The Blog of Columbus, Georgia

Monday, April 16, 2007

16 APR 07: DAYS OF JUDGMENT

On some recent Mondays, we've had to scrape a bit for updates from the Russell County town of Hurtsboro. Not so this week. With a legal judgment against the Mayor, complaints about a city park and someone with issues all over town, it's a wonder that tornado last week wasn't directed to wipe out everybody.

Let's start with the legal news, which involves Mayor Sandra Tarver. Her Jet Adult Day Care Center reached a settlement this past week with East Alabama Medical Center, for unpaid bills. The Mayor will have to pay $12,880.93. If any more city paychecks are late, some employees REALLY will ask questions.

The "consent judgment" involving Hurtsboro's Mayor was filed in Russell County Court Wednesday, on the eve of a trial. (My apologies for putting the wrong date on the case; it actually was scheduled for Thursday.) Even so, Sandra Tarver will have to pay more than 240 dollars in court costs. It's so kind of her, to help pay Judge Albert Johnson's salary....

So what about the mayor's main antagonist, Constable R.J. Schweiger? His contempt of court trial keeps getting moved back on the Russell County calendar. It's now scheduled for May 1, but a motion filed this past week would delay the case until mid-June. This only increases the chances that the Constable will forget to show up one day, and risk arrest.

Speaking of the Constable, we were quite surprised to receive e-mail from him the other day - actually an "open letter to the Mayor":

Sandra Tarver

Hurtsboro City Hall

P.O. Box 358

Hurtsboro AL. 36860

Mayor Tarver:

Thank you for addressing my concerns about theCDBG PROJECT (Park improvement) and inviting further input on my part. I intend to follow this project every step of the way!

In fact, I talked at length with Director Bill Johnson today; and he assured me that NO funds will be released without careful review.

Late this afternoon, I had a phone conference with Mr. Johnnie Streeter; who will be the overseer of the project from beginning to end. He informs that; the consultants who do the initial evaluation are largely untrained and do make positive assessments of every application. This is why you may feel that you have succeeded in your effort to date!

From now on- every draw down request, will require verification that The work is being done to specification. In your vaugely written Enviormental review there were many things left to question. And I think a reticent public has the right to definite facts and figures before we invest in a low priority need. This isn't free money - you have committed the city to $15,000.00 that we do not have!!!

Mr. Streeter broke the cost share down in the following way. $10,000.00 in cash and $5,000.00 in kind. I understand that there is no surety required - just your committment. Mr. Streeter acknowledges that he has been in this kind of situation before -But he assures me that he can get BLOOD OUT OF A TURNIP! He also said if funds are extended the committment is binding!

Mayor Tarver, Bob Corwin is not your friend! He is in it for the commission - and the commission only! For once in your life, take heed. Concentrate on public safety and health concerns. Do not mire the City further into debt on this ill conceived project.

Mr. Streeter told me that there was nothing further I could do; to stop this project. He said the only thing left to do was to say,"I told you so!" I anxiously await that opportunity!

Constable R.J. Schweiger

If you've been following this series, you may recall the Constable decided to "deliberately distance myself" (his words) from this blog two months ago [19 Feb]. Perhaps he's finally decided it's better to befriend a "buffoon" than have no friends at all.

R.J. Schweiger can correct me if I'm wrong, but this open letter seems to refer to the recent Alabama state grant for equipment at Hurtsboro's town park. The Constable appears ready to check every detail of this project - although I suspect someone will have to slam-dunk a basketball for him, to confirm the goals are ten feet high.

It's also clear from this e-mail that Constable Schweiger considers health a more important issue in Hurtsboro than an improved park. But can't the two concerns go hand in hand? Children who exercise in the park may be less likely to become obese - but of course, for safety reasons their parents will have to drive them to the park in locked cars.

The state of Alabama is providing about $125,000 in grant money for park equipment, so a $15,000 commitment from the city of Hurtsboro is small by comparison. But if Constable Schweiger is right and the city doesn't have the money - well, you won't mind restaurant ads on the basketball backboards, will you?

Bob Corwin is a new name in our Hurtsboro discussion, and I'm admittedly not sure why R.J. Schweiger is warning Mayor Shirley Tarver about him. I didn't find Corwin's name on the petitions from last year, asking for Alabama state intervention -- so maybe he's a smarter hunter than the hunters from out of town, who signed them.

