29 JUN 08: LIGHT'S OUT
"Choosing a college can be a BIG decision." So said the electronic sign outside Beacon University on Veterans Parkway Saturday night. At least the administrators are making things a bit easier in Columbus - by going out of business.
If you haven't heard, Beacon University made a stunning announcement Friday - that it will shut down after the next academic year. So when the speakers at the 2009 commencement say it's "not an ending, but a beginning," feel free to laugh.
Beacon University officials will explain their situation in detail at a Monday afternoon news conference. But the news release Friday reportedly had the words "financial crisis" at the top. Of course, anyone who's 30 days behind in paying the mortgage right now probably is using those same words....
It was merely Beacon College when I moved to Columbus 11 years ago - and it had no campus at all. Beacon was located in a small building, attached to a church on 13th Avenue near the old Lewis-Jones grocery store. I went there one evening, and left convinced that Beacon only held "classes" on Wednesday Bible study nights.
But Beacon grew to university status, and moved into a multistory office building on Veterans Parkway eight years ago. So couldn't it put some offices up for rent, to help pay the bills? Or does a Christian university really need that many prayer closets?
I visited Beacon University a few times in recent years -- using its religious library to sort out some Bible questions. I hope the reference books are donated to a place where they're still accessible. And no, the central Columbus library does NOT count -- since many of its religious reference books somehow vanished between the Bradley Library and Macon Road.
Saturday's Ledger-Enquirer said Beacon University will NOT accept any more new students. Yet the electronic sign didn't indicate that Saturday night, and the Beacon web site hasn't been updated to say that. You can e-mail "admissions" - but if you get a security warning from PayPal in reply, don't touch it.
I didn't realize until I read the newspaper article that Beacon University had bought the old El Carrizo restaurant site down the street on Veterans Parkway. It planned to move the campus library there - and hopefully keep the flavor of the old management, by offering courses in Spanish.
I also didn't realize that Beacon University recently added former Muscogee County School Superintendent Guy Sims to its staff. You'll recall Sims left the local United Way to help low-income people in Columbus - and now he again is close to becoming one of them.
But it still seems stunning to me that a Christian university in a "Bible belt" city would have financial problems, and even go out of business. Aren't local churches willing to help Beacon out? Or does it cost that much to hold a week of vacation Bible school nowadays?
Assuming Beacon University actually folds, it has some assets to sell. WBUE-FM is a low-power radio station, but still should attract some buyers. And there's that old-fashioned bus parked in front of the office building - which Country's Barbecue can add to its collection on Broadway.
But there's one other option that Beacon University doesn't seem to be considering. Why not simply raise tuition? That seems to work for public universities across Alabama. The Auburn trustees approved a 12-percent tuition increase Friday - which I think is more than the increase for football season tickets.
BLOG UPDATE: The field is now set for the upcoming Columbus elections - and you'll be pleased to learn everybody loves two Columbus Councilors. Glenn Davis and Evelyn Turner Pugh are unopposed for another term. Davis is especially thankful, because he won't have to add to those $22,000 in campaign debts.
Only one candidate for Muscogee County School Board will be unopposed in November. Robert Varner of Synovus will replace Fife Whiteside - and with his financial background, maybe we'll finally learn exactly how much the new administration building costs.
>> How did things go for us at Thursday's poker night? The answer's waiting at our new blog -- "On the Flop!" <<
BIG PREDICTION UPDATE: Again this year, I misfired in predicting the Miss Georgia pageant. Miss Augusta did NOT win Saturday night - but at least she won a preliminary event Friday night. Can I declare myself ten-percent right?
Your new Miss Georgia is a Columbus woman. Chasity Hardman is the daughter of Impact Center Pastor Ann Hardman - so maybe it's no coincidence that her church moved to Victory Drive awhile back.
But Chasity Hardman did NOT compete as Miss Columbus - she was "Miss Capital City." It's an open secret that Miss Georgia hopefuls enter multiple pageants, looking for a win anywhere they can. It's tempting to compare it with singles nights at nightclubs....
E-MAIL UPDATE: Why so many infomercials? We asked that question Thursday, and the station we asked it about offers an explanation....
Richard: We will continue to show the White Springs TV network soon. Over the last few weeks the trees around our transmitter site have grown significantly and are now causing a problem with our satellite reception of White Springs. (Blocking the Satellite signal) We hope to have this fixed soon. Thanks for Watching.
Mark Snow
Columbus 11 Television
MD Broadcasting
Wow -- fast-growing trees can affect a TV station? I guess weekend rain to alleviate a drought can be bad after all.
I think we've run out of updates, so let's check other weekend headlines:
+ The Chevron station at 13th and Veterans Parkway blasted through the four-dollar gasoline ceiling in Columbus, pushing its price for regular unleaded up to $4.10 a gallon. Yet for some reason, I didn't see a long line of Cadillacs and limousines filling up there.
+ The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a final appeal of the Continental Carbon pollution case. This should settle the issue once and for all - the only "carbon nation" people in South Columbus want is a return of the old RC Cola plant.
+ The web site of meteorologist Mark Prater confirmed he's left WLTZ, and will begin working at a Birmingham TV station Monday. This must have confused the moving company - being told to send the van to Iowa, several hundred miles away from Columbus.
+ The Aflac Outdoor Games opened in South Commons. From what I'm hearing, the crowds are good and people are enjoying it. But if no Georgia Power employees are climbing those tall poles, do we REALLY know who's the fastest?
+ Former "American Idol" winner Ruben Studdard was married in suburban Birmingham. If I'm not mistaken, he's the first "Idol" champion to become married - and if Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood would like to be next, please click on the "write me" link below.
SCHEDULED MONDAY: Big news about a familiar local name, which might lead some people to celebrate.... but don't do it too soon....
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