11 DEC 08: FROM HEARD TO HERD

Wednesday was a busy day at the old Bill Heard Chevrolet on Manchester Expressway. Nearly 1,000 people applied for work with the dealership's new owner. It was enough to remind some people of a novelty song about an old movie hero - "Along Came Jones."

Emanuel Jones actually stepped outside his new car dealership, and personally greeted some job seekers in the line. It was the sort of thing you might expect a politician to do - until you remember Jones IS a politician, as a Georgia State Senator.

Emanuel Jones was hiring about 100 employees for his new Legacy Chevrolet. The sign along Manchester Expressway said the dealership will have its "grand opening" next Friday. The way car sales are going, Jones might have to mark the prices down a grand - and maybe three or four.

Emanuel Jones said he needs employees for all aspects of his dealership. He mentioned at least 15 technicians are needed for the service department. And he needs more salespeople - probably a lot more, if the crew hired in December fails to make the quota and is gone by March.

Some people reportedly waited in line two hours to fill out a job application at Legacy Chevrolet. The line reportedly wrapped its way around the building - while Peachtree Mall managers watched from down the street, wondering if a Victoria's Secret fashion show would attract as big a crowd.

Emanuel Jones is proceeding with plans to buy the old Bill Heard Chevrolet in bankruptcy court. If I understand correctly, he has about ten days to make Legacy Chevrolet a viable dealership. Not to mention checking all those cars in the parking lot for signs of rust....

But consider for a moment that long line of potential employees. What does it say about the Columbus employment market when nearly 1,000 people apply for about 100 jobs at a Chevrolet dealer? Especially when Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama sounds ready for Chevrolet to go bankrupt, and get absorbed into Honda?

Richard Shelby's opposition to loans for General Motors, Ford and Chrysler has inspired a backlash. We found out Wednesday about a campaign called "Boycott Alabama Now." Of course, this gained the immediate support of Auburn University football fans....

What would happen to Legacy Chevrolet if Richard Shelby gets his way? If Detroit's car companies don't receive loans, will General Motors really go out of business? Will the former "world's largest Chevy dealer" become merely Columbus's second-largest Kia dealer?

Not far from Legacy Chevrolet, Columbus State University held a forum Wednesday on the area's economic outlook. Some of the alleged geniuses experts at the forum predicted the national recession will end in the first half of 2009. Hopefully these aren't the same people who predicted Georgia would win the ational college football title.

-> We played poker Wednesday night at perhaps the biggest tournament in Columbus. Read about it at our other blog, "On the Flop!" <--

E-MAIL UPDATE: People across Columbus may be taking sides in the controversy over a defense attorney. We received this Wednesday....

District Attorney Gray Conger has served this district very well to protect and defend the safety of our citizens in the Columbus area for years!

Regarding our outgoing very excellent District Attorney, Gray Conger---

His remarks to the blog on Mark Shelnut, when Mark Shellnut was acting as a defense attorney, and the way in which Shellnutt got the low bail bonds for his defendants accused of felonies:

"I fought him for years on that," Conger said, explaining Shelnutt went around his office to various judges to obtain those bonds.

District Attorney Conger has a long record of proper conduct. He even recused himself during the Walker investigation. He has an abiding sense of fairness and as the city's most trustworthy officer we are very sad to see him leave.

He conducted a fair and honest re-election campaign, while his opponent has apparently lied to the public regarding the investigation of her law firm- telling the public that she was not aware of an investigation. Now, we see that members of her firm have been testifying at the grand jury investigation for months and that she could not have been truthful with the public. How does her untruthfulness to the electorate match up with District Attorney Gray Conger's fair and honest campaign? He could have fought her down and dirty, but he chose to run a gentlemanly campaign--so, he lost.

The District Attorney Elect may face many yet unseen and unknown obstacles to effective leadership in the District Attorney's office. If her law partner, Mark Shellnut, who is apparently under investigation for improperly disposing of money, is indeed indicted, how does that impact her ability to act on behalf of the people's best interest?

If, indeed, Shellnut is running District Attorney Elect Julia Slater's interviews of prospective new employees in the District Attorney's office, if, indeed, Shellnut is doing aggressive questioning of her potential employees, what will his role be when she is District Attorney?

Who is behind all of this- the powerful Frank Martin?- is he backing the puppet and the puppet master? Is Frank Martin pulling the strings so that criminal defense attorneys can control the District Attorney's office?

