25 FEB 07: ILER OF DEPARTURE

"If I was a corkscrew, where would I be?" This actual question was asked Saturday night at a TV reporter's farewell party. Hopefully the person who asked this question and brought wine to the party didn't try to stuff herself in a kitchen drawer before it was over.

The TV reporter receiving the farewells in central Columbus was Amanda Iler. She'll be on the air here one more week, then leave for a TV station in Lexington, Kentucky. So her next contact with Columbus may come when the South Atlantic League's Lexington Legends face the Catfish - and her new station asks her to investigate the outfield at Golden Park.

Amanda Iler admits there probably are some people in Columbus city government who will be glad to see her go. She was involved in digging up the "fee-asco" involving the city landfill, as well as the news about uncollected parking tickets. In a way, I wish Iler would stay in town until my occupation tax refund check comes in the mail.

Amanda Iler tried her hand at blogging for awhile - and in fact posted a few details of my plans for Power Frisbee last February, before I mentioned it here. She hasn't asked me yet where my business money went. But I'm ready, with my folder full of advertising bills.

Amanda Iler won't move to Lexington by herself. She told me when she interviewed for a reporting job with WLEX-TV, she happened to see her boyfriend's resume on the News Director's desk. "What do you think of him?" the new boss asked Iler. Job references don't come much better than that....

So both Amanda Iler and her boyfriend will move to Lexington in about a week. He'll work behind the scenes, while Iler is on the air reporting. But they're being proper and discreet about this, I'm told - making the move in separate vehicles.

But before they leave for Lexington, Amanda Iler is holding a yard sale at her home next Saturday. "Come buy my c**p," she encouraged people at the party. Not even Columbus used car dealers get this desperate....

Amanda Iler's farewell party included invited guests not only from her TV station, but from her amateur soccer team. Iler normally plays midfield or defense, but admits she can play goalkeeper as a last resort. So look out, you TV critics in Kentucky - this woman knows how to take a shot or two.

A wall of Amanda Iler's house has two interesting photos side-by-side. Both show her standing in front of fires - one when she was young and joining her volunteer firefighter dad on duty, the other from her coverage of the Jordan Mills fire of October 2005. You'd think her father would have given her a fire coat as a graduation present....

One unusual moment at the farewell party came as people watched the WXTX "News at Ten" sportscast. One man went to the set and leaned his ear against the speaker, when tape was shown of stock car qualifying runs. You might be addicted to NASCAR if....

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION has taken a strange turn since we posted it Friday. A comment left there claims staff members at W.F. Burns Middle School in Valley now deny toilet paper ever was removed from the restrooms. Of course, maybe the staff received a "faculty lounge" exemption.

I asked the reporter who broke the bathroom tissue story about this Saturday - and Brock Parker told me the Chambers County School Superintendent confirmed it was true. The Superintendent could have given it all the toilet brush-off.

All this should make for an interesting Monday meeting of the W.F. Burns Middle School P.A.C. - its version of a PTA meeting. Will it be a four-roll PAC, or something bigger?

E-MAIL UPDATE: Readers have many things on their minds this weekend -- including a man who was accused by another e-mailer 15 Feb:

Mr. Burkhard:



I am not with the Amatuer Athletic Union, whether it be "orginal" or not. Also, I do not make threats. Anyone that knows or has ever heard Brother Love could easily vouche for that statement.



But I do believe if there is no justice the God of Love is not satisfied with a people and there are future consequences.

Columbus should not feel I issued a threat, but I am sending a wake up call for the future of our children and community.



And I do believe in Love. Just as I believe in Justice and in the greatness of this country.

I am sure you were really trying to be humorous, and stimulate interest in your blog.



Then, again, I could be wrong. If you believed I was making a threat, you were attempting to insult or ridicule.

I only setting the record straight. Only you can change your mind if you feel it necessary. I am not trying to do it for you. I can only tell you the truth and state the facts plain.



We can disagree without becoming disagreeable. I wish you well.



God bless,



Brother Love

Mr. Love is correct in assuming our focus here tends to be humorous. But I'm not the one who said he was making a threat against the city. Another e-mailer claimed that -- and I'm still a bit puzzled as to what the alleged threat was. It must not be that Mr. Love threatened to move to Harris County.

Brother Love tends to sign his name with an "OAAU" - and thanks to a great online tool, I learned Saturday night what those letters really mean. They stand for "Organization of Afro-American Unity." But if Columbus has several different civil rights groups, some would wonder how well this organization is doing....

Now we head to Muscogee County high schools - and a follow-up to the Northside assistant principal who just resigned:

Nice to see the Ledger giving equal time to Warren Beaulah after their article on Fenton Dixon.However,Beaulah does have the upper hand on the number of DUIs.

