for 12 DEC 07: WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE

....and in fact, that was the problem. There was overflowing water Tuesday in a central Columbus location which was NOT supposed to have any. Come to think of it, maybe Cross Country Plaza would have enjoyed better business over the years if it had a fountain on the grounds somewhere....

A water main broke Tuesday, flooding a row of businesses at Cross Country Plaza. As I drove into the parking lot, a large fleet of bright green trucks was parked on the west side of the main plaza. But for all I knew, some company's staff might have been celebrating a strange holiday party at Chuck E Cheese.

But as I walked around Cross Country Plaza, I began to realize something was wrong. Sally Beauty Supply was closed for the day because of a flooded floor, and recommended customers go to the Bradley Park Drive store instead. Now this was truly one bad hair day....

(I spotted one mother advising her child NOT to step in a puddle of murky-looking water outside Sally Beauty Supply. You never know how much peroxide might be mixed in.)

Next door to Sally, a collection of cleaning machines was assembled inside the store where V.V. Vick Jewelers used to be. But no Serv-Pro personnel were inside with them. In fact, I don't recall seeing any of them at all. Maybe they were at Books-A-Million, reading about the right techniques.

The Subway sandwich shop was still open, but two industrial-type fans were blowing on the floor. Not even that air was chilly enough to make the customers think it was December.

It was a Subway employee who confirmed for me a water main had broken behind the shop. This seemed strange, considering how warm it's been lately. You might expect it if we had more normal December temperatures -- chilly enough to use an ice scraper on your car. I'm NOT lobbying for Oklahoma-style weather, where ice knocks tree limbs on your car.

The busted water main reminded me of the last mishap at Cross Country Plaza, and not many steps away from Tuesday's trouble. It was the Deorio's fire a couple of years ago, which left water damage at a few businesses up the hill. Let's all be thankful Subway doesn't boast of its sandwiches being toasted - or history could have repeated itself.

On down the sidewalk from Tuesday's mess, I walked into some confusion. Steve and Barry's has a big "GRAND OPENING" banner by its overhead sign, facing Macon Road - yet boxes were piled up by the front door, and a sign said the store is NOT open yet. Where's the big rush to get year-end business? Or is that sort of enthusiasm "uncool" for their customers?

As I drove home from Cross Country Plaza, I was reminded of the shopping center's old competition. The old Sears Auto Center is now a giant hole in the ground - and amazingly, there wasn't a big pit of used oil left under the foundation.

WLTZ reported Tuesday the old Sears department store by Macon Road should be leveled by next week. Then the last sign of Columbus Square Mall will be gone - well, except for the closed movie theater complex behind the main library. You'd think someone would paint it, to give a slight impression of greenspace.

BLOG UPDATE: In what we probably should call "Revelation Chapter 3," Mayor Jim Wetherington announced Tuesday the son of Councilor Gary Allen will NOT be prosecuted for a positive cocaine test on a city job last fall. I thought our mayor used to be Georgia Corrections Commissioner - not a member of the pardons and parole board.

Columbus NAACP President Bill Madison was his usual unhappy self at this announcement. He declared Zachary Allen should be jailed and fully prosecuted. Hopefully someone explained to Madison after the Columbus Council meeting that the rape charge against Allen still stands.

(How bizarre this scene must have been. The "law and order" mayor refuses to lock up an offender, while the civil rights activist demands an immediate arrest?!)

Bill Madison also suggested Columbus Fire Chief Jeff Meyer should resign, because of the way the Zachary Allen "cocaine crash" was handled. But to his credit, Madison stayed a bit under control. He stopped short of demanding Councilor Gary Allen resign, for poor parental discipline.

Mayor Wetherington said the people who somehow wrote down Zachary Allen's positive cocaine test as "negative" have been disciplined. Maybe they had to take a 200-question math test, with positive and negative numbers.

E-MAIL UPDATE: It's been ten days since our blog was mentioned in the Ledger-Enquirer. So it's about time someone piped up about our local megachurch again....