But as it turns out, the "open letter" from the Constable is NOT our only e-mail concerning Hurtsboro this week. Someone else wrote us first, and at length:

Wel, It is obvious that Russell C. Ounty is none other than "CON" stable Bob Schweiger. Just a note about the City Grill......The CON is not allowed in there. Nor is he allowed in Mamies Restaurant....also would like to clarify that both black and white eat at both restaurants. And the food is better at Mamies. Also, The person you mentioned from the JET Center is none other than Mayor Sandra Tarver-Yoble (She got married). The Police Department is now down to ONE, yes that's right. The Mayor and Town Counsel got together and decided to reduce the part timers pay from $10.00 per hour to $9.00 per hour. As a result everyone left but the Chief. Now, it seems to me that the Mayor and the Counsel would being doing things to attract officers, not lose them. They have done their best the last few months to make things miserable for ALL city employees though.....they are not just descriminating against the police department. They have been known to withold paychecks for as much as a month. This Mayor and City Counsel will be the downfall of this town. They are pompus and arrogant and do not have the citizens best interrest at heart. This town has been torn to schreds on a psycholigical level because of the selfish, immature, and possibly criminal things that they have done. That is part of the reason why the CON has a little bit of a following. They do not believe in him but they like his message against the city government. It's too bad that none of the good citizens of Hurtsboro have enough backbone to stand up to the Mayor and Counsel. I'm beginning to think that the best thing for the town is for it too dissolve and turn back into country. The Mayor and Counsel are doing their best to drain it's bank accounts, and run away the good employees....they are worthless! Just turn everything over to the County and let the town become a memory to the "old timers" I want to make one thing clear before I close. I DO NOT support the CONstable in his mean spirited, hateful, hurtful tactics. There is a warm place reserved for him somewhere.....but he is an athiest, so it won't bother him as much. I digress.....Neither do I support the Mayor and her Counsel, by the way they can't get along either. I DO support the people of Hurtsboro, who deserve better, and the city employees (what's left). There are a lot of good people in Hurtsboro who would give you the shirt off of their back, even if they didn't have another. If you research the median income in the town you might find that it is well below the poverty level, yet taxes, and water is very expensive. Now that there is no grocery store people have to rely on others to drive them 30 miles away just to get groceries. The gas station has jacked their prices up since they no longer have any competition. This makes many of the people go into fight or flight mode. I predict that many will move because they simply cannot afford to pay the high price of food and transportation that has been left at their doorstep. There are no jobs in Hurtsboro unless you are one of the business owners, or their offspring. There is no reason for anyone to go to Hurtsboro unless you teach at the elementary school or head start. If you look at the building that houses the police department you can see why no one wants to bring a business to Hurtsboro. So, why all this information now? Well, I just want your readers to know that a few bad apples can spoil the whole bunch. There are a few REALLY bad apples in Hurtsboro and they have really hurt the town in ways that will last decades....and maybe centuries. Hursboro is not an oasis in the sand.....it is the Sahara Desert....and the vultures are circling.

God Bless

Oh dear - someone is challenging the identity of a "news source" to this blog. At least it's not a county commissioner, accusing Mr. Ounti of identity theft.

Could Constable R.J. Schweiger and buddy Russell C. Ounti be one and the same? Decide for yourself. We've posted handwriting samples from "snail mail" sent by both people in the last few months. I don't claim to be a handwriting expert - especially when I have trouble deciphering some of my own sermon notes from church.

We've been calling the mayor Sandra Tarver because the court filing against her adult day care center shows her name that way. There's no one named "Yoble" in the current Hurtsboro phone book - and you know, Bob Corwin isn't listed there either. AT&T must be making a pile of extra charges for unlisted numbers, from all the feuds in this town.

While this writer claims to be against Constable Schweiger, it sounds like he/she would agree on several points made here. Take the small staffing of the police department. It was the Constable who warned last year Hurtsboro was an unsafe place - although he never specifically claimed the Mayor and City Council were the prime suspects.

I hadn't heard about the city of Hurtsboro withholding paychecks for a month. A few weeks ago, WRBL heard complaints from workers who went two weeks without a check [28 Feb]. Uh-oh - Megan Bradley reported that story, and she hasn't been on the air for a few weeks....

Maybe this writer should have signed Constable Schweiger's petitions to Montgomery, requesting state intervention in Hurtsboro. Or perhaps he/she should contact the Russell County Commissioner whose district includes Hurtsboro - although that person may only show up at the local restaurants at reelection time.

