for 12 DEC 06: TRASHY TRUCKS
Some people complained for years that the Columbus area lacked a real truck stop. Now some people are complaining about how a Phenix City truck stop looks - perhaps because it actually looks like a real truck stop.
If you've driven from Columbus to Eufaula or Panama City, you've probably passed the big Citgo truck stop on U.S. 431 near the 280 Bypass. Now "Keep Phenix City Beautiful" complains it's turned into a trashy mess -- as if most drivers hurrying by at 50 miles per hour or faster are taking time to notice.
Georgia Langingham of Keep Phenix City Beautiful said Monday the trash along U.S. 431 is terrible, especially around the truck stop. She wants city officials to enforce litter laws there. Either that, or adjust those safety barrels in the construction zone around Seale so people can throw garbage inside them.
The Phenix City rules state trashy-looking businesses can be fined 290 dollars. We don't know how many of them have been assessed that fine over the years - or how many used car lots on 14th Street have jacked up their prices as a result.
And did you know if you're caught littering in Phenix City, you can be fined 350 dollars? Teach this to youngsters at an early age, and you ought to develop some very good basketball players....
But, of course, there's a catch here. While Phenix City imposes strict rules and fines for being trashy, it has only one person assigned to enforce them. So the chances of being arrested for dumping a plastic bottle along the side of U.S. 431 is slim - which only encourages drivers to try to bounce them off the windshield of the car behind them.
The person in charge of Phenix City litter said Monday from what he's seen, the Citgo truck stop tries to keep the trash to a minimum. In fact, the owners say they pick up trash daily. Perhaps the problem is that the truck stop is too popular - and after all, big rigs can hold a lot of garbage in the back.
But to be fair, that Phenix City truck stop is used by much more than truck drivers. Apartment complexes are located nearby, along U.S. 431. And it's become a meeting place for transients. I know, because two strangers have asked me to drive them there over the years - and neither of them carried clipboards for their loads.
Since Phenix City has no mall or bus station, the Citgo truck stop is a crossroads in a way. Whether locals or travelers, people stop there and drop off various things. So while I'm quite the "anti-litterbug," we really shouldn't be surprised if trash builds up there. Until they build the Chattahoochee Valley Community College student union a bit closer to the highway....
E-MAIL UPDATE: Here's more on that fictional movie being planned, based on the murder of Fort Benning soldier Richard Davis:
There is a website for anyone interested in auditioning for the movie In the Valley of Elah: www.finnhiller.com The site even contains a script sample. The cast has expanded considerably too. Also, I can't get anyone to say for sure but what I'm hearing from several people is that the fictional character of Detective Sanders is being modeled after writer Cilla McCain. I left Cilla a message but she's been out of town and hasn't called me back yet.
We posted that link a couple of weeks ago [29 Nov], and noted at the time you really need to go to New Mexico if you want to be part of the movie. For all we know, Cilla McCain may be there now -- gaining a nice "consulting fee."
With an early deadline, we must quickly wrap the other news of Monday:
+ The return of the 988th Military Police Company to Fort Benning was postponed until early Tuesday, after first being scheduled for Sunday night. Yeow -- how many MP's tried to carry 12-ounce bottles of juice aboard the flight?
+ WRBL online producer Chris Sweigart showed off his Christmas tree on the evening news - not once, but twice. What next?! Will he sell his couch, in a story on spring cleaning?
+ The Comcast Sports cable announced it will show Saturday's AAA high school football final between Shaw and Peach County. GPB is only showing the two biggest classes of high school football - so the only "peach" you might see there is a chef preparing preserves.
+ A University of South Alabama poll found a majority of Alabama Crimson Tide supporters opposed the firing of football coach Mike Shula. I keep waiting for a TV or radio station to hire Ted Koppel, and begin daily updates on the search -- something like, "Crisis at the Capstone, Day 15."
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