27 FEB 08: CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK WENT THE TROLLEY
"Where's our marina?" I can't tell you how many times I've heard Al Fleming rant about that in TV commentaries -- so many times that you'd think this former news anchor and nightclub owner would invest some money in riverfront property, and build his own.
As of Tuesday, Al Fleming apparently can add a new complaint -- where's our trolley? Columbus city leaders said a long-proposed line across town is NOT likely to happen. So it will be like that famous trolley on PBS - heading only to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.
The 1999 city sales tax issue promised money for a trolley line from downtown Columbus to the Peachtree Mall area. In fact, Burger King built a specially-themed "train station" restaurant on Gentian Boulevard for it. Now you can dine there, and feel railroaded in a couple of ways.
On top of that, METRA introduced a couple of buses in the Historic District which look like trolley cars. I've ridden them once or twice, and they were NOT filled with nostalgic passengers. Maybe if they added a bell to ring - or even souvenir plates of Rice-a-Roni.
Columbus Planning Director Rick Jones said Tuesday the trolley proposal has been knocked off the track (giggle) for two main reasons. The city isn't sure exactly how much it would cost, and isn't sure how many people would ride it. If the trolley ran in a great circle around Columbus Park Crossing, the ridership probably would be huge.
City Manager Isaiah Hugley added a trolley line across Columbus might cost 50 million dollars to build. Since the route would miss the central library and the new Muscogee County school administration building by a few miles, this big investment would look misplaced.
Maybe I'm wrong here, but wasn't one goal of the trolley line to attract tourists to Columbus? They could party on Broadway all evening, then take the trolley to Peachtree Mall and pretend it's "Family Day in the Park" all year round.
City officials recited a lengthy list in January, noting projects completed and promises kept from the 1999 sales tax. But will the lack of a trolley line hurt the city, as it tries to sell a new sales tax question in the coming months? Will the new "Common Cause Columbus" stage a publicity stunt, with people walking down an abandoned rail line to the Chattahoochee River to board kayaks?
The good news about rail lines Tuesday was that a "rails to trails" project is about to begin in Columbus. City Planning Director Rick Jones said an abandoned rail line soon will be converted to a paved trail. I'm not sure what delayed this so long -- or (ahem) if any individual is at as-fault.
The main "rails to trails" project will extend from the 14th Street pedestrian bridge to Psalmond Road. WRBL reported it will pass through Flat Rock Park - where bored bike riders can wake themselves up with some laps on the BMX course.
E-MAIL UPDATE, REPOSTED MIDDAY 27 FEB: We've finally confirmed sufficient details of a message which makes some serious accusations. And of course, it's about Little League baseball....
Richard,
Blog is great, but time to really break it down on Pioneer LL and lets just end it for what it really is.
Rick helping out with pictures? [22 Feb] What a joke. What about the uniforms he forces teams to buy from Bo Weaver, a Pioneer board member who owns DCR sports and is the sole source of uniforms for Pioneer per Rick and the board. What does Bo do for Pioneer? Not much, just makes a truck load of money off the cheap uniforms he sells them.
But hey Richard, here is the real story. Ask Rick about the recent person, Mr. Ron Harris, who Rick put on the Pioneer Little League board and was arrested for child porno? Wow, maybe that is why Rick wants bathroom trips on pairs, since he allows pedophiles to hang out on the Pioneer Little League Board.
Richard, we all appreciate your good humor and tracking of community issues, but if the Blog of Columbus gets nothing else out, it should be that Pioneer is a dangerous place for kids to play ball, and based on good old boy boards and votes, an expensive place too!
Keep up the good blogging!
Knox
The District Attorney's office confirmed Tuesday a case against Ron Harris is pending -- but we admittedly did NOT call Pioneer President Rick Chadwick about it. Remembering last summer, there might be a civil case against us....
(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We hope to confirm the exact charge Wednesday morning, so watch this space for an update on it.)
Pioneer Little League Vice-President Lamar Pruitt told your blog Ron Harris left the board late last year, after he was arrested. Harris was a board member about 18 months, and Pruitt says he was up for an "annual renewal." Of course, arrests don't stop other people from serving the public - like U.S. Senators.
