17 JAN 08: ICE WATER

The rain seemed a little extra noisy, when I stepped outside Wednesday during the noon hour. I assumed it was because something besides rain was falling. But then, rain has been rare in recent months - so maybe my ears were out of tune.

My first assumption turned out to be correct - because small bits of sleet hit my windshield, as I took care of a downtown errand. The sleet fell even though the Columbus temperature was 41 degrees F. So has global warming raised the temperature for water turning to ice?

Areas north of Columbus had conditions a bit more serious. Snow was reported as close to Columbus as Randolph County, Alabama - and somewhere in Wedowee, Hulond Humphries may have remarked about how pure and white snow tends to be.

The Alabama State Patrol actually issued a warning to drivers about dealing with icy conditions. It warned you should drive with headlights on, wipers working and a safe distance around other drivers. In other words, do what you're supposed to be doing all the time - only the troopers really, really mean it.

The sleet didn't last long in Columbus. It wasn't bad enough to force any shutdowns of businesses - and if children are reading this, all area schools are OPEN as of our post time. You don't need to call the TV stations to ask. Besides, that old trick about claiming to survive a car crash involving the superintendent stopped working years ago.

The short spurt of sleet didn't faze some students at Carver High School. They refused to wear winter coats outside in the cold conditions. After all, did you see the football team open umbrellas after it won the state football title in Cairo?

Some Carver High School students say wearing winter coats simply doesn't look cool. They claim the coats don't match their outfits. Aw, c'mon - there must have been at least one episode of "America's Next Top Model" set in Alaska....

Were these high school students being health-foolish, by being so fashion-conscious? A doctor with Stadium Health Care said no, declaring you do NOT catch a cold by not wearing a coat. You simply develop a bad case of "goose bumps."

(You know, maybe the cold weather has some health benefits. Someone needs to study whether you lose more weight by shivering in winter, or sweating in summer.)

So as I write this, Columbus has missed having its first snowfall in several years by about three degrees. Instead, plenty of cold rain soaked our lawns. It was truly like that classic song, "Rainy Night in Georgia." And it felt like it was raining - well, at least in Russell County....

Don't you love the cliches people start using when sleet or snow falls? Several of them came to mind, from conversations Wednesday....

+ A "wintry mix" of weather. That sounds like something candy stores should sell in December.

+ "Old Man Winter" visits. Is he Mother Nature's husband - or some dysfunctional detached relative?

+ A chance for "white stuff." A former news anchor in Atlanta used to have a running joke with me about this. It's called SNOW, people! Besides, cocaine also can be called "white stuff."

BLOG UPDATE: The evening TV news went to Hurtsboro Wednesday, and confirmed what your blog first reported Monday. Interim Police Chief Marvin Christian has a record of six speeding convictions, as well as one for reckless driving. But there are no convictions since 2004 - so maybe his car is aging the same way mine is.

The evening news added Marvin Christian worked with the Union Springs Police Department from 2004 until last year, when he took the Interim Police Chief job in Hurtsboro. His only charge since joining area law enforcement was last year's short-lived menacing charge. Did he spit on someone in Union Springs as he left town?

Contrary to what Constable Robert Schweiger alleged in his e-mail to us, a Hurtsboro city official DID conduct a background check on Marvin Christian. It was City Council member Jannie Jordan - but she admitted she never knew about the six speeding convictions. I'll be glad to check online records, for half the going Muscogee County government rate. That's only 45 dollars per hour.

Another Hurtsboro City Council member wants a special meeting about this week's discoveries. Charlie Tolbert says he's not sure this is what Hurtsboro wants in a police chief. But then again, a "Dirty Harry" kind of officer might be what this town really needs....

Let's see what else the news sources learned, on a rainy winter day:

+ Columbus South Inc. director Reggie Richards told WLTZ the engineering firm which wanted to buy the old Baker High School was NOT up-and-up with her organization. She says WW Associates only wanted to work with the Muscogee County School District's real estate broker. Maybe Richards needs to paint her phone number on the "Kennon Parker Duncan and Key" sign.

+ The Barack Obama Presidential campaign opened a Columbus office on Third Avenue. Shouldn't this office be in Phenix City? Both Georgia and Alabama have presidential primaries 5 February -- and you can't spell his name without "Bama."

(Have you noticed they scheduled the presidential primaries for "Fat Tuesday?" That means the entire region can give up politics for Lent....)

+ Ellaville resident James Crawford told the evening news his water heater blew up, due to sediment from the city water system. City officials say they're not to blame - so if unscheduled fireworks shows begin popping up around town, you'll know which side is right.

+ Opelika High School students raised money for students in Uganda by staging a "Day Without Desks," in which they sat on the floor all day. We did this at times when I was young - only it was kindergarten, and the teachers told us to "sit Indian-style." [True!]

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue presented his "State of the State" address. His invited guests included Kim Blackmon -- a mother of five who works two jobs, takes evening classes at West Georgia Technical College in LaGrange and is applying for a job with Kia. That's quite impressive, but it leaves me asking a question. How in the world did Blackmon find time to attend this speech?

(Sonny Perdue declared Georgia is on the verge of a glorious era, as people return to the South "en masse" due to the "sweet fragrance of optimism" throughout the state. I kept waiting for him to announce a new Governor's Oratory Contest.)

+ Atlanta-area megachurch pastor Earl Paulk pleaded guilty to lying under oath, about fathering a child through one of his relatives. He apparently took that New Testament verse about "as it was in the days of Noah" a little too seriously....

+ Georgia jumped past Alabama 61-54 in men's college basketball. The win puts Bulldog coach Dennis Felton at 68-68 on his Georgia career. If a football coach took this long to reach the .500 mark, Sanford Stadium would only be half-full.

+ Instant Message to WLTZ sportscaster Jeremy Moss: What do you mean, "The city of Gwinnett"?! Gwinnett is a Georgia county. Do you need us to mail some state maps up to Iowa?

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