4 JAN 08: GOOD JAYHAWK, BAD J-HAWK
No, I didn't ask Mayor Wetherington for a formal proclamation - but I declared Thursday "Jayhawk Day" in Columbus. And I want to thank one particular Columbus police officer, for rearranging his schedule to make news on the same day as Kansas's Orange Bowl appearance.
The "Bad J-Hawk" (note the spelling) made news first - as officer J.D. Hawk went to Columbus Recorder's Court. He pleaded no contest to a speeding ticket, for driving 103 miles per hour on Manchester Expressway. If he was able to drive that fast on that road, I assume last year's paving problems finally are fixed.
J.D. Hawk was fined $430, for his no contest plea to speeding. That probably will annoy Columbus NAACP President Bill Madison, who suggested last week Hawk should have been jailed for driving so fast. The way Madison's been talking lately, I'm starting to think he might run for Muscogee County Sheriff to lock up almost everybody.
(Bill Madison wants J.D. Hawk jailed for speeding, the confidential informant in the Kenneth Walker case jailed for perjury AND Zachary Allen jailed for his positive drug test. Either Madison plans to support that one-cent sales tax to expand the jail -- or his favorite TV show is "Law and Order.")
WRBL reported on J.D. Hawk's explanation of his speeding ticket. He says he drove 103 miles per hour last October because his 13-year-old daughter was home alone, and a fire had broken out in their kitchen. Hmmmm - does this implicate Hawk in the Zachary Allen investigation? If he didn't trust the fire department to get there first....
J.D. Hawk pleaded NOT guilty to a separate charge, of missing an earlier court hearing. The Recorder's Court judge sentenced him to 20 days of probation, for contempt. It's pretty hard to sentence a police officer to "community service," when he's already providing one.
J.D. Hawk's attorney explained why the officer missed the earlier hearing. Frank Martin says two other police officers told Hawk he didn't have to show up -- which may in part explain why Martin is Hawk's attorney now....
But Frank Martin notes J.D. Hawk already has paid his fine. That means no jail time. And that means local jail guards don't have to take special precautions to keep him safe. They don't have to watch him like.... uhhhhhh, well, you know - like a Hawk.
Then came the evening, and it was time for the "Good Jayhawk" to come out - as my alma mater Kansas played its first January bowl game in 40 years. But then again, that's not a big bragging point anymore. Kansas could have gone to Mobile for this weekend's GMAC Bowl and accomplished that.
Loco's on 13th Street has become my game spot of choice -- but it was a bit disconcerting when I walked inside shortly before kickoff. All the TV screens seemed to be on ESPN, for the Ohio State-Illinois basketball game. In Columbus, no S.E.C. can mean no-seen....
Even with my Kansas ballcap and sweatshirt (thank you for that gift, Dad), one of the servers at Loco's needed me to ask for a TV screen to be switched to the Orange Bowl. It wasn't like I was spending Thursday poker night at my usual spot - a place where Headline News stays on a screen, even when Glenn Beck is on.
I kept looking for a glimpse of my older brother, who planned to go wherever Kansas traveled for a bowl game. I assume he flew from the Kansas City area to Miami. I would have driven there from Columbus. But then I figured it cost at least $110 for a ticket, probably that much for gasoline -- and a winter rate of $60 to stay at a Motel 6.
(My little brother went to a Kansas bowl game a few years ago. That may seem like no big deal - but he's mentally disabled, and lives in an institution! His whole unit traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, even though my brother can't even walk or speak. I'm not sure which state lawmaker arranged that one....)
The Orange Bowl was the best game so far in the Bowl Championship Series. Kansas took a 7-0 lead on an interception return - as I heard someone at a nearby table say the words, "They haven't played anybody...." Excuse me?! Kansas beat Central Michigan to start the season, and Central Michigan won its conference. Not that most sports fans in Columbus could name that conference....
As I moved from dinner to dessert at Loco's, Kansas advanced the lead to 14-0. At that point I declared at the bar: "If you have a jukebox, would you please play Pat Benatar's 'We Belong'?"
But Virginia Tech rallied to make the game good and close. Both defenses played strongly, with Kansas picking up four first-half sacks. There were so many sacks, I wondered if the Orange Bowl was sponsored by Publix.
The final score was Kansas 24, Virginia Tech 21 - and as the game ended, I realized the Orange Bowl simply had followed an evening-long trend. The underdog who fought for change had prevailed, despite the critics. Can coach Mark Mangino run for President as an independent?
I didn't realize until WRBL's Thursday evening news that the Hardaway High School marching band went to the Orange Bowl. If I had known this weeks ago, I would have bought enough band candy to get a ticket on their bus as a chaperone.
(But after watching the halftime show, I have to ask a question - how did they disguise the band members to look like ZZ Top?)
E-MAIL UPDATE: The number-one thing I didn't know when 2007 began [31 Dec 07] prompted a reader to offer some advice....
