27 JUN 08: YOU DROPPED A BOMB NEAR ME

Columbus Fire investigators ruled Thursday a fire at the old Swift Mill on Sixth Avenue was accidental. In a way, that was a relief - as there are too many laid-off mill workers who could be considered suspects.

But the investigation revealed something surprising. Shortly before the fire broke out Wednesday afternoon, part of the mill was being used for training with smoke bombs. If a company can do that, why doesn't someone renovate the entire mill for paintball and skateboarding?

The smoke bomb exercise was conducted by a local company called National Security Associates. Its web site promises to provide "technical and tactical counter-terrorist training...." Critics will say it's simply advancing the Columbus "police state" several blocks northeast - and before long, METRA bus drivers will be uniformed.

National Security Associates has a location in Cusseta which it uses for training. Based on the company's web site, the staff might want to "stand down" one week soon - for training in how to properly spell Cusseta.

The NSA training site in Chattahoochee County is next to Fort Benning - and it sounds a lot like a proposed development which has caused debate in Marion County. It has a building for shooting practice, as well as seven different ranges. Why, I think it has almost as many ranges as the Columbus Sears store.

NSA offers to do security training at all kinds of locations around the world, from apartments to casinos. Based on what I saw at a Kansas City casino in May, a team could fire smoke bombs all day without most slot machine players noticing.

That sort of remote training apparently brought NSA to the old Swift Mill - but that didn't please workers in nearby offices. One of them told WRBL Thursday her staff should have been told about the smoke bomb work. After all, the health effects of second-hand smoke have been known for years.

But Columbus Fire Marshal Thomas Streeter said security training occurs in run-down mills all the time, and the companies are NOT required to tell anyone what they're doing. If they told all, Iran would know how to move its nuclear secrets before Israel launches its.... oops, please ignore that last sentence....

I can understand why the people in nearby offices would want to know about smoke bomb training. But shouldn't this standard apply to everyone? The Port Columbus staff needs to pass out warning flyers around South Commons, before firing those old cannons.

The owner of NSA indicated all was well when his company's training mission ended. But an explosion was reported at Swift Mill around 4:30 p.m. So this was one time when the company was happy to end a project with a whimper, not a bang.

The Columbus Fire Marshal decided the Swift Mill fire largely had another source - sandblasting in another part of the building, which ignited cotton dust. This happened only months after that deadly sugar dust explosion near Savannah. It's enough to make some people run out this weekend, and buy several cans of Pledge.

>> How did things go for us at Thursday's poker night? The answer's waiting at our new blog -- "On the Flop!" <<

BLOG UPDATE: Thursday's qualifying at the Muscogee County Election Board brought a couple of familiar names. Sheriff Ralph Johnson filed for re-election. So did Mayor Pro Tem Evelyn Turner Pugh - who has to be thankful her husband's race for State Senate will be over in mid-July, so she won't be torn about which campaign event to attend.

A second challenger emerged Thursday for Red McDaniel's Columbus Council seat, when Steve Miller filed for office. With a name like that, he could get lots of votes. But personally, I grew tired of his band playing "Fly Like an Eagle" when I was in college.

Muscogee County School Board member Patricia Hugley Green received opposition from realtor Mary Walker. There's already a James Walker on the board, who's running for another term. Put two Walkers on the same board in Columbus, and most people automatically will assume they're as married as the Hugleys.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Our mention of Columbus gas prices Thursday brought a note from the suburbs....

Mr. Burkard,

Just so you know, the Castle station just south of Smiths Station always has fuel priced a few cents lower than places in Columbus. And it is not an Ethanol mix. Two other places in the area with prices that beat Columbus are the station on the Phenix bypass (just south of Arbys) and the Castle Fuels at the intersection of US 431 and hwy 165, just south of CVCC.

And,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I love your Blog. D. Whitley

Phenix City

Thank you, D. -- and I've found gas stations across Lee County have beaten Columbus's lowest price in recent months. I guess the oil companies are running scared, from that little school in Salem with algae fuel.

Now for other Thursday short subjects....

+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported there's a new bronze cougar on the Columbus State University campus. But the artwork was a bit disappointing - because the cougar's face doesn't look like outgoing President Frank Brown at all.

(The cougar outside the Lumpkin Center cost Columbus State $13,000. But remember, you college pranksters - it's bronze, not gold. You can't haul it down the street to that jewelry shop and hock it for extra money.)

+ Friedman's Jewelers at Peachtree Mall went out of business. That's a shame for shoppers - because now there's one less place at the mall to trade in your gold, to buy a nice suit at Dillard's.

+ Hurtsboro Constable Robert Schweiger appeared on the noon news, promoting a weekend horse show at Austin-Sumbry Park in Russell County. He's so involved with horses that it doesn't seem right to call him a lame duck.

+ WLTZ continued a week-long focus on Eufaula, which happens to be sponsored by "Eufaula, Alabama." I guess this explains why Wednesday evening's lead news story was the Shorter Mansion -- which is only 124 years old.

+ WRBL announced morning news anchor Tammy Terry had a baby boy. Congratulations to both of them -- and it's comforting to know the baby will match his mother's schedule, by waking up in the middle of the night.

+ Instant Message to North Korea: OK, I guess I'll follow the President's example. In one of this blog's first entries in 2003, I declared war on you. You've made no effort to ban me, or fire missiles toward Columbus. So let's call it a temporary cease-fire.

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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.

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