This refers to the Carver High School boys' basketball coach. Ledger-Enquirer columnist Richard Hyatt revealed Beaulah has a record of five drunk driving arrests, stretching back to before he was hired. Hopefully he doesn't follow the old Mickey Mantle line, and tell his players to rebound the ball in the middle.

Our current BLOG SPECIAL EVENT inspired this next message:

Dear Richard;

Have you ever remembered an advertisement but not what the advertisement was advertising? You know you can remember some very funny ads but can't remember what product the ads are for? Those interesting ads do not do their job very well.

Product Name recognition, or name branding, is the most important part of advertisement.

GEICO has satisfied its need for name recognition with its GEKKO commercials.

AFLAC has satisfied their advertisement need for name recognition by creating an ad in which the DUCK shouts out "AFLAC". If the DUCK had a name it would create the association (memory) of the DUCK with a word other than AFLAC. That is why the DUCK is always in situations that demand he shout "AFLAC" hence he is the AFLAC DUCK. So, we all remember the AFLAC name from those brilliant ads.

The AFLAC DUCK ads are the perfect ads, providing memorable name recognition, humor, an association of warm and fuzzy feelings with the product through the animal in the ad, (the viewers want to see more), and a demonstration of the product satisfying potential viewer needs.

Deb Owens

Isn't it interesting that Geico Insurance has a gecko, Aflac Insurance has a duck - but State Farm Insurance with a "farm" in its name has no animal at all?

So here we have a suggestion that it's better for the Aflac duck NOT to have a name - and I suppose there's some precedence for that. I only know the talking M&M candies by "the yellow one" and "the green one."

But we're looking for suggestions to name the Aflac duck because many animal mascots in commercials have had names, while effectively selling products. Budweiser beer had Spuds McKenzie the dog. There was Morris, selling 9-Lives cat food. And which came first - the Sugar Frosted Flakes, or Tony the Tiger?

Today's last e-mail heads in a very different direction:

Richard,

This has absolutely nothing to do with any of your current topics but I thought that it was highly strange and worth sharing with everyone here in blogland. My son went to one of our nice stores in Columbus (no, more upscale than that one) and selected a pair of sunglasses. While standing in line he noticed that one of the ear pieces had "chew" marks on it. When he brought this to the attention of the person at the register, she showed it to her manager and was told that their store didn't carry that brand of sunglasses even though it had the store's tag attached to them. What did the store do? Offered my son a two dollar discount from the price marked. Weird, huh? We would have to assume that an employee of the store decided to swap a pair of his sunglasses (with a chewed ear piece) for a pair that the store was selling. That's the only way that we can figure, that it was an inside job because of the store's tag that was attached to them. Beware customers, inspect the items before making a purchase to make sure this doesn't happen to you. It may have happened to other items in the store as well. Just to be sure, we won't shop for underwear in that store.

Larry

Phenix City

Hmmmm - maybe this store ran out of ink pens for employees to chew. I speak from my own experience there....

This story may ring a bell with longtime blog readers - because a few years ago we mentioned a box of crackers we bought at Wal-Mart [12 Sep 03]. After we took them home, we found the box was already open with a couple of crackers eaten. Even then, the employee protests over health coverage may have been underway.

We thank all of you who read this blog and write to us! Now let's check some quick items from the weekend:

+ Which local bank executive somehow dropped a corporate credit card on the sidewalk in the Historic District -- and never recovered it? Who wound up paying for dinner at Bludau's, after the executive discovered it was missing?

+ Gas prices jumped across most of Georgia and East Alabama, until the lowest we found was $2.17 a gallon at Marathon on Warm Springs Road. Iran can't prove to me it's producing peaceful nuclear energy fast enough....

+ The Columbus Health Department issued a flu alert, noting cases have increased with the changing weather. Would that big-time Internet web site sue, if we started posting a "Grunge Report?"

+ Carver High School "drill team mom" Elonda Floyd finally was flown home to Columbus, six weeks after she was struck by a hit-and-run driver in St. Petersburg, Florida. Floyd will probably have to make several return trips in the weeks ahead - maybe to sue the hospital where she developed all those infections.

+ A new running track was dedicated at Hardaway High School, built with a large donation from the Hardaway family. The track team will use it from now until May - and then the school will cover it up for nine months, so football cleats don't ruin it.

+ Instant Message to the people selling rugs on Seventh Street: Do you mean that? I mean, your sign saying "Oriental rug expedition and sale?" Do I get to go on a personal trip around the building or something?

COMING MONDAY: Could it be? Talbot Friday and Hurtsboro Monday are merging?....

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