(As for which restaurant is better: we do our blog dining reviews based on unannounced visits - but that might be hard in Hurtsboro. Based on what Mr. Ounti has written, the manager of at least one place may be ready to kick us out the door.)

We'll save a check of the Hurtsboro economic data for another day - but we can't forget another "snail mail" letter from "Russell C. Ounti" which came the other day. He reports the mayor prefers to be called "The Honorable Sandra Tarver." I may have quoted here before what Jesse Ventura said, when he first entered public office in Minnesota: "You win an election, and suddenly you're honorable. Yeah, right."

Mr. Ounti's latest letter introduces yet another new name in the Hurtsboro hubbub - Joan York, whose husband chairs the Hurtsboro Water Board. Judging from the last e-mail, I'm a bit surprised this town HAS running water....

Mr. Ounti claims Joan York is upset with an article Constable R.J. Schweiger wrote recently in the Union Springs Herald. That weekly paper doesn't seem to have a web site -- so we don't know what he wrote, or why she might be upset. Besides, a drive to Union Springs might mean stopping at that high-priced gas station on the way.

We appreciate all the interest in this allegedly dying town, and we'll keep the Monday updates going as they're warranted. Now let's other Sunday items from around the area:

+ An old tire dump caught fire in rural Chambers County, potentially burning more than one million tires. Fire crews decided the safest thing to do was to let the dump burn -- inviting hundreds of stock car racing fans to head to the scene, and smell the burning rubber.

+ The Columbus Museum held a "Family Fun Day," encouraging children to take an interest in art. There's a child in my neighborhood who draws very nice "chalk art" on a sidewalk - and that child has a great future marking tires for parking tickets downtown.

+ The "Car Guys" from NBC-38 visited Hummer of Union City, for what smelled strangely like an infomercial. They informed me the dealership performs a "112-point inspection" of used vehicles. I think that's more points than the Atlanta Hawks have scored in most games this season.

+ The CBS Evening News reported Atlanta is one of only two major league baseball teams with no African-American players. Isn't Hank Aaron still a front-office executive with this team? Or is he too busy running that Krispy Kreme shop on Veterans Parkway?

+ Instant Message to WEAM-AM: You're a sports radio station owned by Davis Broadcasting, right? Then why didn't you broadcast the Sunday night baseball game in Los Angeles, marking 60 years since Jackie Robinson's major league debut? Just because Tom Joyner over on an FM station can't stand baseball....

COMING SOON: Oh, you're asking if I feel better?....

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Sunday, April 15, 2007

15 APR 07: IMUS-T BE GUILTY

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Part of today's entry is satire, and NOT a real news item. We're trusting you to use your brain, to figure out which part is which.)

CUSSETA, 14 April (T.BOC) - A church congregation here called on disgraced radio host Don Imus today to apologize for every swear word he's ever uttered on the air.

"What happened with the Rutgers women's basketball team was an important first step," declared Pastor Billy Bob Bowers in a "statement of exhortation" issued from his church study. "But now Mr. Imus needs to realize he's insulted and offended a lot of other people over the years, and we've been waiting for our moment on cable news channels, too."

Bowers noted he had to be careful in citing examples of Imus's offenses. "If we quote some of the things he said on radio, God will declare our church a bunch of hypocrites -- and the chance of getting struck with lightning by that line of thunderstorms tonight will go up dramatically."

Bowers found fault first with Imus for using a variety of vile four-letter words during his years in broadcasting. "He went all the way and said the D-word. He didn't even stop at the euphemism for the D-word, which refers to repairing socks. How many people needlessly bought new pairs of socks, because Mr. Imus didn't drop such reminders on the air?

"Even on Thursday," Bowers continued, "Imus's last radio broadcast included the plural form of the seven-letter B-word. Now yes, I'm aware that word shows up in the King James Bible a few times. But if he's not quoting the Scripture, he's even more wrong. And he's seriously risking a trip to The Other Place."

Bowers recalled Imus's recent radio history in the Cusseta area, as proof the community supports his view. "First he was replaced on WDAK. Then he was kicked off WRCG not once, but twice. We praise the Lord for replacement Robbie Watson's conversion to the Christian faith. But we're still unsure about Scott Miller, with all his comments about a 'lucky spot.'"

Bowers went on to contend the two words which proved to be Imus's demise have had far-reaching implications. "The Governor of New Jersey was heading to a meeting of mediation; now he's in the hospital. And perhaps all of this debating proved to be more than Don Ho's health could take."