Awhile back you interviewed the pastor of Cascade Hills Church [7 Oct]. Well here are some more thoughts. It would seem as though Bill were not completely honest and forthcoming with you in your interview.

"Dr. Bill Purvis noted the e-mailer only quotes part of section of the document about the "ecclesiastical tribunal." That section goes on to say the church Board of Directors "shall use as its sole and final authority and standard the Holy Scriptures...."

I wonder if some of the people on the board even own a copy of the Holy Scriptures and if they do how they reconcile the scripture with what some of them do for a living?

Bill Purvis added the bylaw change was approved by the Cascade Hills Church membership, at a business meeting earlier this year. And he assured me church membership meetings still will be used to settle matters in the future. This is why it pays to pick up those announcement bulletins in the foyer....

Please ask Purvis for a copy of the minutes from this meeting as well as the date it happened. I was attending CHC at the time and according to their bylaws in effect at the time the announcement of a vote on bylaws had to be made for two weeks prior to the vote at ever service stating the purpose of the vote. This simply did not happen. In addition after the announcement is made for two weeks and the meeting is held, there is to be a quorum with at least 2/3 of the quorum voting in favor of the change. To my knowledge this simply did not happen. At said meeting there are to be minutes recorded. To my knowledge, this simply did not happen. Show me the minutes. In addition, in the Restated articles it says that the only people that voted on the restatement were the board members and that according to church rules, that is all that was necessary. However, if i read the bylaws correctly that statement if false.

Bill Purvis admitted one of the Cascade Hills Board of Directors "has deep pockets," and might sue an e-mailer on his own. But the pastor is choosing NOT to do so,

Yet another in a long list of false statements. Seems as though he did choose to at least attempt to sue the people. Rumor would have it that he stated as recently as this weekend that the church will continue to pursue those spreading the truth. This order signed by his friend Doug Pullen (who appears on his web site and his testimony video) was not issued by or for those with "Deep Pockets", but for Cascade Hills, President Bill Purvis. TRUTH, isn't it an amazing thing.

even though a church attorney claims to have an IP address to track down the source of the message. Praying for heavenly intervention with a lightning strike can settle things even faster, you know

YET ANOTHER OF HIS MANY MANY FALSE STATEMENTS. If, as he said here he already had the IP address why then did a month or more later he have to get an order to obtain that information from YAHOO? Why did he claim during one of his services that he had a friend that was CIA who had already done this for him? Ok Bill which is it A. you already had the info at the time of the interview as you stated B. Your CIA buddy got it for you as you stated or C. You had your attorney attempt to get the info for you using one of your friends who is a Superior Court Judge as your actions proved?

So what about this "dissolution of the Corporation" language? Dr. Bill Purvis explained under the old bylaws, HE had the power to dissolve the church and spread the assets as he wished. So this isn't a power grab - it's a small-scale version of ordaining 12 apostles

Wrong again….it required a vote previously. READ THE BY LAWS RICHARD. READ THE BY LAWS MEMBERS Now the story Bill is spreading is that this change was made to protect the membership, because they (the individual members) could have been sued under the old bylaws. I am no attorney, but that doesn't seem to make sense to me. In addition, his reasoning for doing this seems to change with whoever he is talking to about it. REGARDLESS why didn't he tell the membership before he did it?

"I know of three churches in this town which have sold in the last two years.... where the Pastor and the Board pocketed some of the money," Purvis said. He did NOT name the churches - so there, the e-mailer DOES have something new to work on

Was one of those three churches Temple Baptist Church? Because nobody knows where the money went for temple. Follow the trail. Temple Baptist Inc. (Mike Stephens President and pastor) sold it to Cascade Hills Baptist Inc. (Bill Purvis, Spud Warr, Mike Patrick) for $10.00. Cascade Hills Baptist Inc. in turn sold it to Bethany for over $700, 000.00. Another blatant violation of the CHC bylaws. The bylaws called for an announcement two weeks in advance from the pulpit. In addition this announcement was to notify people of what the meeting was about and that there would be a vote taken. A vote of a quorum of members with 2/3 voting in favor before any property over $500, 000.00 could be sold.

