for 20 NOV 08: (final edition) PHYLLIS IN, PLEASE

We're only a week away from Thanksgiving, yet local tipsters don't seem to be in a merciful mood. Alabama Governor Bob Riley pardoned a turkey Wednesday - but the people writing us sound like they just bought one of those new electric fryers.

BLOG EXCLUSIVE: We begin with the rumors about a former principal which won't go away. Your blog confirmed Wednesday an ethics complaint has been filed in Atlanta against Phyllis Jones, and is currently under investigation. The woman who says she retired to watch pro wrestling matches may wind up fighting for retirement benefits.

Phyllis Jones responded to the rumors about her departure from Rigdon Road School last week [10 Nov]. That led to this e-mail:

Fact--Phyllis is not going to own up to anything. Most people wouldn't. If you wanna find the truth take a look at her personnel records, Channel 9 pulled her personnel records, but they pulled it to soon. The information was not in the file yet. This is public information, check it out. If you pull it now you will find that the district has requested that her teaching license be pulled. This is not a "normal part" of retirement. It will go before a state board now and they will decide if her actions warrant the pulling of her teaching certification for Georgia. If her cert is pulled she will not be allowed to teach in Georgia any longer. Check with the news leader nine team, they pulled her records, they just pulled them a little to soon.

We made calls at the local and state level Wednesday about this. Real people answered the phone at the state level - so maybe there are times when a bloated bureaucracy in education is a good thing.

Confirmation of the complaint against Phyllis Jones came from the Georgia Professional Standards Commission. Its web site shows the commission's Ethics Division has checked more than 7,000 complaints in the last five years. The reviews have led to sanctions about 36 percent of the time -- but if teachers gamble on this case, it might spark yet another complaint.

The Georgia Professional Standards Commission tells us Phyllis Jones is accused of violating two ethical standards. One is "Misrepresentation or Falsification." That can be everything from lying on a resume to errors in reporting absences. No, the teenager Frank Lumpkin III is accused of shooting was NOT supposed to be at Rigdon Road Elementary School.

The second standard Phyllis Jones is accused of violating involves "Public Funds and Property." You'll recall someone passed along rumors about missing money from a school book fair. This standard warns against "co-mingling public or school-related funds with personal funds...." And any co-mingling in a grade school could make some conservative church pastors angry....

But lead investigator John Grant reminded us Wednesday that the filing of a complaint does NOT mean a school principal is guilty. He noted anyone can file a complaint with the state against any educator. So if I was a grade school teacher, I suppose someone could file a complaint against me for refusing to include X in the alphabet.

So what are the details of this complaint against Phyllis Jones, and who filed it? We still don't know the answers, because the Georgia Professional Standards Commission is barred from releasing details while an investigation is underway. And we haven't found those "anonymous sources" who leak things, like Barack Obama's staff has.

Did the Muscogee County School District file the complaint against Phyllis Jones? A district spokesperson did not return our voice mail Wednesday afternoon, to provide an answer. And we did NOT give the reason why we were calling - so for all Valerie Fuller knows, we could be inviting her out for Thanksgiving dinner.

John Grant in Atlanta assures me the details of the complaint against Phyllis Jones will become public record, once the investigation is complete. So for now, we're left to guess about who's accusing and why. And you know, Paul Olson has been awfully quiet for the last few months....

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E-MAIL UPDATE: On to the next case, which we first posted here at the noon hour Wednesday. No one is telling us where Frank Lumpkin III is hiding. But suddenly, everyone seems to be tracking that "distraught mama...."

Here let me help you with some of your information on Demetria Mathews.

She was not in jail yesterday in MUSCOGEE COUNTY. She was transfered to COBB County on November 11th, after her bondsman bailed her out on Theft by Shoplifting charges. So she is still in jail, but apparently her adventures take her outside the county line.

The theft by Shoplifting Charges are listed as felonies, she has had more than three convictions for prior shopliftings among other things.

Now thats home schooling!

We called metro Atlanta and confirmed much of this report Wednesday. A staff member at the Cobb County Jail told us the actual transfer of Demetria Matthews occurred on Wednesday the 12^th. So in a way, even inmates can get a break for Veterans Day....

