1 DEC 08: BADGE OF COURAGE?

At first glance, it sounds like an inspiring story - a disabled veteran from the Vietnam era becoming a police chief. But as we all should know, one person's inspiration can be another person's consternation. That may be why you don't hear about downtown church pastors touring Columbus State University art displays....

We're talking about the new police chief of Hurtsboro, Jim Baxley. He talked with us Sunday, not long after he chatted with the town's outgoing Constable. No, Robert Schweiger sometimes can't even take Sundays off.

Robert Schweiger has been so annoyed in the last week that he's e-mailed us three times. He responded first to what we posted last Monday:

"Sir" Richard:

You sir; are a gentleman and a scholar!! Thank you for your continuing interest in "Hurt'sboro. However, I'm forced to conclude; that even though you are discerning, you don't often recognize, when I'm being facetious! You know yourself; that you will "catch more flies with honey; then you can with vinegar." There's a lot more to the audit story then is being published.

The young woman you spoke with, (really just a girl) is Jim Baxley's granddaughter. She is a single mom who lives with her grandparents and is being channeled into the "mix." She is the new town clerk. She and grandpa are the central figures at town hall.

A lobby seperates the magistrate's offce and the clerk's and in reality, "grandpa" is doing both jobs.

In a one on one conversation; Mayor Tapley told me that a Magistrates salary could be in the $18,000.00 range. And, previously, the town paid their clerk $24,000.00 annually.

But, it seems that Baxley is not satisfied. He wants to be police chief! Tapley again informs, that the position pays up to $27,000.00 a yearr. And, that is the one and only reason Baxley wants the position.

If such a move is made, our costs of training Baxley as a magistrate will go down the tube! Baxley cannot wear two hats.- Especially the headgear of chief and magistrate. So, if my arithmetic is correct, the reorganization will simply add $27,000.00 to our budget, plus the cost of replacing the court's magistrate!

Here's your chance to wax satirical, "Sir" Richard - Baxley drives a vehicle with a disability tag, and yet he feels he can pass POST requirements. Even IF he only has to take the "short" course; there will be a car to be pushed, a wall to climb, and a series of pushups, and sit up's in a minimum ammount of time. Even young men wince at the thought. It's all a glorious pipedream!

Don't be surprised if you never hear a word either by E-mail or any other means from T0wn Hall. She just wanted your address so they could keep an eye on the Ol' Constable.

Constable R.J. Schweiger

This e-mail required some confirmation before we posted it. For one thing, some people still consider the label "single mom" a bit embarrassing. Or is the Constable sneakily trying to suggest women for me to date?

Jim Baxley did indeed answer our questions by phone. He confirmed his granddaughter is now Hurtsboro Town Clerk. He also confirmed she's a single mother -- but keep in mind, her mom isn't running for Vice President.

Jim Baxley also confirmed he had to give up the position of Magistrate, when he became Hurtsboro's Police Chief last Monday. He explained that's required under Alabama law. The phrase "judge, jury and executioner" doesn't really apply anywhere - unless perhaps you're one of those attackers in Mumbai.

Instead of waxing satirical, I chose to ask factually - what is Chief Jim Baxley's disability? He explained he has diabetes, which can be considered a disability faced by Vietnam veterans. Robert Schweiger should be careful about picking on veterans - because Georgia's Jim Martin would never let him hear the end of it.

But Robert Schweiger says Jim Baxley has even worse health problems than that. He makes that claim in a letter to the Ledger-Enquirer - which perhaps to one's surprise was forwarded to us:

The word, power can be defined in many ways. But, simply put, it is the ability to control. In life everyone falls into line and retains, or relinquishes to others, some semblance of their god given right to control their destiny. Not everyone can be a leader.So, in a democracy, we have the privelege to choose those who will govern.and literally lead us by our "noses" for specified periods of time.But, for whatever reason, many fail to vote and leave it to mere chance, as to what the future holds.

On the other side of the coin. There are those who are feverish to gain power by any means! These scoundrels are sel-serving. and quickly forget the promises made during their "run" for the position. Along the way all, will have incured obligations that cannot be ignored.and personal favors that must be repaid. This holds true ; from the White House in Washington D.C., all the way down to the potholed streets of "Hurt'sboro Alabama.

Our attention is held in focus by the nation's economy, the wars we are waging, educating our children,illegal immigration, and of course, the immorality that's rife everywhere. It would be difficult indeed, to find a Corporate Executive,a Union leader,a Wall Street executive,or any politician,who is lilly white and hasn't taken advantage of, or abused the authority vested in them.

Here in "Hurt'sboro, it's time to take our eyes off of the TV and look out the window. We are never going to receive any attention beyond our own horizons! And there's no Better day in sight.

We recently elected a mayor who's slogan is; "You just have to outcrook them." He has broken the law at will, and continues to do so. We now have a police chief; who has heart trouble,a torn rotator cuff, and a Disability tag on his personal vehicle.We have three "junk" police cars, a "Junk" garbage truck, and very few hand tools for our city workers to use.

We no longer have a magistrate for the Municipal Court. But, that's a blessing. It will limit the ammount of miscarriages of justice that "Judge" Ken White can hand out. The list goes on and on, and the abuses keep piling up. I guess the best plan for all is to - close the blinds - and make sure our TV sets are compliant with the digital switchover.

Constable R.J. Schweiger .

Hurtsboro Police Chief Jim Baxley flatly denied to me he has heart trouble. But he speculated with his tongue in his cheek: "Maybe he thinks I don't have a heart...."

Jim Baxley says his health was checked by a doctor six months ago, including a test on a treadmill. You know you've passed that test when you don't feel the urge to cry like George Jetson: "Jane, stop this crazy thing!"