Lamar Pruitt said the Pioneer Little League board members are subject to annual background checks. The last one on Ron Harris apparently occurred before his arrest -- an arrest other board members did NOT know about, until someone from American Little League called them and mentioned it. The inter-league competition around here must last year-round.
Lamar Pruitt denied the arrest of Ron Harris had anything to do with the new "bathroom buddies" policy in Pioneer Little League. Pruitt explained they want two children to use restrooms together, so there isn't a "follow the leader" situation of one player following another. So unlike football, "two to go" is better than one.
With all the recent e-mail griping about the board, I dared to ask Lamar Pruitt about something different - the upcoming Pioneer Little League season. It opens March 15, and Pruitt says it appears turnout will be up ten percent from last year. So the grumblers may have chased away a coach or two, but the young players seem as fearless as Roger Clemens on Capitol Hill.
Another e-mail moves from children's play time to study time:
I wonder if the new MCSD administration building can be designed to accomodate classrooms on the top two floors? I read the Ledger article that stated MCSD was having a hard time finding funding to build classroom space for the new military kids who will be coming..Does teaching on a stage or in a closet require different teacher certification? I guess all the sleepy head students will volunteer to go to the afternoon session of double sessions. I saw James Walker's property is still up for auction due to unpaid taxes. Maybe he took care of it and tax office has not notified the Ledger..
Funny you should ask that first question - because we were first to show you schematic drawings of the new administration building [25 Dec 07]. If there's room to attach a private bathroom to the Superintendent's office, I don't see why some classrooms aren't possible.
In fact, the preliminary drawings allow space for classrooms on the second and third floors. Both have large areas marked simply as "growth" - and I don't think that means they're for biology teachers.
The third-floor growth space is near the Construction Director's office. So it's perfect for a kindergarten class, which wants to work with Lego blocks.
The second-floor growth space is down the hall from the Human Resources Department. It would be great for "Future Business Leaders of America" meetings - unless the school employees suing over the retirement plans stage a non-stop sit-in there first.
Fort Benning Commandant Walter Wojdakowski told Columbus Council Tuesday about 7,100 military children are coming to this area, because of base realignment. Please make those youngsters feel welcome in a couple of years - and do NOT refer to them as BRAC brats.
By the way, I do NOT think teaching "in a closet" will require a different certification. But I think some Georgia Republicans would recommend that, if a teacher comes out of the closet.
Now let's check other headlines from a Tuesday with plenty of news....
+ Cott Beverage stock dropped 37 percent, after Wal-Mart announced it will reduce its shelf space for products such as RC Cola. Wal-Mart truly is selling out its Arkansas and Southern roots. After all, when was the last time you saw Moon Pies on sale in the bakery?
+ The Russell County Commission voted to make Larry Kite the full-time county engineer. The 25-minute executive session on his job must have been nerve-wracking - since the commissioners could have come out, and told Kite to go fly one.
+ WLTZ reported the Fort Benning property has about 6,000 feral pigs. And you wondered how Country's Barbecue can keep its prices so low....
+ Jordan High School officially was dethroned as Georgia state basketball champion, losing 52-49 to Glenn Hills of Augusta. Maybe the Red Jackets became confused, when a group of Greenjacket baseball players showed up.
+ The Georgia Senate voted to allow Sunday beer sales at a new minor league baseball stadium in Gwinnett County. Buford's Renee Unterman declared during the debate: "Baseball, beer and peanuts - they are as American as apple pie." So which U.S. family really invented beer, the Coorses or the Budweisers?
+ Alabama head football coach Nick Saban admitted his players have to make changes and improve their behavior. WRBL noted eight Alabama players have been arrested since Saban was hired early last year. If this keeps up, sports boosters in Tuscaloosa will trade in their plaid jackets for red and white stripes.
+ Country music legend George Jones promised to perform at a planned new 500-acre development near Dothan. "Country Crossing" will include an amphitheater, shopping, hotels - and bingo. [True/AP] The very thing that will make it different from Pigeon Forge and Branson may be what prompts Governor Bob Riley to order it toward Panama City.
(Does this explain why George Jones showed up at the dedication of the new Russell County Sheriff's Department shooting range? If Constable Robert Schweiger had been there and met him, Hurtsboro could be on the verge of becoming a boom town.)
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UPDATE 1/10:53am