26 APR 09: Rolling Near the River

At church this weekend, I mentioned my tornado "miracle" to several men. But then someone asked a question which surprised me. "Was that a tornado that hit J.R. Allen Parkway?" I hadn't heard of one - unless this man was having a strange flashback to March 2007.

The man said he saw a caved-in steel wall along J.R. Allen Parkway as he drove to church. Only when I went online Saturday night did I understand what happened. It wasn't a tornado, but what the President of Columbus Water Works compared to a "tsunami." If any homes or cars were damaged, that spelling could change to sue-nami....

Robert Tant confirmed a Columbus Water Works tank had a huge rupture at the North Treatment Facility before dawn Saturday. Six million gallons of Chattahoochee River water spilled out. Yet the spill went in a strange direction -- because shouldn't all that water have flowed down River Road?

Instead, the big spill apparently went south and west from the North Treatment Facility. Witnesses told the evening news they saw a rush of water on Moss Drive. What a shame - all that water, and not a single kayaker in the neighborhood to take advantage of it.

Robert Tant with Columbus Water Works said the rush of water caused an avalanche of mud to drop on J.R. Allen Parkway, near Lake Oliver. And some of us figured the old bluff-side homes in Bibb City would go over the edge first.

The big spill even left muddy debris in the parking lot of the newly renovated Lake Oliver Marina. But let's be honest - that will remove the "too clean" odor, and probably give it a proper fish smell.

So what caused the watery mess along J.R. Allen Parkway? Columbus Water Works isn't sure, but President Robert Tant does NOT think anyone intentionally made the tank rupture. So please stop the rumors about lower sales of Callaway Blue....

Yet in recent years, there have been concerns about terrorists possibly attacking water treatment plants. Most of the warnings have involved sneaky spies with poisoned powder - not something along the lines of teenagers misfiring BB guns.

Robert Tant says it will take days to clean up the damage from Saturday's spill. Then the giant water tank will be rebuilt -- perhaps this time with an emergency box nearby, containing three rolls of Bounty paper towels.

This is the latest in a series of recent headaches for Columbus Water Works. First came sewage spills from spring rains. Then came the emergency sewer line work on Cherokee Avenue. Now a water tank has burst. It's all enough to drown out the critics of fluoride in the drinking water.

BLOG UPDATE: Uh-oh -- Jose Ricci may be in trouble again. F.B.I. agents raided the Ritmo Latino nightclub on North Lumpkin Road, which he reportedly partly owns. The club is shut down this weekend - so the only place in the neighborhood to get good "salsa" is around the corner, at Café La Vaca.

The ownership papers for Ritmo Latino list three men with the last name Ricci as the owners. It's not clear if any of them were arrested in Friday's raid -- but what we may have here is an embarrassment of Riccis.

. The F.B.I. isn't explaining why it staged the raid, and may not reveal it until a Monday afternoon hearing in federal court. The TV news spotted several boxes of papers being removed -- but I didn't notice any boxes of illegal Cuban cigars.

One news report claimed Jose Ricci does NOT have a criminal history -- but blog readers know better. Last year we revealed details of Ricci pleading guilty to "theft by taking" charges, for stealing $150,000 from the Columbus Civic Center [11 Sep 08]. That case was local, not federal - so here's hoping he didn't repay the stolen money with counterfeit bills.

An assistant District Attorney told your blog last September a "deferred sentencing" plan for Jose Ricci wasn't working, so prosecutors wanted a new sentencing hearing to put him in jail. Ricci hadn't paid his $95,000 debt to the Civic Center in cash, so instead he might pay a "debt to society" at 25 cents for each lawn mowed.

We learned about the Ritmo Latino raid too late on Friday to call the District Attorney's office, to get an update on the Jose Ricci case. Of course, the federal raid is out of their hands. Considering Ricci's 2007 attorney was current Municipal Court Judge Stephen Hyles, that might be better for everybody.

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OVERHEARD OVER HERE: In the parking lot of a Midtown restaurant, a mother is talking to a child.

"I'm about to put you in a headlock."

A man walks out, hearing only this. "See what happens when Mom watches Smackdown on Friday nights?"

The mother replies: "I was thinking about a figure-four, but he's a little too young."

Now let's grapple with some other weekend headlines....

+ Columbus had its warmest day of the year, with a high of 88 degrees F. Yet why did I see two children playing in a Front Avenue fountain, before 10:00 a.m.? I can't believe they were trying to beat the crowd.

+ Columbus Police arrested two inmates who walked away from a work detail at Double Churches Park. Shame on all of you who heard about Little League games at the park with police protection, and thought teams from Pioneer had shown up.

+ The annual Broadway Springfest was held downtown. There was music, dance, crafts displays - and for the first time, a "Scavenger Hunt" at Broadway stores. So who found the most pictures of Mayor Wetherington?

+ Lee County Schools announced Wacoochee Junior High should reopen 4 May - more than two months after it was damaged by a tornado. Students spent two months sharing space at Smiths Station High School. The fun is almost over for Smiths Station sophomores - as they'll have to return to being the picked-on ones.

+ The Columbus Lions lost to Fayetteville 41-37, as a last-second drive was broken up by defensive back J.R. Hair. I never would have imagined that even an indoor football game would come down to somebody having a good Hair day.

+ The Atlanta Falcons used their top draft pick to take Mississippi defensive tackle Peria Jerry. It looks like Tom's chips has found the perfect spokesperson....

+ A mixed martial arts card in Auburn featured quadriplegic Kyle Maynard. He went the distance, but lost a judges' decision to Bryan Fry. I will resist the strong temptation to say Fry had a leg up throughout the bout.

(Isn't this former high school wrestler in the wrong sport? Kyle Maynard shouldn't be in mixed martial arts. He should be some pro wrestler's midget sidekick - and pick on somebody his own size.)

SCHEDULED MONDAY: It's a holiday for some people, but maybe not a happy one....

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