First I would just like to thank you for including my emails in your blog. I do belive some attention is now being directed to the improprieties going on with the City of Phenix city government in no small part because of the readership of your blog. I applaud you and the fact that you did (even though as you say you were double dog dared) take the time to visit the property where the city manager SUPPOSEDLY "lives part of the time".
Now to your comments about DSL and the giant "trip wire" of cable you have laid in order to use the service and also your comments regarding a splitter and the phone still being able to be used in addition to using the phone line for DSL... I have a few comments.
DSL internet runs on the "backbone" of the phone line. It doesnt interrupt normal phone usage as it only uses part of the line to carry internet traffic. Splitter or no splitter if you have more than one phone jack in your home and are attached to DSL you can still use your phone to make or receive calls at any time connected or not.
I can tell from your mention of your savings that you (like the rest of us) are very responsible with your spending. That can also be applauded but if you happen to win a few times over there at Kim's Cove maybe you can apply some of your poker winnings as follows to take care of your current situation. Here are my suggestions.
For $34.99 you can purchase a wireless DSL router. (You would plug your DSL w/included short cords into the phone access across the room from your computer...believe it or not you don't need a splitter as I believe you can even plug your phone into the back of this router as well so it can still receive calls)
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/195914/Wireless-Router-With-Switch/
Then ... for an additional $34.99 you purchase the USB Wireless Network Adapter which plugs into any open USB port on your computer & connects to your wireless router. You will be online at your full DSL speed across the room with no wires for approx. $69.98 + applicable sales taxes.
If you wanna stay "wired" thats fully up to you ... just thought I would offer my advice if the "trip wire" gets to be too much ... as I think last I looked a trip to the emergency room for a sprained ankle may be much higher than the $69.98 + tax.
Have a great new year!!!
Charles
Thanks for the advice - but if I wanted to be really wireless, I would have bought a laptop computer in the first place. It helps for a blog like this to have good connections.
Speaking of "splitters," someone else is writing about Cascade Hills Church:
Hi Richard! Could you please help me get the word out to those who are interested in getting CHC back? Ever since the article at the Ledger was 30 days old, it went into the archives and people cannot blog now. I know that there are a lot of members who want to try & get their church back, but they don't know how to communicate about it now. I created a Yahoo account just for those people. The web address is cascademember@yahoo.com. Could you also let people know that the Ledger Enquirer is working on getting the blog back up within the next few days. There will also be a "real life" meeting Saturday January 12th concerning "getting our church back". I'm not sure what time the meeting will be yet or where, but I'll let you know. Anyone who's interested in attending or if you have questions & concerns, please contact me at cascademember@yahoo.com.
Thank you & Happy New Year!
I've read this phrase "get our church back" several times - and it leads me to ask a question. Where is it written that a church belongs to the members? That may be the Baptist tradition, but simply because I pay a tithe at church does NOT mean I own the place. In fact, the Pastor might show me out the door if I acted like I did.
We'll address other e-mails another time. But now let's check other Thursday news....
+ Columbus dropped to its lowest temperature in five years, at 19 degrees F. It was SO COLD that coffee shops were allowed to take down their warning signs about how hot the drinks are.
+ Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington began tinkering with his one-cent "public safety sales tax" proposal. He told a news conference 30 percent of the money would be used NOT for police, but for infrastructure needs such as road repairs. A well-paved street WOULD be safer than one with potholes, you know....
(Mayor Wetherington added the Columbus Police Department hired 68 officers last year. That means more than 17 percent of the force consists of "rookies" - which is something the Atlanta Falcons might want to consider next season.)
+ GPB Radio reported the city of Columbus will begin sending e-mail "smog alerts" when the air quality is poor. This is apparently for color-blind people who can't recognize pollen on their cars during spring.
(The smog alert system is beginning because Columbus had ten different "particle pollution" violations last year. I'm waiting for the related statistic to come out - how many acres of woodland at Fort Benning had to be burned, to make this possible.)
+ Columbus resident Robert Dorsey told WRBL he plans to sue the former Court TV for slander. The program "Body of Evidence" reportedly showed Dorsey's picture in late September while calling another man a rape suspect. This could explain why the cable channel changed its name this week to Tru-TV.
+ St. Luke School was back in session, even though Muscogee County schools don't return to class until next Tuesday. If their students do better on those standardized tests in April, we'll know why - because Monkey Joe's and Peach Bowl Lanes didn't offer winter break reading rooms.
+ Instant Message to Edgewood Church of Christ: I watched "Turning Point" on WYBU-TV 16 Thursday night. I realize "yield" can be a challenging word to spell correctly on the screen. But when you show the misspelling "chuch" - well, which Bible translation are you using?
COMING THIS WEEKEND: This blog's fifth anniversary celebration.... what SHALL we do?!?!....
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