16 JUN 08: THEY DON'T HAVE A CLUE
As of Sunday afternoon, it still sat there. It was minding its own business, but it might as well have been screaming at my brain and conscience. And here's the most amazing thing - this was AFTER I finished the package of chocolate chip cookies....
Last weekend we asked an open-ended question here: Who left a black ski mask with a couple of small eye-holes on the ground, at a Columbus street corner? After all, it's the sort of all-purpose costume you can wear to multiple parties.
We joked at the time about why the hat might have been left there - but the real reason seemed obvious to me. It's Columbus. It's June. People don't carry ski masks with cut-out eye holes unless they're wearing it to commit a crime. Well, unless they're dreaming of becoming masked pro wrestlers.
I considered the ski mask and its location suspicious - but I didn't dare pick it up. That would have put my DNA all over the item. And the next thing I knew.... well, come to think of it, staring face-to-face at the beautiful Emily Proctor as she questioned me on "CSI: Miami" might be fun.
So I did what a good citizen is supposed to do. Even before I mentioned the ski mask here, I called Columbus Police and reported my discovery. I gave an officer the exact location of the mask -- something we're still not doing here. I don't want to give a criminal any help. Especially someone who's too poor to go buy a ski mask of his own, to disguise his identity.
Admittedly, the ski mask on the street corner is evidence in search of a crime. But you'd think Columbus Police would want to pick it up and test it. It might match a suspect already behind bars - or lead to the arrest of a girlfriend who feels forced to do some spring cleaning.
But instead, the ski mask has stayed on that street corner for at least nine days. Who knows if any trace evidence was lost, when rain fell on it over the weekend? The DNA may have made as clean a getaway as the criminal wearing it.
Does a case like this show the need for more Columbus police officers? Are all the detectives so busy these days that no one can stop by a street corner, and pick up a suspicious ski mask? Or are the prison inmates who mow lawns somehow considered trustworthy enough to handle it?
THE BIG BLOG QUESTION returns in the wake of this -- as we're now within one month of the Columbus city sales tax vote on "streets and safety." Do you plan to vote for it or against it? Or are you officially "not eligible" -- but ready to file another set of absentee ballots from Russell County?
BLOG UPDATE: Last December, a business owner on North Lumpkin Road told us of plans for a Waffle House on Victory Drive. It was supposed to be on the old site of a Burger King [26 Dec 07]. Six months later, that statement appears to be wrong -- unless the Hibachi Express on that site sells some kind of Japanese waffles.
There are other spots along Victory Drive which would make nice locations for a Waffle House. But let's face it - the cheap drive-in motels are going fast.
Now a quick check of the Father's Day news....
+ A dinner-hour storm dropped heavy rain across much of Columbus. A National Weather Service statement said the worst rain would be over "rural areas of Muscogee County." I think that's what the rest of us call that state park along the Harris County line.
+ Millie's Market on South Lumpkin Road staged a "military appreciation day" party for soldiers. So when do the Saturday protesters on Veterans Parkway downtown plan to do something like this? All you need are a few cases of vegetarian soy patties....
+ "The 13th Alley" which premiered in Columbus failed to place among the top 12 movies, in weekend box office sales. But then again, opening in 13h on Friday the 13th may have been exactly what the producers had in mind.
+ Mitch Krywulycz won the Southeastern Amateur golf tournament at the Country Club of Columbus. This surprised a lot of people - who didn't think someone with that complicated a last name would be allowed inside the Country Club of Columbus.
+ The final day of the "President's Cup" youth soccer tournament was held at the Woodruff Farm complex. Players and parents from many states filled Columbus motel rooms over the weekend. You can spot those rooms by the round divots in the middle of the beds.
To offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation, advertise to our readers 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: 817 (- 43, 5.0%)
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.