In the past, Conger has waged war on Criminal Defense Attorneys- Conger usually gets his man--- so now they put up an woman, who did not do her job well at the District Attorney's office, to run against the Tough Guy, Conger. District Attorney Gray Conger did not wage war against her in the campaign and barely repudiated her at all in comparison to the many things he knows about her, and her conduct while in his employ. Why? Because he is a gentleman who plays by a code of conduct.

Why did she hire an attorney to accompany and advise her when she testified about her law partner? Will the investigation include her?

She won the election, but will the potential indictment of her law partner harm her effectiveness? Did she lie to the grand jury like she publicly lied to the electorate during the campaign? If she can be proven to have lied to the Grand Jury, and they can nail her on it, or if she is involved in the improper disposing of the (drug) money, we will have a recall.

What makes this e-mail interesting is that some of the people praising Gray Conger now were appalled at him a couple of years ago, for his handling of the body of murdered Fort Benning soldier Richard Davis. Perhaps it's a case of "out of stench, out of mind...."

I have no idea how well Julia Slater did her job, while she was an Assistant District Attorney under Gray Conger. I've heard nothing to indicate she was fired from the staff. For all I know, her winning percentage in court may be higher than Tommy Tuberville had at Auburn.

And talk about dropping a name - a check of Julia Slater's latest campaign finance report shows a $500 donation from Frank Martin. Of course, the list of contributors on that report could lead people to a very different conclusion. The real "puppet master" in this election might be Vista Pawn Shop on Buena Vista Road.

(But hold on here - isn't Frank Martin the attorney for Frank Lumpkin III? And hasn't Lumpkin's sister been romantically linked to Gray Conger? If I had more time to research this plot, I could get hired on the writing team of "All My Children.")

To be fair: it's common for people facing court proceedings of any sort to have attorneys on hand. Julia Slater had one waiting outside the grand jury room, when she testified Tuesday. And so many witnesses in the first O.J. Simpson trial had lawyers, I wondered if the Bar Association had a stand set up across the street from the courthouse.

By the way, we should note your blog received NO phone calls Wednesday from any attorneys. We didn't even hear from Ken Nugent, asking if we'd been in a car wreck lately.

We've also received a couple of e-mail in recent days, regarding our "quandary" over handling Hurtsboro items:

Richard..This is your blog,if you get tired of the Hurtsboro junk just don't print it...You can print of not print what ever you want...I personally would have junked it after the first week...Keep up the good work...

. That approach sounds easy, but it's really not. People who don't see their e-mails here might organize protests. They might claim we're biased, accuse us of insensitivity - and I'd go further, but I don't want to give the NAACP any further ideas.

We also heard again from the Constable who put us in this quandary....

Sir" Richard:

Thank you so much for the outstanding coverage you have given the issues in "Hurt'sboro! You have diligently sought out the facts. And, in most instances, my allegations were confirmed, or went unchallenged. THANK YOU!

I know that you have been placed in an unenviable position. Welcome to both branches of the YDIYD or YDIYD club! It's a national organization.

I suppose your general readership does grow weary of the yowling from "Hurt'sboro. After all, they have their own "squeaking wheels" to oil. The world's problems; make the issues here in town seem rather trivial.

I would establish a BLOG; if I thought I could do a better job than you have. That would be inpossible!!

And, I have come to realize that; people just will not, "suit" up until it gets personal. So much for the value of polls and voter response

I have no intention of leaving this mission until some semblance of justice prevails in this town I call home. But rather lean on your strong shoulder any further; I will limit my input to merely pointing out, what the rest of the media is covering.

I wish you well, "Sir" Richard - and I do wish everyone who reads your BLOG a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Adios!

Constable R.J. Schweiger

Hmmmm - what is this YDIYD club? I've never even met Sean "Diddy" Combs, much less turn his name into a Jumble puzzle.

Before we fall asleep at the computer from all the rain falling outside, let's check other Wednesday news:

+ U.S. News and World Report magazine ranked Columbus High School in the top three percent of all U.S. high schools. We can't wait to see the rating from the John Birch Society, for the students' organized opposition to Barack Obama.

+ A national survey of banks rated Auburn Bank among the top 200 in the country. This bank happens to have a branch in Hurtsboro - so perhaps the entire police force was there on the day surveyors showed up.

+ WLTZ revealed Auburn University student Everett Duke will be inducted in the "Krystal Lovers Hall of Fame" next week. Duke says he spends his evenings doing quiet study at Krystal. After seeing his physique on TV, I recommend investing in a speaker's stand and earplugs - then moving to a health club treadmill in January.

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: We're taking Friday off because of a tight schedule. Our next scheduled post should appear Saturday.)

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