26 SEP 08: DON'T MESS WITH LEFTY

Thursday marked the end of a long project for me - and while I'm resigned about it, I can't really say I'm happy about it. That's because the project was stolen. Thankfully, it happened several doors down from the other big project of the day - doing laundry.

The project was stolen sometime since last Saturday, in the latest criminal act against Millie's Corner on South Lumpkin Road. The store continues to be a target, almost three months after a cook was shot on Independence Day -- and the manager admits he's ready to kill the next person who attempts a break-in. Now there's a way to appeal for more police protection....

For several years, manager Lefty Incarnacion allowed me to have a rack outside Millie's Corner for distributing free religious magazines. I paid him back from time to time by purchasing items from the store - but when he stopped selling the Lance 10-packs of cookies, things admittedly became hard.

The magazine rack wasn't outside Millie's Corner Thursday. I thought it might have been left inside for some reason, but I couldn't find it there either. That made me concerned - and in a couple of minutes, my fears were confirmed. The rack had been stolen. And it was NOT the work of a competing church in the strip mall.

"It's these kids, man," Lefty Incarnacion said with a shrug of the shoulders when I asked about the magazine rack. His store is located across the street from Eddy Middle School - a school praised by Georgia School Superintendent Kathy Cox Wednesday. Or is this sneaky plot by youngsters down the block, at Our Lady of Lourdes?

"They took the other rack, too," Lefty Incarnacion continued -- a rack offering the newspaper "American Classifieds." I heard someone Thursday call it by the old name "Thrifty Nickel." If you think it's thrifty to save a nickel nowadays, you have an even more pessimistic view of the economy than President Bush.

"I yelled at them to try to stop them," Lefty Incarnacion explained. But the thieves got away, even though they left one rack in the parking lot. If the religious magazine wasn't the one "left behind," there could be a deep spiritual meaning there....

"They broke my window again, too," Lefty Incarnacion added. That vandalism happened a couple of weeks ago. Break enough things at a business, and you might break something else -- an owner's property insurance policy.

Lefty Incarnacion talked with an even tone, but he clearly is fed up by a series of crimes at Millie's Corner. "I'm sleeping here at night," he revealed to another customer alongside me, "and if I catch them breaking in, I'm gonna kill 'em." The good news for Incarnacion is that there's now a law office a few doors down from his store....

"I'll let the Ledger-Enquirer...." Lefty Incarnacion mumbled more as he walked away from us, but I didn't hear what he said. Considering Millie's Corner doesn't sell the daily newspaper, I'm assuming it was NOT very nice.

Lefty Incarnacion is a "Nuyorican" -- having moved to Columbus from New York. He probably figured this area would have less of a crime problem. But instead, Millie's Corner has seen its own whirlwind of crime in the last three months - from theft and vandalism to an in-store shooting. About the only thing is a visit from the "Law and Order" detectives.

To be honest, I've wondered for months if someone was stealing the magazines I put in the rack. More often than not this year, my weekly checks have found the rack empty. Now the metal magazine stand - but at least it was there several years. Cardboard box stands at the old Bagel Break on Broadway seemed to vanish within a week.

Since Lefty Incarnacion has talked about putting Millie's Corner up for sale, I've decided NOT to replace the missing rack of religious magazines. But I hope the thieves actually sat down to read one of those publications. They might just read something which helps them realize they're doing something wrong.

And another thing: don't these criminals realize if they shut down Millie's Corner and the shops around it, they're only hurting themselves? They'll suddenly have fewer things to steal....

BLOG UPDATE: The Harris County Sheriff's Department denied rumors Thursday that Sheriff Mike Jolley has been "dismissed." And there was no news release from Governor Sonny Perdue, indicating he had might have intervened to fire Jolley. So those of you who oppose him may have to take the old-fashioned approach - and vote him out in November.

In fact, WRBL interviewed Harris County Sheriff Mike Jolley Thursday - in his office, wearing a sheriff's sport shirt. At no point did Chris Hansen from "Dateline NBC" walk into the room, with a decoy officer holding a set of handcuffs.

