:00 a.m. kickoff. We advise the Harris County Waffle House along I-185 to increase staffing between 4:00 and 6:00, for pre-game meals.

The Friday kickoff for the Carver-Shaw game is so early because ten semifinal games will be played at the Georgia Dome over two days. Anyone who sits through all ten of these games is either the most addicted football fan in Georgia - or desperately searching for Reggie Ball's replacement as Georgia Tech's quarterback.

I can remember when high school students received a day off from classes to celebrate their team winning a state title. Now all you have to do is make the semifinals to receive this privilege?! Did Governor Perdue suggest this to those "graduation coaches?"

BLOG UPDATE: Blaine Stewart announced Monday he's leaving WRBL in early January. But then again, he announced the same sort of thing last year [25 Aug 05], then signed an extended contract - so if you see Stewart shopping around for nice sports cars, please let us know.

In an e-mail sent to your blog and other places, Blaine Stewart puts a destination on this announcement. He says he's moving to Norfolk, Virginia. So maybe it's not a job thing for Stewart - he simply wants to give equal time to a Navy town.

Blaine Stewart's e-mail admits he does NOT have a job in Norfolk at this point. That's the home area of Pat Robertson and "The 700 Club" - so if all else fails, Stewart can answer phones and join with people praying for financial miracles.

Blaine Stewart has been at WRBL more than five years, and he's done just about everything. He's anchored the news. He's filled in on the morning weather and Friday night sports. He's been one of the "Problem Solvers." And I wouldn't be surprised if he spent part of Labor Day weekend this year building WRBL's new news set.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Today we have a first - as a reader actually tries to answer an item from our list of questions. We wondered Monday about why Columbus has two Ford dealerships....

They are both owned by the same person, Richard Stephens, and compete against each other. Everytime there have been two FORD dealerships in Columbus one has gone out of business. Remember Hardaway Ford, Barrington Ford, Bill Russell Ford and Quality Ford. Seems like I remember Quality Ford was supposed to be a minority owned dealership with someone fronting for the owner. It did not last very long.

If Columbus is good for the sale of 300 (for example) new Fords a month then how many can two dealerships sell? FORD MOTOR CO. wanted two dealerships in town so they evidently let Stephens own both.

Bill Heard and all his dealerships nationwide has enough influence with GM that they don't insist Columbus have two Chevrolet dealerships.

Thanks for the explanation - but I guess I haven't lived in Columbus long enough to remember those old Ford dealers. I certainly never would have guessed Bill Russell would move to Columbus, after all those years in pro basketball.

If Richard Stephens owns both Freeway Ford and Rivertown Ford, I guess the businesses are aimed at different groups of people. Based on the infomercials, Rivertown Ford seems to go after people with a sense of humor. Freeway Ford must go after the other 75 percent of Columbus....

So it's Bill Heard's clout that keeps Columbus a one-Chevrolet dealer city?! Maybe "Mr. Big Volume" got that name by loudly talking to Detroit on the telephone.

Our next message comes from an alert newspaper reader:

Ledger Mon.AM pg D8

name change:

YoungMi Kim to Kim YoungMi Peters......

Interesting...some one suggested that in oriental culture the last name is first..

Yes, someone did suggest that. In fact, I think we did here last week [29 Nov]. But I wouldn't count on some Asian television network developing a new comedy about this marriage -- you know, something called "YoungMi in the Middle."

Finally today, a reader mediates on the "Honorary Marshal" badges which we mentioned here Sunday:

You jus gotta keep 'em in reach.

Honary badges from the Marshall

They have have power like credit cards, even like the "Get out of Jail and Don't stop at the next Bar" card.

It has some disadvantages, like when you dress drag for the Big party, and that person you searched earlier in the year is there too...(HHmm- can the favor be returned).

We do need more of them, - We need eyes everyhwere.

Why can't we all have one, it would cut down on requesting more money from Council for pay....

Think about it,,,No request for pay, No need for property taxes to be collected or raised ...

Now hold on a minute here! What do you mean, "dress DRAG" with a marshal's badge? Ken Suddeth's a Republican, so his honorees certainly wouldn't do that sort of.... well then again, that IS the party of Mark Foley....

But giving everyone an Honorary Marshal badge would raise some problems of its own. People would go around arresting each other all the time - and before long, the Muscogee County Jail would be hopelessly overcrowded.

If this e-mailer thinks honorary badges will end the need for property taxes in Columbus, he or she should think again. The city needs every dollar it can get right now - especially since so many dollars are being overlooked....

The latest chapter in Columbus's missing money saga came Monday, with news that the city is $900,000 behind in Medicare reimbursements. It happened because paperwork with Medicare was filed several weeks late during the summer, for the current fiscal year. You have to wonder if all the letters complaining about public safety pay covered them up.

Now for other discoveries from the last couple of days:

+ Attorneys for Club Roc in Phenix City proposed changing the club's name to "The Road House." Well, that should keep all the undesirable customers away - because most of them will think it's a country music club again.

+ Former President Jimmy Carter told C-SPAN he wants to be buried in front of the old family home in Plains. The National Historic Site already has plenty of tourists - but this would make it more likely for the President of Iran to visit.

+ Victoryland race track owner Milton McGregor complained an Alabama Supreme Court ruling against his "video sweepstakes" machines was based on politics, instead of the law. Aw, c'mon - doesn't this man listen to radio talk shows? All the activist judges are liberals, not conservatives.

(Milton McGregor went on to say a ban on video sweepstakes machines will prompt gamblers to leave Alabama and play in Mississippi. Maybe if he had faster dogs at Victoryland, the gamblers would have more races for betting.)

+ Atlanta's baseball team signed free-agent relief pitcher Tanyon Sturtze. He'll earn $750,000 this coming season, even though he's injured and might not be able to throw at all. Whomever Sturtze signed as an agent may be getting a call from the mother of Kenneth Walker.

+ Instant Message to attorney Ken Nugent: What gives with these new TV commercials? Have that many people lost their voices in car wrecks?

COMING WEDNESDAY: Two holes in Columbus are filled....

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