21 DEC 08: BOARD-DUMB
If the weather forecast is right, our warm spell in Columbus will end today. But haven't the last few days been glorious? Isn't it nice to live in a place where you can walk around in shorts during December, and not be considered weird?
Take Thursday, when the high was 71 degrees F. It was a wonderful day to get outside during the lunch hour for some exercise. So I took a walk around Golden Park, and found about eight young men at the new skateboard park. A passion for skateboards is the low-budget kind of "four-wheel drive."
But admittedly there was another reason why I walked to the skateboard park during the lunch hour. Thursday was a school day, and I've read complaints that students are going there to play hooky from school. And there aren't even any goals set up there, for playing street hooky....
A couple of young men were unloading cars at the skateboard park, so I walked toward them. "May I ask how old you are?" I asked one of them.
"Seventeen."
"Shouldn't you be in school?"
"I live in Harris County." That's a sneaky way to dodge the truancy officer.
"They're out of school?" I asked on this Thursday afternoon.
"Yes. I'm in D.E.T." I didn't quite catch his explanation of what that meant. But if he was skipping school, he could soon be in d-e-b-t.
A check of the Harris County school calendar afterward showed Thursday was a scheduled class day. But the 17-year-old explained to me he was out of school under an "early release" program. Either he's on some kind of a half-day schedule, or he'd just been released from a Youth Development Center.
The other young man unloading a car wore a knit cap on his head. "I'm from Florida," he told me -- which obviously explains the cap. Columbus, Georgia is SO much colder in mid-December....
I didn't ask where in Florida the second teen made his home. But he told me he already was out of school for winter break. I suppose he might be a college student. Or it could be that all his high school classmates are still in Florida, working on the grapefruit harvest.
Yet the young man in Florida somehow seemed to know about the people at the South Commons skateboard park. When I mentioned the reports of students skipping school there, he said: "There are a lot of dropouts here." And he didn't mean the bowls of concrete below ground-level.
If all these young men have given up on school, I doubt it's worth the truancy officer's time to check on them during the middle of the day. After all, these teenagers may have jobs during the evening - and they're doing flips on skateboards, before flipping burgers at Sonic.
A TV videographer happened to be at the skateboard park when I showed up - but for a very different reason. Columbus Parks Director Tony Adams was announcing the city will receive grant money for park improvements. Lighting will be added, along with on-site restrooms. The Circle K store on the other side of Fourth Street is about to lose some income.
Some people scoffed at the city building a skateboard park at all, much less in South Commons. Yet the new park is getting plenty of use. I drove by it Saturday afternoon, and noticed dozens of people there. Many probably are young people who could be doing much more dangerous things - like getting obese on a couch, playing video games all day.
Yet I wonder if adding lights for nighttime skateboarding and BMX riding is a good idea. Will it encourage more truancy, without a nightly closing time? Will it breed crime, if the wrong kinds of people show up after dark? Or can the regular users turn their skateboards into defensive weapons, and chase criminals away?
-> Our Thursday night poker game had a happy ending. Read all about it at our other blog, "On the Flop!" <--
E-MAIL UPDATE: Our year-end news review from Friday prompted a reader to comment....
Richard,
First of all, I hope you and your family have a wonderful christmas. Secondly, not only do you not see a Kendrick sign, What about Carver High school " 2007 AAA State Football Champions? It has been well over a year now. Thanks pal.
--
Charles Lawhon
In fact, this week will mark one year since city officials promised Carver a sign at the city limits [24 Dec 07]. Since the city apparently is out of money for this, can the Muscogee County School Board use the salaries of terminated teachers?
One such possible teacher tops our weekend news review....
+ A Jordan High School teacher was arrested on sexual misconduct charges. Some of us can remember when sex education was limited only to textbooks and slides....
+ First Avenue reopened downtown, after a giant crane was parked in the northbound lanes next to the Government Center for about two weeks. I'm told the tall crane was there to fix a faulty weather radar system. It did seem a bit late to string colored blinking lights around the tenth floor.
+ Chick-Fil-A on Wynnton Road held "Pay It Forward" day, with purchases receiving free matches in January. I went there for lunch at 11:20 a.m. Friday, and the restaurant was packed -- as if people were eating it forward, in case the food ran out by 3:00 p.m.
+ The "Budweiser Clydesdale" horses appeared at The Landings shopping center. I'm sure that brought a chorus of Boo's -- as in the package store.
+ The Columbus Cottonmouths rolled over Richmond 7-2. But the main event had the Civic Center crowd attempting to set a record, for the world's largest kazoo ensemble. If only they had installed a pipe organ in this building to begin with....
+ Auburn surprised Virginia in men's college basketball 58-56. The Tigers won at Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena. Considering Jones's famous quote was "I have not yet begun to fight," they must play college hockey there as well.
+ Iowa State University named former Auburn defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads as its new head football coach. Have fun, Paul - we'll see you back on the plains in about three years.
+ Instant Message to the organizers of Saturday's "finger football" tournament at Peachtree Mall: Aw c'mon - what's with all this "zone one" and dice-rolling stuff? If the football isn't made with a folded sheet of notebook paper, it simply isn't legitimate.
2008 IN REVIEW CON'D: April was a month when the crime reports were a bit strange. A Columbus maid was arrested for stealing from people's homes. An Alabama man pleaded guilty to stealing copying machines. And drug searchers who found nothing at Smiths Station High School may have concluded someone stole all the marijuana from students' lockers.
Trouble developed for the Columbus Fire Chief in April, when Jeff Meyer offered someone a job which wasn't on the city payroll. Yet the police chief has been recruiting and hiring new police officers this way for several months - once again proving you CAN be too far ahead of your time.
Your blog scooped the town in April, with news that Jeremiah Wright was coming to Columbus to preach at a church's revival. But Wright eventually canceled that appearance - and now old friend Barack Obama won't even let him give a prayer on inauguration day.
Columbus's biggest church celebrated a milestone in April, with Bill Purvis pastoring Cascade Hills Church 25 years. These days Purvis's name is on the television ministry -- and the title "Real Time" seems to be really out-of-date.
Kendrick High School alumni held a parade in April, to mark the school's 40th anniversary. In contrast, the only parade Jordan High School has held recently led to students being cited for an illegal protest.
One of the most fun stories of the year occurred in Ladonia in April. The grade school held a mock wedding ceremony for the letters Q and U -- and the little groom wore a University of Alabama football helmet. We never knew these cute events could help predict the outcome of the Iron Bowl.
A replacement for Riverfest was launched in Columbus during April, called "Broadway Springfest." Next year there will also be a Broadway Fall-Fest in October - only it will still use the name "God Bless Fort Benning."
Rumors swirled around the Columbus State University softball program in April. Eventually coach Tiffany Tootle resigned, less than one year after a College World Series appearance - so she left without a long-desired Tootle title.
April ended with Goodwill Industries opening a new store near Columbus Park Crossing, with the release of more than 2,000 butterflies. You have to be careful about where you obtain those creatures - because some people might be running a flies-by-night operation.
The number of unique visitors to our blog is up 32 percent from last year. To advertise to them, offer a story tip, make a PayPal donation or comment on this blog, write me - but be warned, I may post your e-mail comment and offer a reply.
BURKARD BULK MAIL INDEX: 1,094 (+ 35, 3.3%)
The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the author -- not necessarily those of anyone else in Columbus living or dead, and perhaps not even you.
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