Friday, March 06, 2009

6 MAR 09: Encaged and Enraged



The caller was a grandmother, and she had a complaint. The woman claimed an area grade school teacher left her granddaughter with cuts on the face - only they were "paper cuts." Our teachers try to avoid using corporal punishment, and it's still wrong....



The woman claims her grandchild received the paper cuts last week, after everyone in her fourth-grade class failed a test. Their teacher reportedly was so frustrated by the scores that she threw a stack of tests at the grandchild. Apparently she failed a split-second dexterity test as well.



The grandmother admits the fourth-grader did NOT seek medical treatment for the paper cuts to the face. Yet she implied there's psychological damage, as the child now "flinches" at the sight of a stack of papers. This child might go through life unable to load a computer printer - which at least will mean she can't be blamed for paper jams.



This grandmother wants the fourth-grade teacher punished in some way, for throwing the stack of tests. She says if everyone in the class flunked, the teacher probably is to blame for doing a poor job. Based on this logic, the sales staff at Legacy Chevrolet should be fired if General Motors goes into bankruptcy....



But the grandmother admitted to me the local school board is skeptical about the paper cuts. Board members aren't sure if the teacher really threw that stack of tests. And let's face it - too many schools only place surveillance cameras in the hallways, because they expect only students to beat each other up.



Reports of misbehaving teachers suddenly are popping up all over, after a Columbus mother made the TV rounds claiming her child was choked at a grade school. The mom claims her complaint was ignored. School officials say they conducted an investigation, and found no evidence of harm. Why do I smell a new series of Ken Nugent commercials coming?



Yet another abuse complaint led to action against a teacher Thursday. Russell County Middle School band instructor Gerald Nelson is accused of grabbing a student, then choking him to the ground. There has to be a better way of adjusting how a trombone player breathes....



Russell County Superintendent Yvette Richardson says Gerald Nelson is on "administrative leave," while his actions are investigated. That means he's out of the classroom - but I'm not sure where that puts him. Is he reliving an old Funky Winkerbean comic strip, by going door-to-door selling band candy?



Superintendent Yvette Richardson says principals have the power to use corporal punishment in Russell County. But teachers are told NOT to touch students - which may explain why physical education classes don't teach square dancing like they once did.



Superintendent Yvette Richardson adds when it comes to Russell County Schools, children come first. Yet that could be part of the problem. Some parents are so quick to side with their children in a dispute, they rule out any possibility the children could be lying or distorting the truth. They're a bit like the Democrats who believed President Clinton ten years ago....



Keep in mind the Opelika High School teacher who appeared in municipal court last week. Betty Love was accused of choking a student - yet the judge not only cleared her, but scolded the accusing student for lying. This shows our children are NOT always young and innocent. Sometimes they're the real-life "young and the restless."



I hope we don't have to hear about any more school abuse complaints. But the way this week has gone, spring break can't come soon enough -- for the teachers to calm down.



-> Thursday marked our 60th night at a local poker tournament. Read how we did at our other blog, "On the Flop!" <--



BLOG UPDATE: The anonymous person who sent us "snail mail" about Phenix City development last week has written us twice more since then. While all the letters have been directed to various reporters and officials, one page was written especially to us:



Richard, George Jones [26 Feb] is part of that "Ronnie Gilley Group" that suckered the city of Phenix City into believing they were going to build a multi story condominium (The Pheonixian) at the site of the old Fourteenth Street Bridge.



Some online searching confirmed it's the same George Jones who's a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame. Jones actually did a radio commercial last year endorsing Gilley for Congress, and revealing he plans to move to southeast Alabama. It's as if Jones sang "Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes?" in Nashville, and decided plenty of people there have.



The letter-writer implies The Phenixian never will be built. Yet it's still listed as one of the "residential developments" at Ronnie Gilley's web site. The current bad economy may have delayed it a bit -- or perhaps have the condos have been reserved for Troy University professors.



(We should note the Columbus Civic Center is promoting a George Jones ccncert in April. Will there be a big announcement about The Phenixian then -- perhaps that the most expensive condo will feature an autographed portrait of Tammy Wynette?



Ronnie Gilley Properties broke ground this week for a bed and breakfast at the big "Country Crossing" development near Dothan. If that project is underway, why should we assume The Phenixian is, well.... hoaxian?



We won't post the mysterious writer's two letters entirely, but one of them seems to mock Russell County Commissioner Ronnie Reed. The other accuses Phenix City Councilors of violating the city charter, because they "recommend and interfere with hiring practices" of the City Manager. The thought of a council vote on the next police chief is simply horrifying....



So these three unsigned letters lead us to wonder - who's writing these complaints? They seem typewritten, as opposed to using a computer word processor. They don't match the writing style "Russell C. Ounti" uses in his letters about Hurtsboro. And one of them is so critical of the last Phenix City Council's actions that Bubba Roberts simply couldn't have written it.



While we puzzle over this, let's catch up on other Thursday news:


+ The Ledger-Enquirer reported State Senator Seth Harp surrendered, on the issue of local-option Sunday liquor sales. Harp admits he lacks the votes to pass the question in the Georgia General Assembly. We can't wait to see how many lawmakers receive campaign donations from Phenix City.



+ WRBL reported Sunfresh Beverages will close by mid-May, putting 50 people out of work. Parent company Buffalo Rock blames the shutdown on the tough economy. It REALLY must be tough if people are drinking water instead of soda.



+ The new Columbus Doubletree Hotel on Sidney Simons Boulevard had its grand opening. If they didn't serve Doubletree's chocolate chip cookies at the reception, someone on the invitation list is bound to sue.



+ Salem residents held a meeting on rebuilding the community, after last weekend's tornado. Somebody's gotta ask it - why hasn't Governor Bob Riley declared Lee County a disaster area?



+ The Georgia House passed a bill which gives the Governor and Lieutenant Governor the power to preside at wedding ceremonies. Excuse me for asking a stupid question - but why? Is this how Casey Cagle plans to prove he's the "pro-family" candidate in next year's election?



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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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