27 AUG 08: OUT OF THE GRAY

If you think all the Democrats are glued to TV sets watching C-SPAN this week, you're wrong. I found an exception the other night - a woman who admits she wasn't watching, because she had to put her twin sons to bed at 9:30 p.m. And no, I don't think she's a disgruntled Hillary Rodham Clinton supporter....

The woman who was tending to her children was Julia Slater, the Democrat who's running for Muscogee County District Attorney. I decided I owed her a call back, after last week's rumblings about Mark Shelnutt and suspects receiving "low bonds." I keep waiting for a candidate to declare them junk bonds.

Julia Slater's point is that if low bonds are given to criminal suspects in Recorder's Court, District Attorney Gray Conger has only himself to blame. Slater says Conger has chosen to keep his staff away from preliminary hearings, where initial bonds are set. Show up late for the ball game, and you might miss the most important play.

Julia Slater says if she's elected District Attorney, she plans to have prosecutors present at Recorder's Court hearings. The present staff is hereby put on notice - those hearings sometimes start at 8:00 a.m., so you might not be able to sleep late anymore.

District Attorney Gray Conger apparently tried a different approach, after learning about the two "low bonds" set by Judge Haywood Turner. He had the suspects arrested again on additional charges. Griffin Rotary Club President Frank Stuart Thompson now faces five new counts, with a total bond of $45,000. If he met that bond Tuesday, I think a judge will turn over the "river" card.

I couldn't help noticing Tuesday night that Frank Stuart Thompson's picture has been removed from the Griffin Rotary Club home page [21 Aug], and the club President's page now is practically empty. There's no explanation posted for it -- so what have the Rotarians done with their Big Wheel?

But back to the race: Julia Slater is a former Assistant District Attorney, who says she plans to reorganize the office if she's elected. Admittedly, I did NOT ask if she'd buy furniture from Kinder's or Rooms to Go....

No wait: Julia Slater really means she wants to reorganize the prosecution staff. She says Assistant District Attorneys have become too specialized in specific criminal areas. If those 100 new police officers drive down the homicide rate, the murder attorneys are going to have find other things to do.

Julia Slater's web site adds she wants a renewed focus on the "Crimes Against Children Unit" in the District Attorney's office. It's time we went back to the good old days - when a crime against a child meant the older brother or sister took a bigger piece of cake.

With ten weeks left before Election Day, Julia Slater says she's emphasizing what she plans to do as District Attorney. She seemed stunned by my suggestion that she might have a clip file of Gray Conger stories, ready to use against him. Perhaps some of Slater's lawyer friends were assigned that duty....

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION on Hurtsboro's future ended Tuesday afternoon - and 77 percent of our voters say the Russell County town should have its charter taken away (17-5). The Tuesday evening news said a judge's ruling on that could come within days. Perhaps he was waiting to see if anyone showed up to vote in the city election.

The question on Hurtsboro's charter sparked perhaps the liveliest discussion of any poll we've had. The comments somehow continued after we closed the poll on our multimedia page - making us wonder how many voters were Georgia Tech students learning about computer hacking.

Supporters of the charter suspension praised "vigilant activist" Robert Schweiger for his efforts. In fact, one voter urged Schweiger to "start working Columbus Council and the corruption there." Well, Schweiger's giving up the Constable position - so he could commute to Columbus as a new police officer.

But others called Constable Schweiger an "old man with no life," who tries "to make everyone in his community miserable." Maybe he should learn from the late Lonnie Jackson, and start a summer tutorial program.

One voter said Hurtsboro could survive as a town with a Mayor and City Council "who are willing to listen to the people." He cited mayoral candidate Ray Tapley, who advanced Tuesday to an October runoff against Teutonya Burns. Some of us thought "Teutonya" was what an auto painting shop offers to do....

The controversial Constable sent us e-mail during our question, and we decided to hold it until the voting was closed:

Sir Richard:

Just a short post to thank you for running the "Hurt'sboro poll. It's appreciated!

Just as one commenter noted; you are spreading the "word," world-wide. I've received personal queries from quite a distance - all of them favorable!

I also want to "thank" the individual who characterized me unfavorably - it's nice to hear both sides of the story - even if it's contorted! But, if these folks wish to debase me - I wish they would spell their words correctly and use good grammar! You can read between the lines and question their intellectual capacity!

I don't know how long you intend to continue to run the poll; but I think it's serving its purpose. Thank you Sir Richard - I'm sure that there's more to come!!

Constable R.J. Schweiger

How we wish everyone would "spell their words correctly." Like the title of "Mayor" in Hurtsboro - or even grammar in this message....

There likely will be "more to come" in Hurtsboro. If the Macon County judge assigned to the case decides to revoke the city charter, that decision probably could be appealed all the way to Alabama's Supreme Court. But that court removed Roy Moore from office, and a 150-year-old town isn't that much more of an institution.

Several other elections in the area top our review of Tuesday's news....

+ Sonny Coulter won the mayor's race in Phenix City. He's now been elected to that office four separate times -- and in an even stranger twist for Alabama politics, his wife never has run for the job.

+ Arnold Leak was reelected mayor of Valley. Of course, this means instead of "news leaks" from City Hall we'll have Leak's news.

+ Jay Jaxon won another term as mayor of Eufaula, and by an even wider margin than in 2004. But loser Randall Greene's name may not be out of the spotlight long - because Bill Heard may have some car lots to sell to him.

+ Looking ahead to 2010, David Poythress announced he'll run for Georgia Governor. Poythress is currently "adjutant-general" of the Georgia National Guard. And since he's a Democrat, he may also run as the agitated General.

+ Columbus Council heard about plans to bring back riverboat tours on the Chattahoochee River this fall. Some people I know heard this idea, and openly wondered what sights are worth seeing along the river. Maybe I should call the Convention and Visitors Bureau, and negotiate a deal for my Riverwalk runs.

(There used to be riverboat tours on the Chattahoochee. But they stopped a few years ago, and the Trade Center renovations may have made the old dock at Eighth Street unusable. So why not combine two activities in one - and have passengers go to the riverboat in a kayak?)

SCHEDULED THURSDAY: One man's story of years in local law enforcement. This blog exclusive may stun you....

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