Ironically Mike Stephens, the former pastor and President of Temple started working for Cascade Hills Church immediately after this sweetheart deal. WHERE ARE THE MEMBERS OF THE OLD TEMPLE BAPTIST. How did you let them get away with kicking you out of your church?

Bill Purvis added if Cascade Hills Church ever is dissolved, the new bylaws require the board to distribute the assets to nonprofit agencies.

OK, and I am not suggesting that this would happen, but Bill has created a nonprofit agency called Bill Purvis Ministries (secretary of state web site) What would keep him from selling the assets and transferring them to BPM. With him and his family being the ONLY board members.

The husband of the Cascade Hills Church clerk overheard my conversation with Bill Purvis, and said he was "offended" when he received the e-mail about the bylaw change. Church leaders say the e-mailers are ignorant of the process. They're also apparently ignorant of the New Testament passage about "going to your brother" first, not the congregation at large.

Sorry Bill, but you tried to slip this one under our noses and you got caught. Ignorance is what you depend on. Sorry you have been let down. Bill and Spud have been approached first, but Spud said "the finances of this church are non of your business"

Pastor Bill Purvis did NOT bring up the e-mail during the Saturday evening service. He told me afterward that was because 80 percent of the Cascade Hills membership probably doesn't know about it, and bringing it up "would only confuse them." As if some members weren't confused when Purvis declared during his sermon there are 32 miles in a marathon.... [True!]

Yes I am sure that telling them about changing the bylaws before you did it and letting them vote would have only confused them as well. He did however have a show of hands of who had received the emails the at the Sunday service the following day.

Keep in mind: church leaders say this was approved in a membership business meeting. But yes, I know of some churches where this approach would be normal. The one headed by Utah's Warren Jeffs probably has done it often.

SHOW ME THE MINUTES FROM THIS MEETING AND VOTE….

Amidst all these e-mails and accusations, we should not overlook Bill Purvis's sermon topic this weekend. He's focusing on Jonah 4, and saying we should not put "petty stuff" above the "big picture" of ministering to people. A high-profile minister such as Purvis probably has to deal with "petty stuff" a lot - such as people asking why no dramatic videotapes play during his sermons anymore.

Some might consider taking the time and expense to hunt down people who told the truth about you could be considered "Petty Stuff". Bill likes to claim that someone stole the church email list...simply not true. The staff emails are public and listed on the website and any member who were emailed were known by the emailer.

By choosing to appear in 394 million homes, Bill has given up a certain amount of his privacy, that is his choice. Can you imagine how much money T.V. preachers would have to spend to hunt down everyone who had anything negative to say about them? Jerry Falwell and Robert Tilton would have spent ten fortunes alone. There is nothing untrue in this email. Some of it not faltering, but true non the less.

You have the all of the documents that support these claims if you choose to read them. They are all public information so you are free to post them along with this email.

Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. -- Lord Action

Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. -- Lord Action

Thank you for all your comments - and I'm sure the Cascade Hills Church attorneys will be in touch with you shortly.

There's a lot to address here - and it should be noted that the Cascade Hills Church lobby has a bookshelf with dozens of copies of the Bible. But then again, I've never seen anyone "borrow" a copy for a service.

As for the Bible and the church board: are we talking about Michael Patrick here? As in Carmike Cinemas? Just because he shows R-rated movies doesn't mean he sneaks away and watches them....

When I interviewed Bill Purvis and other Cascade Hills members in October, I asked them when the business meeting occurred to approve a bylaw change. No one could remember the date, but the updated bylaws were filed with the Secretary of State's office 8 August. Don't you wonder if I had asked what the sermon topics were in July....?!

It's possible Pastor Bill Purvis changed his mind about filing suit, after talking with us in early October. Does that mean his earlier statement was false? Even God changed his instructions in the Bible from time to time - which is why Cascade Hills Church doesn't offer animal sacrifices every week.

