7 APR 09: Ticked on Teak

Wow, I feel a song coming on. On the sixth day of April, we were amazed to see -- 12-numbered watershed, 11 houses drying, ten pumps a-pumping, "nine" with live updates, eight new excuses, seven.... oh, I'm sorry. Some residents are taking this mess much more seriously than that.

The watery mess on Teak Drive near Schomburg Road still wasn't resolved Monday night. Indeed, ten pumps continued to drain water from an area which became a lake last week. Some people might be rooting for the draining to stop - in case they can go ice skating outside the next couple of mornings.

The Monday evening news revealed residents of the Foxfire neighborhood expressed concerns about Bull Creek watershed #12 (aka Charter Oaks) months ago. The 311 number for city services received seven complaints about it since last December. Teak Drive had 11 waterlogged homes - so isn't that a majority?

(Yes, we can say it - the concerned residents warned Teak would.)

Yet Mayor Jim Wetherington put an even stranger twist on the overflow in an interview with WRBL. He said a drain might not have worked properly due to a "beaver blockage." Beavers in the heart of Columbus? Why, that's about as absurd as rabbit-keeping in downtown Columbus. And that could never.... oh wait. My neighbor in the complex is doing that right now.

We checked online Monday night, and beavers actually are indigenous to Georgia. So it's possible one of them caused the blockage at Charter Oaks. May I suggest future watersheds be named after less tempting things for beavers -- such as former Columbus Councilors.

Mayor Wetherington also noted some people in the Foxfire neighborhood have seen people throw chairs in the watershed. That settles it - we need to increase police patrols on weekends with big college football games.

The mayor added some people even have witnessed water coolers being tossed into Charter Oaks lake. These Callaway Blue wanna-bes will never learn....

Mayor Wetherington left open the possibility that the city will help pay for water damage to homes on Teak Drive. That's a topic for next week's Columbus Council meeting. There's no meeting today, apparently due to the Muscogee County school spring break -- unless they finally discovered they missed Cesar Chavez Day.

In other flood-related news, Columbus Water Works agreed Monday to help pay for damage to a church on Winston Road. The pastor and his wife reported two sewage backups in four weeks. If it happens once at a church, that's demonic interference - if it happens twice, it's more likely a city agency.

On top of that, Georgia Power revealed it opened an extra gate at Lake Oliver due to all the recent rain. The utility promises to give advance notice, if another gate has to be opened - so kayakers have plenty of time to assemble at the scene.

Flooding remains a problem in parts of South Georgia. Homes are underwater in the Valdosta area, along the Withlacoochee River. Right now, the homeowners wish they could have been Without....

Hoping you're high and dry, let's check other discoveries we made Monday:

+ National Infantry Foundation Chair Jerry White complained to WRBL he's upset with low attendance, since the museum parade ground was dedicated three weeks ago. Should he really be surprised? The museum itself doesn't have its "grand opening" until June. And strolls down old-style streets certainly didn't keep Riverfest going.

+ Russell County Sheriff Tommy Boswell proposed using federal stimulus money to expand the county jail, and add 100 beds. Why isn't this being proposed at the Muscogee County Jail? Wouldn't that fit perfectly with those 100 new police officers?

(Sheriff Boswell explained the Russell County Jail currently is at its 312-inmate capacity. He warned overcrowding can spread infectious diseases. Boswell should tell this to the people trying to do away with solitary confinement.)

+ Shaw High School Principal Jim Arnold was named a finalist for Georgia Secondary School Principal of the Year. I'm not sure how they decide who's best at the high school level. Among grade school principals, it would come down to which one can paddle the hardest.

+ The Savannah Morning News reported a man was arrested for sparking a fire, by setting off fireworks in his motel room. Are you teenagers paying attention? This is NOT the proper way to end a prom night.

(You can tell this is a hopeless single guy -- because the "fireworks" in the motel room had nothing to do with romance.)

+ Instant Message to WRBL: Ohhhhh - now I get it. You canceled the 12:00 noon and 5:00 p.m. news so you could afford to send two of your anchors to The Masters golf tournament.

SCHEDULED WEDNESDAY: Our annual Serious Spring Cleaning wrap-up.... and believe it or not, it should occur at our usual post time....

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