18 SEP 07: THE BUSH SCANDAL

Now THERE'S a title which ought to attract a lot of blog readers! But we're sorry to disappoint all you fans of The Daily Kos -- because we're talking about another official named Bush, and he's located somewhere between the White House and Texas....

Monday's TV news showed a police "mug shot" of Phenix City Councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem Ray Bush. After looking it over, he doesn't seem that bad. Bush's mug shot certainly rates above Glen Campbell - but he's below Mel Gibson, and certainly below Paris Hilton.

(The worst celebrity mug shot I've ever seen in this area came during the late 1990's, when then-TV news anchor Patricia Hargarten was stopped for drunk driving on a Saturday night. I'm not saying it was bad - but she reportedly had to go all the way to Pennsylvania to find her next job.)

Ray Bush turned himself in to Phenix City Police Friday, on charges of harassment. He admitted on TV Monday he was shocked that he had to do that. Bush must have assumed Police Chief Brian McGarr was out looking for another nightclub to shut down.

Ray Bush posted a $1,000 bond to get out of jail, so he should be at the Phenix City Council meeting today. Hopefully no one will mind if he brings in the Phenix City Central offensive line, to act as personal bodyguards.

The arrest of Ray Bush is the official "kicking it up a notch," in a feud with an aide to the Phenix City Clerk. Charlotte Sierra filed a complaint against the Councilor a couple of weeks ago [7 Sep]. In Hollywood, Nicole Richie would have been tried, convicted and through with her sentence by now.

Charlotte Sierra claims Ray Bush touched her improperly, and made improper comments around her for a couple of years. The Councilman may need to buy a new joke book - because the "Hi, Sierra" pun probably wore out a long time ago.

But Ray Bush says when all is said and done, the harassment charge against him will prove to be merely political. Bush could have gone farther and called it "just a Storey" - but that might give away the politics he's talking about.

Charlotte Sierra did NOT want to talk to the TV news Monday about her complaint. But don't you get the feeling the staff at the Phenix City Clerk's office is watching her closely? Especially to see if she's making calls to Russell County Administrator LeeAnn Horne-Jordan?

It's worth noting that Charlotte Sierra still has a job in Phenix City government - as opposed to one-time City Clerk Max Wilkes, who was "trimmed" out of the city budget several months ago. Wilkes now is suing the city. So if officials aren't careful, Sierra could turn this into a "lack of class" action suit.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Our Monday Blog Exclusive sparked some powerful thinking....

If the Greyhound Bus station's elect.bill was $1,000 plus I can't image what the elect bill for MCSD and TSYS must be....TSYS needs to put in their own hydro-elect.plant on the river bank..

MCSD school board is thinking about starting school later next yr to avoid the high summer heat of August...That might be a wise decision.....

If the Muscogee County School Board makes that move, I'm not sure it would bring any energy savings. Classes would have to be held during the last week of May, or perhaps early June - and global warming could cancel out everything.

The Muscogee County School Board has tried to end the year before Memorial Day for the last few years. You may recall the fuss some veterans raised, when classes actually were held on the Monday holiday. Attempts to tell them school also was in session on Confederate Memorial Day simply didn't work.

Now let's see what else gained our attention Monday, on Constitution Day:

+ The Columbus murder-based movie "In the Valley of Elah" failed to crack the top ten in weekend ticket sales. Perhaps it's one of those films which are described as "limited release" - matching the way Richard Davis's killers have been for some time.

+ CBS News reported Georgia is one of only three states where education spending has increased, since an "education lottery" began. There's a good explanation for this, of course. Too many students don't care about HOPE scholarships, and keep dropping out of high school.

+ Auburn University reported a record fall enrollment of 24,137 students. Wow -- that many students, and they can only find two quarterbacks?!

+ The Montgomery Biscuits won the Southern League baseball title for the second year in a row. The city reportedly is planning a championship banner for the Biscuits, while Columbus is planning for the Catfish.... uhhhh.... well, what IS the city planning? A Glenn Davis bobble-head day at Columbus Council?

+ The Atlanta Falcons released their rookie place-kicker whom hardly anyone could name, and resigned Morten Andersen - who's now 47 years old. If he keeps making comebacks year after year, Andersen will become the first active pro football player to do commercials for Poli-Grip.

(First Atlanta's baseball team brought back Julio Franco. Now the football team is bringing back Morten Andersen. Is it against the rules to take Dominique Wilkins out of the Basketball Hall of Fame, so he can play with the Hawks?)

+ Instant Message to O.J. Simpson: Aw, c'mon - this is going too far! I mean, trying to take the "trial of the century" title two centuries in a row....

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