for 12 MAR 08: MCVAY OUT OF THE WAY

The first time we heard of her, our title was "McVay IN the Way" [8 Jan 07]. Today we come full circle, as the ethics case involving her has done the same thing. She was in, now she's out -- so Constable Robert Schweiger can celebrate, and shake it all about.

BLOG EXCLUSIVE: A Russell County prosecutor told your blog Tuesday afternoon that Mae Dell McVay has agreed to resign from the Hurtsboro City Council, and NOT run for public office there again. It's part of an agreement between McVay and the District Attorney's office - and to sum it up: Mae Dell may not.

Assistant District Attorney Joe Edwards told me his office filed a "nolle prosequi" motion in Russell County court Monday, on the day McVay was supposed to stand trial on ethics charges. Shame on those of you who think Russell County residents are uneducated! You've got to know some Latin to file something like this....

Joe Edwards calls this a "nol-pro" motion - which means the prosecution no longer is interested in pursuing charges against Mae Dell McVay. "It's not a dismissal, but it IS a dismissal," he told me. Someone should buy Edwards a plane ticket to Tallahassee, to settle that Florida Democratic primary mess.

Joe Edwards said in exchange for the nol-pro motion being filed in Russell County Court, Mae Dell McVay agreed to leave Hurtsboro city government. Edwards believes she filed the resignation papers Friday or Monday - which means they be discovered by someone at Hurtsboro City Hall sometime next week.

The Assistant District Attorney explained this nol-pro motion was "in the best interests of Hurtsboro." I suppose Constable Schweiger will be satisfied with Mae Dell McVay leaving the City Council. He should be -- considering he was found in contempt of court last October, and still has his job.

(We're not sure why, but we haven't heard from Robert Schweiger since he prevailed in our Big Blog Question last month. Perhaps he's busy with his campaign to have the city of Hurtsboro dissolved. Or perhaps he's doing what many reporters have struggled for months to do - get a picture of the mayor.

It sounds to my Perry Mason-era ears that the prosecutor reached a plea bargain with Mae Dell McVay - except the bargain had no plea. She made no admission of guilt. But if she tries to run for Hurtsboro city office again, the ethics charges could be restored. So she might actually take Bob Schweiger's side, and support dissolving the town.

So what about that Smiths Station City Council member, who went to trial Tuesday? We called Robert Sawyer Tuesday night to find out, but he had NOT returned our message, as of our deadline. We don't know if he was cleared of criminal tampering, and went out to celebrate - or if he was convicted, and hustled off to prison to join Don Siegelman.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Tuesday's 60-degree F. day made Saturday's snow seem like a distant memory, but one reader remembered something even bigger....

Nothing like shutting down CSG for a week, especially for us high school students! I measured exactly 14" on the top of my 1969 Mustang.

Take care,

Craig

Wow - what a storm this area had in 1973! Butler had more than 18 inches of snow. And the big "weather scam" after that probably was a tractor-trailer driver who rolled into town selling snowmobiles.

Now let's see what else is making news, in the here and now....

+ Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington explained to the evening news why the Zachary Allen police investigation is taking so long. He said more than 50 interviews have been conducted - and besides, police have been busy handling other cases. So trust the city for that one-percent sales tax, and we'll settle misconduct complaints in half the time.

+ Opelika Police showed off a new kind of patrol vehicle. It's a battery-powered one-person T-3, which looks a lot like a Segway. Thanks to this, no one will be able to call officers "flatfoots" again.

+ WRBL reported the Russell County Commission is asking the state of Alabama to open an unemployment center in the county. Some people have wondered why hiring fairs for Phenix City businesses take place in Columbus. But let's face it - has anyone seen delegates from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce at those fairs, trying to recruit job-seekers away?

(Russell County Commissioner Peggy Martin explained an unemployment office is needed there because "our people need jobs." For instance, an office in Phenix City would need at least six staff members right off the bat.)

+ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution listed the "most absent lawmakers" of the 2008 legislative session. Rep. Calvin Smyre made the top ten, with 52 missed votes. Smyre has been busy this year as President of a national Black Legislators' organization - but apparently they don't allow voting by laptop from Little Rock or Baton Rouge.

(Muscogee County Republicans sent out e-mails about this list, with the title "Where's Calvin?" Shame on me -- I saw this title, and wondered if WLTZ had hired a new host for "Rise N Shine.")

+ The Georgia Senate approved new rules for professional boxing, martial arts and wrestling events. Murmurs swept through the room when the Senate President declared pro wrestling is "not a real fight." [True/GPB] We'll never get Great Championship Wrestling back from Phenix City this way....

+ The Columbus State University softball team played its first home games of the season, after 23 in a row on the road. I thought C.S.U. had a strong softball program - but when you're not even in town for the Leadoff Classic?!

+ The Columbus Cottonmouths hosted Jacksonville on "Luau Night." The game was still in progress at our post time -- but I hope no one tried to stuff an apple in Boomer the mascot's mouth.

+ Instant Message to Anne Murray: I could have changed my schedule Tuesday night, and happily sung with you at the RiverCenter. But I never heard about any open tryouts asking, "Hey hey - what about you?"

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Yup, another Blog Exclusive prompted us to post early again. We're still planning to post at around 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday and Friday -- news permitting, of course.)

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BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 682 (+ 20, 3.0%)

TRUDGE REPORT, DAY 10: 3.3 miles jogged, 0.6 miles walked. Total: 29.55 miles run, 3.6 walked

The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.

© 2003-08 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.

UPDATE 1/9:10pm....