1 JUN 08: WINNING TOO MUCH

Columbus gained yet another baseball champion Saturday evening - and it has a lot in common with the last one. The Columbus Catfish surprised a lot of people last September. And be honest: when you picked the picks of the parks this spring, did you pick PAC? Or put PAC in the back of the park pack?

Pacelli picked up the GHSA Class A baseball title, by beating Landmark Christian in Fairburn 10-5. It was the sort of conflict we're not used to seeing in the South - especially with the Catholics prevailing over the evangelical Protestants.

Pacelli was powered at the plate by Matthew Rossi, who hit three homers and drove in five runs. But of course, 60 percent of the runs he drove in were Rossi himself. Political candidates would dismiss this as an example of extreme selfishness.

(And here's the amazing thing: Matthew Rossi is a freshman. Imagine all the recruiters who will be knocking on his door this summer - you know, from Russell County, Columbus High and Shaw....)

I'm not sure if he was the official winning pitcher, but Stuart Wilkerson had more than four strong innings for Pacelli. Yet someone should have told him about the bad "eye black" job under his right eye. He'll never succeed on America's Next Top Model with a runny look like that.

Chris Leak managed Pacelli to a state championship in his first year on the job. Don't you wonder if his contract has some "incentive bonuses" included? For instance, for every player he persuades to enter a seminary....

Pacelli succeeded in winning a state baseball title this year -- while Brookstone, Columbus High and Shaw fell short. Supporters of Ronald Reagan should be thrilled by this. It shows the concept of "trickle-down economics" sometimes really works.

So Pacelli may well have its state baseball title mentioned on highways leading to Columbus, to honor.... well, hold on a minute. I checked carefully on I-185 as I drove home from vacation, and there's still no sign honoring Carver High School's state football title. It was promised in late December [24 Dec 07]. Do we need to add that to the one-cent sales tax list, too?

When the Northern All-Stars won the Little League World Series in 2006, signs marking the historic moment were posted within a couple of weeks. Carver fans are entering their sixth month of waiting. Have the Muscogee County Prison inmates been THAT busy cutting lawns?

I'm hearing the city of Columbus is developing a set of large signs, to honor ALL local sports champions. That would mean not only Carver football, but Jordan boys and Kendrick girls basketball from the last couple of seasons. Add all the high school baseball titles, and drivers could become so distracted reading the sign that they'll get into crashes.

E-MAIL UPDATE: While we were away on vacation, a reader informed us about another high school surprise. The message was titled: "Sports Illustrated ain't got nothin'"....

check out Northside's 2008 yearbook....page 233(if that isn' t the correct number just flip thru the senior collage pages and you won't miss the pic I am referring too..... .....A HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK??????????????...........I would hope that the school administration also finds that inappropriate...........Call me a prude but enough already....A HIGH SCHOOL YEARBOOK???????????????????????????????????????????????

I don't think local libraries keep high school yearbooks, so I'm not sure how to track one down. But this reader makes it sound like some Northside seniors belong to the Classless of 2008.

One Northside parent told me about other problems with this year's yearbook. It reportedly has bad misspellings, including wrong versions of "faculty" and "principal." This may explain why Georgia contestants never seem to make the final night of the National Spelling Bee.

(And you'd think the Northside yearbook staff would be extra-careful with spelling. Their book is called the "Amor Patriae." Foul up one or two letters, and people will think it's about Aflac and the Amos family.)

Did you realize the 2007 Northside High School yearbook was a national award-winner? It joined Hardaway High in receiving second-place honors from the American Scholastic Press Association. Maybe this year's staff decided to "go all the way" - only they went the wrong way to do it.

We've also heard in recent days from a community activist, and occasional candidate:

Mr. Burkard,

I just recently heard about your blog and its references to me. I must say, I am somewhat honored to have you write anything about me or my concerns.

As I am sure by now you know that I have HIV. I have been dealing with it for a few years now. In life, when you are told your health is failing and the current medications your taking are not working, you tend to have a lot of regrets which in turn make people run out and try to live it up. Dealing with HIV and AIDS has been a true trial and test to my character as a person and a human being. I see so many things that need to be changed and fixed as I am sure you and each one of your readers see things you wish you could change as well. I'll do whatever I can to help others and make life better here for residents and businesses. We learn to live with our flaws and work around them as I intend to do for the rest of my life. I cannot let an illness hold me back from doing what my heart and soul are leading me to do. Regardless if I choose to run and then not to, my voice is still heard. I urge everyone to add their voices and make them heard. We have so many people who restrain their will and bite their tongues when they should stand up and speak out for what they believe. That's the beauty of being an American. Each one of us can do what I do everyday and make our thoughts, our feelings, and our emotions known.

