23 APR 09: Safety in Numbers?
Attention, Columbus-area commuters: The Dillingham Street Bridge is closed today. Signs downtown Wednesday night warned of it -- except the narrow signs spelled the bridge "DILINHAM." One little apostrophe can save this city from a lot of embarrassment....
I'm not sure why the Dillingham Street Bridge is closed, but I assume it has something to do with Sunday's tornado. Several businesses at the Phenix City end of the bridge were damaged -- yet I wonder how many officials secretly were upset to find that old brick building next to the new courthouse was still standing.
Several business owners along Dillingham Street are concerned about looters - but they say Phenix City Police have been very helpful. Officers have been stopping several times a day for security checks. Given what we've heard about area police, officers may come back this weekend for a different kind of check - getting paid to remove debris.
Isn't it nice to see this concerted effort by Phenix City employees? Well, maybe not. Before the tornado struck, a letter landed in our postal box:
What in the world is going on with our city government?
The other day 5 (yes 5) firemen came to my business to do a facility inspection. They were being transported by 2 (yes2) vehicles, a truck and a fire engine (yes a fire engine).
How many vehicles are assigned to the fire department?
Are they aware of the cost of gasoline? Years ago a single individual in a small pick-up performed these functions. Who is responsible for the management and oversight of daily operations in the city of Phenix City?
13th Street Businessperson
Oh dear -- sometimes guests show up, and you get caught without enough soda in the office refrigerator.
Thanks to the Phenix City government web site, we can answer one of these questions. It indicates as of 2007, the fire department utilized 13 different vehicles as "apparatus." If they ever borrow the Muscogee County Marshal's new robot dog, the department will advance all the way up to one "gizmo."
Our businessperson apparently was visited by 25 percent of Phenix City's fire engines, as well as one-third of the other fire vehicles. But hey, maybe it was a slow day. Fires probably are less likely to start when houses are soaked from rain.
The five Phenix City firefighters are out of a full-time force of 61. So there should have been plenty of others waiting at stations for fire calls -- and probably watching poker tournaments on cable television while they waited.
(I didn't realize until I checked the web site that Phenix City's fire department has nine "Suppression Captains." And critics call Columbus officials totalitarian....)
Then again, this businessperson IS on 13th Street. That's a main thoroughfare in Phenix City, and a fire on that street took out Tyler's Restaurant several months ago. We don't want visitors from Auburn and Tuskegee thinking main streets are used for Fort Benning drills.
(Or maybe all the fire vehicles stopped at this business on the way to Broad Street - to practice for that big parade to mark the end of Streetscape.)
As for the cost of gasoline: it's currently about half the price of last April. But since Wednesday was Earth Day, the writer may have a point here. Five crew members in a fire engine would be a great example of car pooling.
Which person is responsible for all of this? In Phenix City, I'd imagine that's the City Manager - and Wallace Hunter was Fire Chief before becoming City Manager. So this inspection is almost as surprising as Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington supporting more police officers.
By the way, the "13th Street Businessperson" is the mysterious person who's sent typewritten letters to us before about Phenix City government. In a P.S., he/she asked for an update on the city's $7.85 million bond issue [24 Mar], but no one at City Hall has called us back. That's one kind of fire the Columbus mayor's office knows how to put out -- a firestorm of online rumors.
We'll try to stick to the facts, as we review Wednesday's headlines:
+ Columbus Police released their annual list of the most dangerous intersections. Macon Road and Interstate 185 was at the top, while Gateway Road and Beaver Run has jumped to third. It must be because frustrated shoppers are discovering stores all around Wal-Mart have shut down already.
+ WFXE-FM "Foxie 105" returned to the air, as its storm-damaged tower was repaired. This had to frustrate the competition at Clear Channel. Now "98.3 The Beat" will go back to simply being, well, beat.
+ Local television sources told your blog David Spunt worked his final day as a reporter at WRBL. He's reportedly taking a job in Baton Rouge, Louisiana - so at least for Columbus, it appears Spunt is spent.
+ Aflac unveiled a new corporate marketing campaign, assuring customers: "We've got you under our wing." Uhhhhh - so when did the duck lose the other one?
(Aflac is coupling this slogan with details about itself, known as "Aflacts." We'll see if MetLife or GEICO takes this on, claiming the Columbus company really Afflicts.)
+ Ken Hodges announced he'll run for Georgia Attorney General next year. Yes, it's the same Ken Hodges who was the special prosecutor over the Kenneth Walker case. There's a good reason why after leaving office in Albany, his private law practice jumped all the way north to Atlanta.
+ Instant Message to the man who suggested we "pick up the pace" a bit in our blogging: OKHow'sthis?Isthatbetternow?
SCHEDULED FRIDAY: We try to satisfy a "disappointed" reader....
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