Yes, Jim Baxley says he has a torn rotator cuff. But he says he's had that problem for more than a decade - and a couple of weeks ago passed a firing range test, shooting with both hands. This makes Baxley two hands better than Barney Fife in Mayberry....

Jim Baxley is confident he can fulfill all the responsibilities of Hurtsboro Police Chief. They include overseeing one police officer - although he hopes to hire four or five more by early next year. Perhaps then the squad cars which Constable Schweiger considers "junk" actually will be moved, and be in service.

About those police cars: Chief Jim Baxley told me one of them has an "oil-gas mix" which needs fixing. But he hopes to have its battery checked today. That's "its," Mr. Schweiger - not "his."

What about the Hurtsboro Mayor, who's already accused of lawbreaking? This brings us to the third e-mail, which reached us around Thanksgiving:

"Sir" Richard:

I have a headache! Oh Yes, its self-inflicted. I have a nasty habit of "beating my head against the wall."

As I suspected - Jim Baxley was sworn in, as police chief Monday night. It was confirmed by the new chief himself, in conversation this morning. That conversation was interesting to say the least. Some issues were discussed that had me confused. I must say; now I' m totally addled.

I have two complaints on the docket in Municipal Court but there is no magistrate to do the paperwork. Chief Baxley informs that, in the near future, his grandaughter will fill the position. Now we are faced with finding and hiring a Town Clerk. Where will all this money for wages and schooling come from? That's a good question, but there's no good answer.

The Chief and I discussed the matter of morals, character, and their influence on the ability to lead. We agreed that - any individual who holds himself above the law consitutes a poor choice for a leadership role. That brands Rayford Tapley as a prime example.

Mayor Tapley acted inappropriately in his former role as Municipal Court Magistrate. He and a neer-do-well attorney (Ken White) who holds the post of municipal judge have worked in collusion to bend every law that they don't find to their liking. God help anyone who courts their disfavor.

Mayor Tapley left the position of Municipal Court Magistrate in less than good standing. But even as a citizen he "exercised his influence" To break the law. He had a large tree cut on his business property without obtaining the proper permits. He reduced the cost of disposal by dumping the tree-trunks on public property.with the full knowledge that it was WRONG!

Now, issues with another individual who dumped limbs in the same area, have resulted in criminal prosecution. Tapley just chuckles and takes refuge behind the statute of limitations. Is this the mark of a true leader? I think not!

Rayford Tapley didn't run for mayor of "Hurt'sboro because of his high moral fiber, or concern for its citizens. The salary is of no consequence, so nothing's left but a measure of power or his ego.

In my opinion, Mayor Tapley would be held in higher regard if he admitted that he had done wrong, faced the music in court, and worked to clean up the illegal dump he fostered over a year ago!

"Sir" Richard would you consider posting this BIG BLOG QUESTION: " Should Mayor Tapley act responsibly and admit he was guilty of Criminal Littering and pay any fine associated with the act.

Constable R.J. Schweiger

I didn't get into money questions with the Police Chief, since those matters really are up to the Hurtsboro Mayor. And at least the Police Chief talked to me on a Sunday - while the mayor still hasn't returned a call from ten days ago.

Jim Baxley says he checked the facts on Mayor Rayford Tapley's tree. His limbs indeed were dumped at the old Hurtsboro city landfill in August 2007. Isn't this amazing? He didn't bother waiting for a city trash truck to come get them.

But anyway: the new Hurtsboro Police Chief says the tree limb issue wasn't brought to police attention until October of this year - and there's a 12-month statute of limitations on such violations. So is the Hurtsboro Mayor a "true leader?" Every bit as much as U.S. Presidents pardoning convicted criminals, I suppose.

I told Chief Jim Baxley I'd probably receive more complaints from Constable Robert Schweiger. Baxley told me he'd be surprised if Schweiger stopped complaining. After all, Schweiger sent us three e-mails in the week of Thanksgiving. Imagine if our country adopted what Pol Pot's Kampuchea used to have - the "National Day of Hate."

THE BIG BLOG QUESTION admittedly seems rather small - but since nothing else is on the docket, we'll post it. Should the mayor of Hurtsboro pay a criminal littering fine, even though the 12-month statute of limitations has run out? Or is this the sort of dirt his opponent should have exposed before the city election?

BLOG UPDATE: For a change, there was NO Sunday night pre-election TV debate between the candidates for U.S. Senate in Georgia. Jim Martin actually put Columbus ahead of GPB - as if someone told him about the TV and radio reception problems around here.

Jim Martin came to Columbus for a second roundtable discussion on veterans' issues. Unlike the first one, this forum actually seemed to draw a crowd. That's what happens when you hold it at the Democratic Party Headquarters - and when the Falcons game doesn't kick off until 4:00 p.m.

Jim Martin apparently even considered Columbus more important than national television. He was invited to appear with Saxby Chambliss on "Fox News Sunday," but host Chris Wallace said the Democrat turned the offer down. Of course, this made Fox News appear as "fair and balanced" as it normally does....

Saxby Chambliss was asked about that quote in an "attack ad," where he was unsure what a recession means. The Republican explained back in July, we had not yet seen "two consecutive months of negative gross domestic product." Since many experts define a recession as two consecutive QUARTERS, Chambliss still has some work to do.

Saxby Chambliss says Tuesday's Senate runoff is NOT necessarily a referendum on the President-elect. But he added he had a higher vote count than Barack Obama in the general election. Hmmmm -- if Jim Martin is elected, won't this allow Chambliss to spend more time on a 2012 Presidential bid?

SCHEDULED TUESDAY: Your comments about the big college football weekend....

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: 956 (- 48, 4.8%)

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.

© 2003-08 Richard Burkard, all rights reserved.