The town of Columbus has leadership that treats our city as a small one and never looking ahead to tomorrow. We are a large city and we must start thinking ahead instead of always working from behind. The city and the school board have made some real blunders in their decision making, but so has every other government in every other city and state and country. People continue to vote down the tools needed for this city to effectively operate and protect its citizens. That is what I meant by Columbus holding grudges [15 Jan]. Citizens continuously want to complain about the decisions their leaders have made, but then turn around and re-elect those same leaders again and again. This city council needs terms limits as well to help keep fresh minds at work in our cities government. We have to correct the problems our city faces and we must do it soon. We need a public transit system that will connect us to Lagrange, Newnan, West Point and even across the bridge to Phenix City, Opelika and Auburn. We must overcome our dependence on oil. We can have people get up in Columbus and hop on the train to West Point and go to work at the Kia Plant everyday instead of driving back and forth or students who live in Columbus and attend Auburn. This will save on dorm costs alone. We must start now working with our neighbors while the lands that sit in between remain rural and undeveloped. Now is the time to begin construction, not seven years from now when gas prices are expected to be around $7 to $8 a gallon. We need proactive thinking at work in our cities government.

As far as the Protect our Kids program went, undoubtedly you didn't get my report on how Columbus is exceeding the expectations on the safety of our kids. They already have surveillance equipment installed in all High Schools and most Middle Schools which I believe are now fully done. The only thing at that point that wasn't were the Elementary Schools. Fife Whiteside explained the cost and time changes that would have to take place for metal detectors to be put into place which was astronomical not to mention how early kids would have to get to school to be checked in. The MCSD has drills now for things like school shootings or disasters. I was most impressed with the procedures that have already been put into place.

As far as Shley's seat is concerned, he doesn't run till next year. So, that is time for me to adjust to this new medication. Let me explain something to you about AIDS medications and ask any doctor if you wish, the cocktail that we take is just like taking chemotherapy in many ways. The main reason I chose to run again this year when I said I would not was simply due to problems that this city faces that never seem to change. We need to clean this city up and be working with our neighbors and other states on bringing new jobs to Columbus, something our current administration isn't doing. The only thing our Mayor has on his agenda is beefing up our public safety. "I was elected to make our city safe and that's what I am going to focus on doing now." Wetherington has said that to me time and time again. That's not enough. We need our leaders to be working to attract businesses to Columbus. Aflac and TSYS (and all sister companies) is it. How many more positions can they fill before they are "Not Hiring"?

I at least thank you for taking interest in what I have to say and my actions here in the city. I care a great deal about this city that I was born and raised in. I want to see Columbus succeed and surpass all others. But most importantly, I do not want to see our great city fail. My time right now should be spent on doing what I feel in my heart to be important. When I was told I shouldn't run, it broke my heart because I want to leave behind a legacy. I want to work to help others live a better, fulfilling life. I want people to be happy. These are very trying times for everyone. God has a way of guiding us and directing our lives. And I believe right now His purpose within me is to help those who are already suffering with HIV and AIDS. So many walk with their heads hung down in shame and hide their illness from others because of the ignorance people still portray. We have nothing in Columbus geared at helping those with HIV and AIDS live better healthier lives with the exception to District Clinical Services. I will send you the Mission Statement to my new Non Profit awaiting 501(c) 3 approval. I will also send you the speech that I gave the other night at the AIDS Candlelight Memorial. Right now, I am concerned with helping out my brothers and sisters who are living with HIV and AIDS. AIDS currently infects 3000 each year in Georgia alone. There are currently 30,000 living with HIV in Georgia now. Yet, AIDS is ignored in the US and that is why there are 40,000 new infections here in our country each year. Anyhow, this is all in the speech I will send to you.

Regardless of what I choose to do with my life, know that it will be spent helping others. I just wish people could see each other as I do. We are all the same in one way because we are all one race, and that is human. Live Well and God Bless!

Sincerely,

Jeremy Hobbs

Jeremy may be like many people we've mentioned in this blog over the years. They're "somewhat honored" to be included - with the "somewhat" added after they read the punch lines.

Jeremy Hobbs lists some interesting ideas in this e-mail. The idea of a regional public transit system sounds great. But maybe we should start small -- like having METRA add a bus stop at the Columbus Airport.

Isn't it a sad commentary on our society when people are talking about installing metal detectors at grade schools? I realize children enjoy drinking 12-ounce cans of soda, but really....

Philip Schley's term on the Muscogee County School Board actually expires in 2010. So Jeremy Hobbs has extra time to check how his HIV medication is working. Maybe Hobbs will turn out to be a local version of Magic Johnson - and not only live well with HIV for more than a decade, but open his own chain of movie theaters.

We thank all of you who discover us, read us and write us. Now let's check other highlights of the weekend....

+ Columbus had its hottest day of the year so far, with a Saturday high of 92 degrees F. I finally succumbed, and turned on my air conditioner in the evening -- which means I should thank all the copper thieves for not stealing it during the off-season.

+ Zachary Allen made the evening news again, as he was arrested for drunk driving on Veterans Parkway. At least this time, he wasn't stopped by the Fire Department....

+ WLTZ reported the Food Network will do a program about the Lance Foods plant near downtown Columbus. The plant makes "Late July Organic Classic Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers." Which means they're made here, and probably not sold at any store closer than Auburn.

(Let's face it - ask many people in Columbus if they want something "organic," and they'll think of a church sanctuary.)

+ Instant Message to the staff at Golden Park: What happened with the national anthem, before Friday night's Catfish game? Did the singer choke up, and forget the words? Did the singer's microphone give out? Or does some baseball player from Venezuela need to be sent home, to do political work for Hugo Chavez?

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