28 JAN 08: YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME?
As far as we know, the Hurtsboro City Council has yet to call that special meeting about the Interim Police Chief and his history of speeding tickets. But keep in mind, this is a slow-paced rural town. The regular monthly meeting might be considered special.
The man who first complained to city officials (and us) about Hurtsboro's Interim Police Chief is complaining again. He passed along to us a letter to the mayor:
Mayor Tarver:
I'm certain, that you are aware that Hurtsboro's interim Police Chief has acted in a irresponsible manner in the past, and was discharged from the Union Springs Police Department before you hired him. And, since you were with him on one occasion when he became vulgar and abusive; you are also cognizant of his unprofessional behavior as Hurtsboro's Police Chief..
Now, it seems, that your Police Chief has taken offense with me! He has used vulgarity and verbal threats in an attempt to halt my inquisition into his actions. Yesterday (1/23/08) he followed me for no reason, bumper to bumper around town while I conducted my daily business. Our first contact was at the bank ( where I was stationed to make sure there were no problems at closing) and where there is never any evidence of local police presence!
Next, he followed me bumper to bumper (without flashing lights) to Williams Store where he pulled up beside me and took my picture on his cell phone. Finally, I called a friend to act as an escort, and we proceeded west on #51 to N. River street and turned east at the old County shop. The procession traveled south on Rte.#51 (again bumper to bumper) through town on Main street and Christian finally broke off the slow speed chase at the four way stop by the deer processing plant.
If I recall, one of Marvin Christian's past digressions was a short lived menacing charge. Believe me - if this type of conduct continues, he will be facing another like charge!
Mayor Tarver it baffles me why you and possibly the Council allow city employees to run amok and without restraint or supervision. Don't you realize that; as the Chief executive of the town you are morally and fiscally responsible for their actions? I guess you will have to learn the hard way.
Constable R. J. Schweiger
I'll repeat to the Constable what I said to that woman outside the Liberty Theatre the other day - welcome to the paparazzi.
Perhaps Marvin Christian followed R.J. Schweiger around Hurtsboro to see if the Constable is really the troublemaker some Hurtsboro residents claim he is. I've heard one critic say Schweiger has been kicked out of nearly every business in town. He was "AT the bank" - but the Constable never says he went inside.
(By the way, this seems to answer a question I've been asked several times in the last year - exactly what the Constable is supposed to do. He's apparently filling security gaps for the Hurtsboro police. So why do some critics not consider their "homeland" very secure when he's around?)
While the Interim Police Chief took the Constable's picture, Marvin Christian apparently never arrested R.J. Schweiger. And Schweiger will be relieved to know that the cell phone pictures were NOT posted on YouTube, when we did a search there Sunday night.
(And at least Marvin Christian only pulled out a camera phone. I know some people in Columbus who wish law officers would stop at that - but I shouldn't be bringing up Kenneth Walker and his friends.)
As long as the Constable goes about his errands in a proper way, why should he fear the Hurtsboro Police Chief following him around a bit? You'd think he'd be happy that a squad car actually is running for a change, with a law officer out on patrol during the day.
BLOG EXCLUSIVE: Marvin Christian is one of two officers on the Hurtsboro Police Department. So what about the other one? Some digging by your blog has found that officer has a police record of his own, including a fine paid only last year. But at least he's "second in command" - with three speeding tickets, compared with the interim chief's six.
The other Hurtsboro officer is Fueasel Turner - and Alabama court records indicate he paid speeding fines in Macon County court in 2003, 2004 and 2007. The 2003 case included a guilty plea for "attempting to elude police." If you can't outrun 'em, I guess you join 'em.
The court records took some sorting out, as there actually are arrest reports for TWO Fueasel Turners in southeast Alabama. An earlier one ran up six speeding tickets from 1993 to 2002, and even was arrested in some kind of sewage case. So perhaps it's like the Dale Earnhardt family -- with the torch passed to a new fast generation.
The most recent speeding ticket for Fueasel Turner cost him a 40-dollar fine last April. That may not seem like much - but Hurtsboro probably pays its police officers much less than even Columbus does. So Turner may be sharing Marvin Christian's camera phone, as he follows City Council members around town.
E-MAIL UPDATE: Is anyone reading this blog at WRBL? We'll see....
Kaffie Sledge ,of the Ledger,needs to be awarded the Golden Apple educational award for standing up for the children of MCSD....you go girl....
That award usually is given to a teacher -- but I can already hear many of Sledge's critics, who claim all she teaches is racism.
We also have a comment today on the great campaign banner hunt in Columbus:
Other uses for Obama sign:
Trim it down to read:
Rack Bama,,,Bar Bama...It will probably show up at an AU football game...
Hmmmm -- I'm not sure if that lets the other campaigns off the hook for the banner theft. Has Tommy Tuberville endorsed a candidate yet?
While presidential candidates kept campaigning Sunday, we noticed other things going on....
+ The new Rigdon Road Elementary School held an open house. Principal Phyllis Davis claims the old school had two restrooms, while the new one has 23. I wish someone had asked her if one of those restrooms was attached to her office....
(The new Rigdon Road school also has "smart boards," which I guess are the 21st century replacement for chalkboards. But at least we've moved beyond the pesky matter of black and white there.)
+ The Columbus Symphony Orchestra presented a family concert based on a "Lemony Snicket" story. I can remember when critics considered that children's series too violent -- but consider the alternative. Your family could have gone to the RiverCenter last Thursday for the opera "Tosca," and its commercial showed someone being stabbed.
+ The Columbus Cottonmouths lost to Jacksonville 4-3 in a shootout. It followed an end-game and overtime period with so much action, WEAM-AM announcer Mike Vee said it happened "faster than I can call it." If you can't stand the speed, go call a baseball game....
+ Basketball's Atlanta Hawks lost at the final horn to Portland 94-93. To use those scoreboard abbreviations, ATL played POR - but it didn't play poorly.
+ Instant Message to Richard Hyatt: Our best wishes, as you begin your final week at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. If the newspaper really cares about you, your final column before retirement will be available online - without anyone having to register their name to read it.
SCHEDULED THIS WEEK: A total stranger comes to me, with a simple one-word request....
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