11 MAY 07: RUMORS GONE WILD

"They're lying to the parents," several women complained Thursday. When these women are NOT talking about their own children, maybe the American family is in better shape than many of us think....

Several parents were upset Thursday with what happened at Smiths Station High School. To hear the Lee County Sheriff and school officials talk, not much happened at all. But some parents were sure something bad either already happened, or was about to happen. I wonder how many of these parents haven't flown on a plane since September 2001?!

The official version of events goes like this: There was a RUMOR Wednesday that a certain student MIGHT bring a weapon to Smiths Station High School Thursday. Extra law officers were waiting Thursday morning to meet the student - but a check turned up nothing unusual. The student might have even carried all his/her textbooks.

The official version of events claims there was NO lockdown at Smiths Station High School, and NO guns found. But that didn't stop students and parents from spreading stories to the contrary, and accusing the Lee County School District of a cover-up. If school officials wanted to hide bad news, wouldn't they somehow "lose" the annual test scores?

All sorts of wild unconfirmed rumors spread around the families of Smiths Station High School Thursday. One claimed there was a Myspace page threatening, "the rednecks are going to get even for what the freaks started." Of course, this could have referred to Dale Earnhardt Junior splitting from his family's NASCAR team.

One man even claimed his brother had seen the confiscated gun at Smiths Station High. How could he, if none was found? Did a Lee County Sheriff's Deputy clean out a holster for a moment?

Several parents claimed barricades were up at Smiths Station High School, well after Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones declared things were "back to normal." But TV reports didn't show any of them - so maybe people drove by the running track, and misunderstood the hurdles.

The panic by some Smiths Station parents seems to be a classic case of believing reports from students, as opposed to school officials. Let's be honest here -- teenagers don't always tell stories accurately. Hopefully they aren't the ones who plan to go on to become newspaper reporters.

(I remember one call in the late 1990's from a Columbus father, whose child had told him another teenager was murdered with a bag of horseshoes. Police later announced a more "ordinary" weapon was used - as if anyone younger than 40 carries around horseshoes to play games anymore.)

But the concerned Smiths Station parents had another related concern: they couldn't get through to the high school, to get a straight answer about what was happening. Maybe next time, the high school should order all available students into the office at these moments of panic - to answer phones.

Please don't misunderstand: it's one thing to be a concerned parent -- but it's another to let that concern go over the edge, to the point of paranoia. It was interesting that several Smiths Station callers spreading rumors wouldn't give their names, out of fear their children might not be allowed to graduate. If a gunman won't get you, the School Board will?!

(Remember, this same sort of gun rumor happened only three weeks ago at Valley High School in Chambers County. No weapon was found there, either - but we've sadly reached the point where some parents fear the very worst, even beyond the report card.)

The strange thing is that all the concerned calls about weapons came from Smiths Station High School - but NONE came from Opelika, where a gun actually was found Thursday at West Forest Intermediate School. I never even heard about a lockdown in Opelika. There was only a "lock-up," of a 12-year-old.

There WAS a high school with a lockdown Thursday -- but it was a long way from Lee County. Boulder High School in Colorado canceled class, after a cafeteria cook reported seeing two mysterious men wearing camouflage. Colorado must be having a heat wave, if they weren't wearing trench coats.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now from schools, to our Thursday topic of school zones....

Richard,

In relation to the man who got a ticket for speeding in a school zone during spring break, a co-worker of an aunt of mine once got a ticket for speeding through a school zone at 11:30 p.m. The officer's explanation was....no matter what time of the day, it's still a school zone. Eleven-thirty in the p.m. is too late for night school attendees even if they have to stay after school.

Larry

Phenix City

Perhaps the rules for speed limits in school zones vary from place to place. I tend to assume they're always more strictly enforced in smaller towns - because the town budget needs every dollar it can find.

Speaking of safe driving....

Why isn't the BOE or the BOC of Talbot County, not taking any action to have this person removed from his duties, they must think this is the role model we need for our Children in Talbot County? I think our Governor should be asking why too.

This writer attached an article from Wednesday's Ledger-Enquirer. Talbotton City Councilor Frederick Cotton was arrested March 31, on speeding and drunk driving charges. Why this took five weeks to become public knowledge is a mystery to.... well, maybe it's not. Things move a little slower in Talbotton - at least the rumors do.

Frederick Cotton wears many hats in Talbotton - as not only a City Councilor, but an assistant principal at a charter school and an assistant director of the Talbot County Recreation Department. If he's that busy, this at least might give him an excuse for the speeding....

The article claims the March 31 marked the fourth drunk driving charge against Frederick Cotton - so he asked the state trooper who pulled him over to give him a break. Then Cotton reportedly called a Talbot County Deputy Sheriff, in hopes he could intervene. I guess he misplaced District Attorney Gray Conger's phone number.

It appears the Talbot County Commission will take no action against Frederick Cotton - and the man in charge of the charter school won't, either. He told the Ledger-Enquirer Cotton's alleged crimes occurred on "his personal time." Let's all hope Cotton doesn't try to hire one of The Sopranos.

Can Georgia's Governor intervene, in the matter of an elected city official like Frederick Cotton? I'm not sure if state law allows that. Besides, the midyear budget he just signed barely has enough money for the District Attorney to investigate any crime which occurs in June.

Here's one more message, about driving and more:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for Columbus not giving River Road Steak House a renewal on their Liquor License.

The combination of Spring Harbor, folks visiting Spring Harbor and that "Steakhouse" which dared to even have "knuckleheadz" on the flashing sign...was a deadly combination waiting to happen.

.... and for the red camaro that slammed into the car on Hilton.....stop signs are a good thing. and no matter what you told your parents it was oh so very your fault.

Now, now - I will NOT bring up Paris Hilton's legal problems in this blog....

I've never been to the River Road Steak House -- but the restaurant was controversial when it opened, because it was on the site of the old Knuckleheadz bar. Residents of the neighborhood feared it would become a trouble spot. Now it's apparently leading retired people into scandal, with the special burgundy sauce on its steaks.

Other e-mails will be held for another day - as now we need to wrap up some other Thursday headlines:

+ Columbus and Phenix City announced an agreement, allowing water to be "borrowed" in case of emergencies. So if every Phenix City school decides to have a fund-raising car wash on the same day, they're ready....

+ WRBL reported Columbus police completed a month-long sweep on the south side of town. It ended with 142 arrests, on 312 different charges -- and imagine if an undercover detective followed me around, as I came across beggars.

+ A WXTX investigation revealed the Phenix City library has lacked effective Internet filters on its public access computers. Young people could call up all kinds of X-rated web sites. But the library's doing something about that - and with two X's in its name, the Fox-54 web site may be off-limits from now on.

+ Glenwood won the AISA state baseball title, by flattening Faith Academy 12-6. Somewhere in Seale, the Russell County head coach must be wishing all those faculty members never had been arrested - because his team could have been so much better.

BURKARD'S BEST BETS: Gas for $2.76 a gallon at Spectrum on Fourth Street.... mailing all letters Friday, before postage rates jump on Sunday.... and holding doors open for any woman who even looks like a possible mother....

COMING THIS WEEKEND: The latest in the Cascade Hills debate....

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