One rumor which came our way linked the Harris County Sheriff to the board of directors at Columbus Community Bank. But the bank's web site doesn't show Mike Jolley on the board. Rumor-spreaders need to learn we're in 2008 - and you can't outrun the Internet researchers.

The Harris County Manager told the evening news Sheriff Mike Jolley is NOT under investigation. Danny Bridges said some of the accusations made in a woman's letter are inaccurate. So the woman who claimed DARE money is missing might really be a DARE-devil.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now to the biggest business story Columbus has seen in awhile....

Tell me, Richard... after Charbroil (WC Bradley) left for China, did you ever see any local media offering even a few minutes of service to all those former employees (and their families) who were left at the pier unemployed? The whole thing was on how long and how well they, Bradley/Charbroil, had served the community in the past. It was like we were all supposed to go to the docks and wave our hankies at them as they sailed away with our jobs!

Now it's Bill Heard turn... but this time, it IS all about those former employees!

Is there something just a little disgenuine here? Is there even an ounce of objectivity in the media anymore?

- Redoubt

Maybe I'm not clear on the question - but I do recall TV newscasts reporting on the laid-off Char-Broil workers, including the final day for employees at the plant near Bradley Park Drive. But that was four years ago [17 Nov 04]. In Columbus television news, that's about two generations ago.

The difference here may be that W.C. Bradley took several months to shut down the Char-Broil plant, while Bill Heard Chevrolet's closing is much faster. In fact. it's as sudden as jamming on the brakes when the traffic light changes on Manchester Expressway in front of the dealership.

Another difference could be the cloud of complaints which have hovered around Bill Heard Chevrolet for years. One message board posting claims Heard "had to close shop because he got caught [defrauding] GM on his floorplanning, and GM yanked his financing." Huh?! Did the managers promise five Chevrolets in the showroom, and only made room for three?

Bill Heard Enterprises isn't helping much with the media "objectivity" right now. It's released only a short statement about its closing, while managers have said nothing on camera. The next time Bill Heard Jr. gives an interview, he may have to be lured onto CNBC by Dan Amos.

Most Bill Heard Chevrolet employees picked up their final paycheck and termination papers Thursday. The only people on the job were working in the body shop. How ironic is that - they were working on bodies, while some say the dealership lost its soul.

Mike Gaymon of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce admits the shutdown of Bill Heard Chevrolet was stunning. But he told WRBL we should be thankful that "Fort Benning's growing, Kia's growing...." Hey, that's it - Autosport of Columbus could become the "world's largest Kia dealer."

By the way, we called the Muscogee County School District Thursday and asked about the leased Chevrolet by the Teacher of the Year. We're waiting for a response - and whether Melissa Wilks is trying to work out something with Glynn-Smith Chevrolet in Opelika.

Now for some other quick items from Thursday's news....

+ A federal jury ruled former Columbus Police officer Alicia Davenport received gender discrimination from three other officers, but NOT race discrimination. The jury found the city at fault, but NOT Police Chief Ricky Boren - which has me confused, because I thought this suit was filed before Jim Wetherington became mayor.

(The federal jury awarded Alicia Davenport $5,000 in damages. That's not a lot in 2008. After she pays the attorneys' bills, Davenport might be able to celebrate with a Burger King combo meal.)

+ Columbus State University staged a parade and convocation downtown, to mark the end of its 50^th anniversary celebration. The ceremony included people playing bagpipes and wearing kilts. I didn't know C.S.U. was offering language courses in Scottish....

+ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas visited the University of Georgia football team. Wow - they're taking this "blackout" weekend all the way, aren't they?

+ Troup County trampled Northside 36-0 in high school football. WRBL's Shawn Skillman declared the game was broadcast on "the WOKS radio network." Network?! On some nights, it sounds like WOKS barely can afford to extend tin cans with string from the stadium to its studio.

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