26 JUL 07: SINGER'S NEW SONG
When Roszell Gadson left WXTX "News at Ten," he received a farewell dinner at Olive Garden. When co-anchor Deborah Singer left, she was honored at Chili's. So if you stand somewhere around the Staples store, you still can envision Gadson sitting on the left and Singer on the right.
Deborah Singer received a going-away dinner Wednesday night - and the first place she's going is quite surprising. She'll leave soon on a one-month Christian mission trip to Amsterdam. So much for the people who argue all TV news anchors are left-wing atheistic liberals....
Deborah Singer told me she'll help run a Christian-owned youth hostel during the mission trip. Even in the largest city in the Netherlands, you can run into a hostel environment.
Deborah Singer's work will be part of an overall campaign to minister to prostitutes, in the notorious "red light district" of Amsterdam. This raised an obvious question for me. Why travel all the way to the Netherlands to do this, when Victory Drive is less than 30 minutes away?
Deborah Singer explained the Netherlands has been on her heart, since she attended a Christian youth camp there 11 years ago. She's wanted to go back, and this mission trip is a perfect opportunity. Here's hoping she doesn't get run over by all the bicyclists which dominate that city....
I've been to the Netherlands twice, and seen the red light district of Amsterdam. In fact, a bus line takes you past it - a street with women sitting in open basement windows with actual red lights, barely wearing anything. If my pastor is reading this blog: don't worry, I stayed on the bus all the way to the end.
Deborah Singer told me many of the prostitutes in the red light district are brought to Amsterdam from Latin America. They might as well be sex slaves, because Singer says they're not educated in skills and can't speak Dutch or English. But at least one Dutch word should be familiar - as "voetbal" looks and sounds a lot like football.
(Don't ask me why, but the Dutch word for baseball is "honkbal." Someday Jesse Jackson will find that out, and make a smart remark about the small number of African-American players for Atlanta.)
The ministry Deborah Singer will assist is designed to teach Amsterdam prostitutes usable skills, and possibly lead them to salvation. She'll be part of "Youth With a Mission" - which Family Radio calls "Y-WAM" for short. To which I'd add: why NOT Wam, even without George Michael?
This mission trip will only add to an amazing life story for Deborah Singer. She's a cancer survivor and devoted Christian, whose father is a Russian Jew and whose mother is half-Puerto Rican. Singer jokes about how she sometimes describes herself as a "Judi-Rican."
Once the work in Amsterdam is finished, Deborah Singer will search for new work in television news. She came to WXTX from Charlotte, and might be looking to return there - but maybe she'd have more success in the "Pennsylvania Dutch" country.
So what's happened to Deborah Singer's original co-anchor on WXTX "News at Ten?" I'm told Roszell Gadson had another commitment Wednesday night - and that he recently turned down a TV news job in Mississippi. Perhaps he wants to work in a place where the audience will be as smart as he is.
BLOG UPDATE: After we posted Wednesday's edition, the Ledger-Enquirer splashed a suspect in the Cross Creek Apartments killings across the front page. WDAK Radio mentioned his name and described him, but the TV stations did not. C'mon now - his last name can't be THAT hard to pronounce.
The TV newscasts indicated the Ledger-Enquirer released the suspect's name and picture before Columbus Police were ready. Running a red light is a misdemeanor - so the reporter who did it could have to appear in Traffic Court.
Police Chief Ricky Boren told WRBL detectives are waiting to release the murder suspect's name until they develop a timeline of what happened. Authorities think they know what happened before the double homicide last Friday night, but NOT what happened after the shootings. By the time detectives find the "smoking gun," it might become simply a cold case.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Sometimes it's our job to stop rumors before they start....
Have you noticed in the real estate sales that a frequent buyer is "American Lebanese Syrian Association"..in fact they just purchased the St. Jude home ....page 27 Northland Neighbors.....
I have searched tax records to no avail so I am not sure what is up but I have seen this LLC on occasion as the purchaser of property......hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Uhhhh - have you done a Google search for this association? I did Wednesday, and discovered its main office is on "St. Jude Place" in Memphis. So this group appears ready to launch a hostile takeover of the Children's Hospital at any time....
But check the St. Jude web site, and you'll discover the American Lebanese Syrian Association is the fund-raising arm of the hospital. So there's probably no need to worry here. Besides, the "Dream Homes" are located on the other side of town from Fort Benning.
I haven't checked the real estate listings in Northland Neighbors - but if the American Lebanese Syrian Association actually is purchasing a St. Jude Dream Home, it makes me wonder if a prior winner was unable to pay the taxes on it. It also makes me wonder if the house will be given away again, as a "fixed-upped."
Now let's track down other odds and ends from Wednesday:
+ Which person was the client inside a black stretch limousine, which was parked at the front door of the Columbus Public Library? Is this REALLY how Claudya Muller would go shopping for landscaping supplies?
+ A Columbus Health Department official told WRBL it's guarding against West Nile Virus in a new way this year. It's using a "mosquito surveillance program." So if you see the Geico gecko wearing sunglasses and carrying a walkie-talkie, he could be doing undercover work.
+ Sumter County Schools held a "welcome back" event for teachers - and the program included the Superintendent wearing a tie-dyed outfit, and pretending to be a rock star. So much for this school district adopting a dress code for the new term....
+ Instant Message to Cody Road Trophies and Jewelry: Congratulations on marking your 22nd anniversary. Do you plan to celebrate it by finally changing your name to University Avenue?
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