The Cobb County Jail staff informed us Demetria Matthews was held there Wednesday on a felony shoplifting charge. For some reason, her bond has been set at $5,713. Apparently they add sales tax to the amount of the items allegedly stolen.

Someone else wants to comment about the Matthews family:

Richard..Why is the mother of the young man Frank Lumpkin shot in jail? Could it be because her minor son has not been in school in three years? Did it take the minor being shot before MCSD missed him? I noticed a group of young teens hanging around outside the Columbus Public Library last week and wondered why they were not in school. Perhaps they can absorb some knowlege by just being around the front doors of the library..

At least those youngsters were around a library. They could have been putting their lives at risk in the middle of the day, by rolling around the South Commons skateboard park.

Let's take one more e-mail - this one about the arraignment of former Pioneer Little League Board member Ron Harris:

Hi Richard

Will Ron Harris be required to stay away from the ball field this coming up season? If NOT who do I need to call? Did you know he had the nerve to show up at our teams end of the year pool party? Some kids did not even get to go to the party because of him. I would not had went had I known he was going to be there.You might not can tell someone they have to stay away from public property but you can da*n sure tell someone not to come to your house. I watched him like a hawk....hoping to make him as uncomfortable as he makes me.

Sam

I suppose Ron Harris can go anywhere he wants, until the six counts against him are resolved. But I wonder who invited Ron Harris to show up at the pool party -- and whether anyone put secret surveillance cameras underwater.

We thank all of you for writing us -- and now we'll write for you about Wednesday's news:

+ Car dealer Carl Gregory told the evening news he opposes the proposed "bailout bill" for Detroit's three automakers. Maybe I'm wrong, but that sounds to me like he's selling more Hondas than Chryslers.

+ Fort Benning held a ceremony to mark "National Native American Heritage Month." Yes, this is marked during the month of Thanksgiving. It's a wonder Republicans didn't abolish this, when they controlled Congress....

+ Mary McWaters of Phenix City was presented a winner's check for $156,000 from the Georgia Lottery. McWaters told WRBL she "feels like a millionaire." I didn't realize car and gas prices had dropped quite that much....

+ WRBL reported a student was suspended from Allen Elementary School, for having a paper gun. I can understand the "zero tolerance" policy on weapons - but wouldn't a wadded-up ball of paper be more dangerous, if something heavy was hidden inside?

+ A new "learning trail" for preschool children opened at Shirley Winston Park. It's probably better for parents than taking youngsters to Peachtree Mall -- because they'd eventually have to explain what Victoria's Secret is.

+ Former President Clinton campaigned in Atlanta for Senate candidate Jim Martin. But ABC News reported President-Elect Obama is NOT likely to campaign in Georgia before the runoff. Of course, Mr. Obama has an easy alternative - starting a chain e-mail with his Blackberry.

+ A national survey revealed Auburn University President Jay Gogue is paid about $725,000 a year. That makes him the 12^th highest-paid college president in the country. But before you get upset, consider this - Gogue probably has had a better fall semester than Tommy Tuberville.

+ Mercer edged Auburn in men's college basketball 78-74. Mercer completed an Alabama sweep, after winning in Tuscaloosa Sunday -- so college sports fans there are welcome to go into hibernation after Alabama's bowl game, and not wake up until March.

(As I listened to the Mercer-Auburn game on WSHE, I'm not sure which was more embarrassing. Either the Tigers losing - or the host with the halftime scores presuming IPFW stood for "Indiana-Purdue Fort WORTH.")

+ Columbus High School volleyball player Taylor Buckner signed a scholarship to attend college at Southeastern Louisiana. Buckner says she plans to major in political science - so in a few years, she may be lobbying Congress for still more Hurricane Katrina relief money.

(Shame on me - for a moment I thought Southeastern Louisiana was a religious college. After all, score boxes on TV can abbreviate it as "SE-LA.")

+ Instant Message to the top officials of al-Qaeda: About that Wednesday audio message -- didn't you get the e-mails I read? Don't you realize Barack Obama is still a Muslim? Don't you realize he's a friend of terrorists, just like you guys? Or do you recognize weird theories of radical extremists when you hear them?

Today's main topics were the result of blog readers' tips. To offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation, advertise to our readers or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.

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UPDATE 1....