for 13 DEC 07: THE SILENT STARLING

We're now up to Chapter 4 of this "REVELATION" the Sunday Ledger-Enquirer started. We hope all parties realize the Biblical limit for chapters is 22....

The latest surprise in the Zachary Allen "cocaine crash" case came Wednesday from the Columbus Deputy Fire Chief. David Starling admitted to the Ledger-Enquirer he decided NOT to include Zachary Allen's positive drug test in a report on last fall's three-car collision. Today's young generation only has time for the headlines, after all.

David Starling said no one was told about Zachary's positive cocaine test because "we didn't want it to get out." And for more than a year, it didn't. But the fire department didn't borrow the CIA's example, and destroy the evidence.

This raises a rather obvious question. Why didn't David Starling want the drug test on Zachary Allen to become public knowledge? Was it because Allen's dad is a Columbus Councilor? Was it a matter of the fire department trying to protect its reputation? Or was it the realization that yet another public safety opening would have to be filled?

Columbus Fire Chief Jeff Meyer explained the positive drug test was considered a matter of "medical privacy." [True/WLTZ] So which local doctor is issuing prescriptions for cocaine? If it's mixed with a headache powder, does that make it legal?

Meanwhile, Mayor Jim Wetherington announced the police chief will conduct an internal investigation of the Zachary Allen "cocaine crash" test. Ricky Boren has plenty of time to do this, of course - because he passes on all investigations of police officers to the G.B.I. now.

The police probe probably will confirm Mayor Wetherington's statement at Columbus Council that "mistakes were made." We'll see if it determines exactly who made the mistakes and when. And we'll see if Chief Ricky Boren follows the lead of City Manager Isaiah Hugley, and presents it all in a handy flow chart.

The November 2006 crash involving Zachary Allen's city vehicle happened while Bob Poydasheff was in his final weeks as mayor. Poydasheff told WXTX "News at Ten" he does NOT recall being told about the crash, much less the test for cocaine. Unless someone slipped an extra piece of paper in one of his moving boxes....

Perhaps the most surprising interview yet in this case appeared on WLTZ Wednesday night. It was with the Ledger-Enquirer's Executive Editor, who explained why he's giving the case so much front-page coverage. The answer to this should be clear - the Carver High School football team isn't shooting off its mouths about this weekend's finals.

Executive Editor Ben Holden said he is NOT on a vendetta against Zachary Allen, or his Columbus Councilor dad. He claimed newspapers are "too busy" to have vendettas. Holden must not have read the New York Times, when it had all those front-page stories about the Masters golf tournament.

Ben Holden went on to say the Zachary Allen case is an "organically important story." Huh?! I've heard people compare newspaper stories to (ahem) fertilizer, but this must be very different....

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION was updated Wednesday night, and now asks if you agree with what Columbus NAACP President Bill Madison said the other day. Should Columbus fire officials lose their jobs, for what's happened with the Zachary Allen crash? Is the newspaper blowing things up beyond proportion? And should Allen be ordered to appear on Steve Wilkos's talk show, to face screaming insults for 30 minutes?

The last Big Blog Question ended with a 6-1 NO vote. You say the staff of a Box Springs junkyard should NOT be charged for shooting a would-be burglar. One person commented: "Life is simpler in the country. Remember that when traveling east from Columbus." If you drive behind a farm tractor, you're bound to learn that lesson.

But someone else sent us e-mail while the Question was in progress:

Looks like the Box Springs Junkyard shooter ,got his Talbot BOC buddys to by the DA a broom to sweep this under the rug. Still very hus hus??

I'm not so sure the Talbot County District Attorney is sweeping anything under the rug. If it's the same man as the Muscogee County District Attorney, it simply takes him about a year to decide whether some cases are worth prosecuting....

Now for other public cases which were aired on Wednesday:

+ Phenix City police arrested a 71-year-old man on bank robbery charges. Police told WRBL the man robbed a Wachovia branch on U.S. 280, then sat down inside the bank and waited for officers to show up. Apparently he needs warm housing for the winter more than the bank's money.

+ Fort Benning officers announced the base realignment plans are now final. A "letter of decision" has been made public. For many male soldiers, this phrase refers to a love letter from their girlfriends back home....

(Officers said the first wave of soldiers from Fort Knox, Kentucky should reach Fort Benning in 2010, with the rest arriving in 2011. We hope the jewelry stores which take gold trade-ins can hold out that long.)

+ A new mayor took office in Macon, replacing the controversial Jack Ellis. Ellis claimed he planned to take a trip to the Caribbean - but some residents are wishing he'd travel all the way to Venezuela, and ask his buddy Hugo Chavez for asylum.

+ Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank admitted he felt "betrayed" by former coach Bobby Petrino's sudden move to Arkansas. At least Michael Vick waited until the off-season before he was indicted....

(Emmitt Thomas will serve as the Falcons's coach for the remained of the season. Thomas played on a Super Bowl-winning team in Kansas City years ago - back when the only person who ran his mouth was head coach Hank Stram.)

THE BLOG OF AMERICA: Our best wishes to "Jeopardy" host Alex Trebek, who's recovering from a mild heart attack. We're thankful he hasn't had a second attack - because those Daily Doubles can be especially dangerous.

+ Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee talked about a rival's religion. He asked the New York Times Magazine if Mitt Romney's Latter-Day Saints church believes "Jesus and the devil are brothers." If Satan would repent of his centuries of sins, some Baptists might begin to think that way.

(NBC News reported when Mike Huckabee was governor of Arkansas, he was allowed to eat at Wendy's for half-price. Imagine the deal Bill Clinton could have struck with a Little Rock McDonald's.)

+ The average U.S. cholesterol level dropped to 199, which is the lowest number in 50 years. So it must be all the low-far doughnuts which are making us obese....

+ The Jewish festival of Hanukkah ended Wednesday. A New York grocery tried to gain customers during the eight-day event by selling hams -- to Jews. The owners should have offered turkeys. But instead, they proved THEY really are.

+ A man waiting in line at the Nuremberg, Germany airport drank a liter of vodka, so he wouldn't have to surrender the bottle to security guards. Some passengers will do anything to get a wheelchair and a skycap to help them.

+ Paris Hilton told reporters in Berlin she's looking for "a nice boy.... funny, smart and loyal." As in nice, smart and loyal enough not to videotape her acting strange in a bedroom....

+ A Michigan organization announced the winner of its annual "wacky warning label" contest. This one is on a small tractor and says, "Danger: Avoid Death." I can think of some freeways in Atlanta which could use that label, too.

+ Tiger Woods was named the P.G.A. Tour's player of the year by fellow golfers. Steve Strecker was voted "Comeback Player of the Year" - for the second year in a row. I've heard of golfers forgetting bad rounds, but forgetting each other?!?!

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