9 FEB 07: TURN UP YOUR EARS

It's been a month since the number-one TV reporter in Talbot County left the area for South Carolina [7 Jan]. If Jade Hindmon is reading this, I'm sad to report we still have NOT been shown the inside of that renovated recreation center....

Even with Jade Hindmon's departure, there are other people who are trying to improve Talbot County. An e-mail the other day directed me to the web site of "Concerned Citizens for Responsible Government." Which leads you to wonder: if citizens wanted irresponsible government, would they really be concerned?

The Concerned Citizens for Responsible Government don't seem to update their web site that often. It's currently promoting a meeting on February 17 - but its list of recent "newspaper articles" includes letters to the Talbotton New Era from October 2005. And you wondered how slow Talbot County is....

But the C.C.R.G., to use the group's abbreviation, is not without some critics. I read one recent complaint that when the Talbot County Commission went into executive session, group members went to the door and tried to listen to the discussion. Someone really should be assigned the task of bringing playing cards, for times like this.

The complaint asked if it was legal for the C.C.R.G. to attempt to listen to closed-door meetings about personnel matters. Personally, I don't think there's a law against it - and if the Talbot County Commission finds it's talking too loudly, it can ask a high school student to play trumpet solos on the other side of the door.

(True confession: I stood at a closed door years ago as a radio reporter, and heard "private" details of a strike vote by the then-Kansas City Philharmonic. They made not only my newscast the next morning, but the newspaper. You'd think an orchestra would know when to be loud and when to be soft.)

If you really want to stay current on Talbot County topics, you should read the "community forum" section of the C.C.R.G. web site. It has lively message exchanges on everything from crime to farming. But from what I can tell, this year's cotton seeds have NOT been dug up by thieves.

We checked the C.C.R.G. Community Forum Thursday night. Some of the hot topics included....

+ Whether the Talbot County Sheriff should be replaced. Supporters of the sheriff say the crime rate currently is very low. Opponents argue the murder rate doubled last year - from one to two.

+ Building a "$20,000 website," to promote the county to potential businesses. Some people there apparently haven't heard of Myspace.

+ Moving some of the $107,000 budgeted for mowing grass, to fix county roads and bridges. This is a difficult choice - because what if the grass grows so tall that you can't see the road?

+ Whether Talbot County's workforce is a "family tree" of people related to elected officials. Maybe those officials are simply following the Columbus example of the Borens and the Hugleys.

BLOG UPDATE: I finally found out Thursday which team won the Super Bowl. Of all places, I learned Indianapolis won while watching the local Noon News -- as if a Colt should be my "Pet of the Week" or something.

But all I saw on the News at Noon was Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning wearing a "Super Bowl Champions" hat. So I still don't know the final score, or anything about what happened in last Sunday's game. For all I know, maybe Manning was injured during the game and replaced - and he STILL hasn't "won the big one."

Four days is the longest I've gone, without knowing which team won the Super Bowl. So if you really try, you can be ignorant about some significant things. But come to think of it, a lot of people can't name their local lawmakers -- and if you ignore the newspaper and TV news, that's pretty easy.

Let's put you "in the know" about some Thursday news headlines:

+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported the federal government could seize the old Baker Middle School building, because it's not being used for education. That's because federal money built that school years ago - so the Columbus Fire Department had better take good care of those federal grant-funded treadmills.

+ Phenix City School Superintendent Larry Dichiara held an "education summit," and said the district needs two new schools because of overcrowding. It's sad that so many scared people are abandoning Russell County teachers like this....

+ The evening news reported Columbus is now down to 17 open public safety positions. Come to think of it, we haven't received an e-mail from "IsOurCitySafe" since Jim Wetherington became Mayor - so maybe that writer was told to get to work recruiting new officers.

+ Columbus Police released surveillance tape, of someone who has robbed the Video Warehouse on Wynnton Road four times in the last four months. If that's not bad enough, he probably hasn't paid a cent in return fees.

+ The manager of Elite Tax Service in Columbus was arrested, after customers accused her of filing false returns and overcharging them. When a TV news crew tried to talk with Valerie Renfroe, she drove to a hospital and checked into an emergency room. Perhaps this is a defense strategy - to prove she's not heartless.

+ Yamaha announced its piano factory in Thomaston will close at the end of March. Hopefully it will end on a fitting note (pun) - with a classical pianist coming to play Franz Liszt's "Six Consolations."

+ Columbus State Senator Seth Harp told GPB's "Lawmakers" about two new bills legalizing Sunday alcohol sales across Georgia. Harp said he accepts one change, which would bar sales on Sundays before 12:00 noon. I can't wait to see Columbus stores advertise in Phenix City: "Get your booze one hour earlier."

+ The Georgia House voted to allow some exceptions to the state restrictions on tinted car windows. For instance, they would be allowed for private investigators. So rap stars may replace their bodyguards with a more "pro-active" approach....

+ Troy Public Radio's "Community Focus" presented guests discussing Alabama Arbor Week. It's coming up February 20-24, but a guest admitted not much is planned on February 20 because of the President's Day holiday. Huh - you can't plant trees on a holiday? It's a day OFF, not a day on?

(Well, then again maybe this approach makes sense. The Arbor Week group may be concerned people will act like George Washington on President's Day, and chop down trees.)

+ Instant Message to city officials in Plains: Did you even know you had a gang problem, before that bust in Americus? Did you know "P.G." spray-painted on buildings stood for Plains, Georgia? Or did you think someone was secretly filming a movie about Jimmy Carter?

COMING THIS WEEKEND: Talk about a contrast! We comment on angels.... and have a LaughLine Flashback on the late Anna Nicole Smith....

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