7 MAR 08: ONLY A BLUFF

The federal government responded Thursday to a series of complaints, about a place in Russell County I'd never heard of before. That place is reopening, after being closed a week longer than expected. But before you get the wrong idea - no, I'm NOT talking about Hurtsboro City Hall....

The place is called Bluff Creek Park -- a spot along the Chattahoochee River and Alabama Highway 165 near Fort Mitchell. I don't recall reading about it in any tourist guides to the Columbus area. Is it so well hidden that the Convention and Visitors Bureau can't find it?

The web site promoting Bluff Creek Park has a map, showing it at the edge of Walter F. George Lake. That seems misleading, because the park is located well inside Russell County. But I guess that explains why Eufaula doesn't want its lake name attached to it.

(Please be careful, and don't confuse Bluff Creek Park with "Bluff Creek Falls." That campground northeast of Birmingham is described online as all-male, and "clothing optional." And any campground offering a hot tub and weekly "cocktail hours" in Alabama should immediately be considered suspicious.)

The Army Corps of Engineers has opened Bluff Creek Park for fishing and camping from spring until fall for years. But when the park didn't open last week at the end of February, some regular visitors became concerned. And a few did what they considered appropriate for that week - they started leaping to conclusions.

One woman told me the Army Corps of Engineers planned to close Bluff Creek Park completely, because it couldn't afford to operate it. "If the federal government can't afford to keep it open," the woman said, "let the state run it." As if the state of Alabama isn't required to have a balanced budget, either....

The woman said Bluff Creek Park is a place where retirees go to fish and camp. She made it sound like there's no other place in the area to do it - even though the Corps of Engineers lists three other pay-to-camp areas around Walter George Lake, along with spots where you can camp for free. The picnic tables at Bluff Creek must be the best ones in East Alabama.

The news media responded to the fans of Bluff Creek Park by paying it a visit Thursday. One person told me the campground supporters he met were "cursing, smoking cigarettes and complaining." He could have walked into most bars and veterans' halls in Columbus, and saved a long road trip.

An Army Corps of Engineers spokesman denied Bluff Creek Park is closing for good. Instead, he explained the opening this year was delayed because of an eight-percent funding cut by Congress. Look on the bright side -- it probably provided the Corps more money to fill West Point Lake with water.

The Army Corps of Engineers spokesman offered assurance that the budget questions with Bluff Creek Park now have been resolved. But it isn't clear HOW the money matter was resolved. Did Mike Huckabee give the government some unspent campaign donations?

So if all goes well, Bluff Creek Park could reopen for visitors this weekend. Long-time campers will be able to meet old friends, hook up their RV's for water and electricity, enjoy hot showers and a coin laundry - why, it's almost like a Columbus apartment complex on wheels.

Now a quick cruise around other Thursday news headlines:

+ Mayor Jim Wetherington told the Ledger-Enquirer the internal police investigation into the Zachary Allen controversy should end "soon." An important deadline in this case is approaching, you know. July 15 is the date for the public safety sales tax vote.

+ Blue Bell surprised the entire student body of Columbus High School with free ice cream, to celebrate Georgia Teacher of the Year finalist Charles Spraggins. The company pulled this surprise at 7:45 in the morning! Really now - I don't even see Bruster's ice cream stands open for breakfast.

+ The Georgia Legislature gave final approval to a bill requiring uninsured drivers to serve time in jail. As the late Johnnie Cochran might have put it: Get comprehensive, get some collision - or you'll be making a bad decision.

+ The Georgia Board of Regents voted to give University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt an $800,000 raise. That's a jump in his salary of 40 percent -- so those children he helps on mission trips in Latin America could enjoy the first steak dinners of their lives.

+ Instant Message to the Atlanta Falcons: OK, here's my idea. Advertise for a quarterbacks' coach. Give the job to Brett Favre. Then around the end of August, secretly send all the quarterbacks on the roster into exile in Venezuela - and watch that old backup come to the rescue again.

This blog has thousands of visits every month, from Columbus and around the world. To advertise to them, offer a story tip or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 796 (+ 15, 1.9%)

TRUDGE REPORT, DAY 4: Fifth place in poker at.... no wait, that doesn't count....

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.