It's also possible a Cascade Hills Church attorney had an IP address in early October, which turned out to be a dead end. After all, longtime blog readers must have wondered how "IsOurCitySafe" wasn't tracked down by Columbus Police and disciplined a couple of years ago....

If you're looking for the former members of Temple Baptist Church, I suggest you take a weekend trip down Buena Vista Road. I discovered recently Dr. Mike Stephens has set up a "storefront ministry" in a strip mall near Wal-Mart, and uses it for Sunday afternoon gospel singing. It's so well hidden in the opposite corner of Columbus, Bill Purvis might not even know about it.

Did Spud Warr really say the members of Cascade Hills Church have no right to know about the church's finances? I'd expect a pastor like Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long to say that, but not a board member...

The next time I attend Cascade Hills Church, I'll ask about those business meeting minutes. But I haven't attended that church in several weeks - and it's a matter of hours, not minutes. The hour of Saturday night worship is too late for a Sabbath-keeper like me.

While some people grumble about Cascade Hills Church, it continues to be open for ministry. About 300 children of inmates showed up there late Tuesday, for an "Evening with Santa." As far as we know, none of the inmates have been locked up for spreading potentially slanderous e-mails.

Now for other highlights from a busy Tuesday:

+ The high temperature in Columbus tied a record again, at 76 degrees F. The lights were on at Golden Park for the second night in a row - and it doesn't seem right for Columbus High School to have baseball practice before Carver's football season is over.

(I saw a strange weather-related sight as I jogged by the Columbus Civic Center. A small tree had pink buds coming out, while it still had autumn leaves on it. It was almost symbolic of the current presidential race....)

+ The Russell County Sheriff's Office held the grand opening of its new training facility and firing range in Fort Mitchell. It's named after Sheriff Tommy Boswell - so deputies who use the range will be using Tommy guns.

(A surprise guest at the firing range grand opening was country music legend George Jones. I'm not sure how he wound up there - but I hope he didn't risk arrest by singing "White Lightning.")

+ The Russell County Commission voted 4-1 for a referendum on a five-cent soft drink tax. If the Alabama Legislature approves it, voters will have the final "yes or no" on it - and then the reaction really will Bubble Up.

(A soft drink distributor argued Russell County would become "the only county in the nation" with a soft drink tax. That's a bit misleading, because states such as Tennessee have had a soft drink tax for years -- and a national tax was imposed during World War I. Some people in Hurtsboro might argue a similar time of crisis exists there today.)

+ The Russell County School Board voted to offer potential Superintendent Yvette Richardson a contract paying $120,000 per year. A proposal to offer $105,000 was turned down - showing again how Dr. John Phillips has raised the bar for education across our area.

+ John White of Manchester was freed from prison, after serving 27 years of a life sentence for rape. DNA tests of hairs from the crime scene indicated someone else was the rapist. This explains why "Charlie's Angels" never were trained to be C.S.I. examiners.

+ WLTZ reported as of 12:00 noon, Carver High School had sold 600 tickets for Saturday's AAA football final on the road. It was allotted about 3,000 seats. C'mon, folks - this Cairo is NOT in Egypt.

+ Atlanta Falcons football coach Bobby Petrino resigned after 13 games, reportedly to move to the University of Arkansas. So let's see - his sentence was only about half as long as Michael Vick's.

+ Auburn football offensive coordinator Al Borges resigned. The "Huntsville Times" reported head coach Tommy Tuberville told him to leave, even before the bowl game in Atlanta - so apparently someone has to pay for Tuberville's nice raise.

+ Instant Message to the Orange Bowl in Miami: Aw, c'mon! If I want to see my alma mater Kansas play in January, I have to pay 110 dollars?! For an upper-level ticket?! I can get the same atmosphere without leaving home -- and take several bags of Florida oranges in Columbus to a sports bar for much less than that.

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We ran out of writing time, so The Blog of America is suspended today. Hopefully it will return Thursday.)

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