Yet Bowers said there could actually be a positive effect from the Imus outrage of the last several days. "This has been a learning experience, even for my own congregation," the Pastor confessed. "We have advised our women that from now on, they should specifically state they are wearing PANTY-hose. And our day care preschoolers will take naps -- no more, no less."

Bowers also delivered a "parallel exhortation" for National Action Network leader and New York talk show host Al Sharpton. "We're amazed this 'Reverend' didn't preach to Mr. Imus long before now, over his use of bad language. How much did those years with James Brown corrupt that minister?"

Bowers stopped short of issuing a second parallel exhortation to radio stations which play rap and hip-hop music. "We'll be monitoring Foxie-105 and 101.3 The Beat carefully, to see if they're also playing offensive language," he said. "But first, we need to find a church member who can understand everything the rappers are saying."

Imus could not be reached for comment Saturday on Bowers's words of challenge. Various online rumors had him either negotiating a book deal, or holding urgent meetings with Opie and Anthony on how to resurrect his career.

E-MAIL UPDATE: And speaking of local radio....

It took me over a week to realize it, but are the Braves no longer being carried by WRCG?

1420 has had them forever

Chop Chop

Well, they certainly were NOT there Saturday night - as I heard Neal Boortz's talk show instead. But then again, maybe the baseball players want to be on a radio station where people actually are likely to hear them.

Archway Broadcasting moved Atlanta baseball games to "Boomer 95.3 FM" about a year ago, probably because of the mess concerning the WRCG signal adjustments. It was an AM-FM simulcast last season. Now it may be a case of "Boom" over "Bust."

But we noted Friday that WRCG carried the Atlanta Thrashers playoff game Thursday night, instead of baseball. The Thrashers had a second playoff game Saturday afternoon, so that could explain why baseball was absent in the evening. After all, one N.H.L. playoff game this past week didn't finish until about 3:30 a.m. Eastern Time. [True!]

BLOG UPDATE: On a much more serious topic, the "Richard Davis Foundation for Peace" informed your blog Saturday District Attorney Gray Conger has now agreed to release the soldier's body. Is it because of the online petition drive, which has more than 250 signatures? Or is it because the city budget for room deodorizer is running out?

But with this strange murder case, you knew things couldn't end this simply and easily. An updated statement posted with the petition by the Richard Davis Foundation for Peace says: "Most of Richard's remains that were recovered are now missing." Huh?! Maybe the District Attorney needs to ask his staff where they went last year for Halloween parties.

We'll keep watching that situation, but now let's send some Instant Messages....

+ To the Columbus Police Department: Thank you for making an arrest in that home invasion and killing of two Hispanic residents. If you can prove the killers committed a hate crime, give them an appropriate punishment - such as life in prison, eating flaming-hot burritos every day.

+ To the people who won the loudest stereo contest at AutoFest Saturday: Please don't drive through my neighborhood - especially between midnight and 6:00 a.m.

+ To Rivertown Ford: What's going on here?! You were replaced after the noon news Friday by the "Bill Heard Super Show." Did their general manager win a bet over Arnold Swat-zen-prices or something?

+ To Cascade Hills Church: If you can prove I'm wrong, I'll admit it -- but it sounds to me like you're adding a laugh track to Bill Purvis's "Real Time" sermons. If he's going to preach "the truth," I sort of expect the audience to be the same way.

+ To the Columbus Civic Center: Did you mean to submit that ad to "Eco Latino" - the one saying your guest performer Friday night was "BOB Wow?" Has Lil' Bow Wow changed his name again? Or is this the debut tour by his brother??

COMING MONDAY: The Hurtsboro pot boils over again.... to the tune of more than $10,000....

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Friday, April 13, 2007

13 APR 07: COME OUT, WHATEVER YOU ARE

CAUTION: Today's entry again comes to you from a blogger who's battling a bug -- my second in three weeks. It's probably a good idea to keep disinfectant wipes near your computer at all times, for situations like this.

But a big local news story is taking priority over my health today. Two events were held Thursday, in the wake of the killing of two Hispanic Columbus residents in a home invasion. The first was an effort to get Hispanic parents involved in local schools. If police can find the attackers, perhaps their parents can be quizzed about this as well.

The meeting about Hispanic involvement in public schools was held at Martin Luther King Elementary. I was a bit surprised to learn one-sixth of the children at that school are Hispanic. If this trend continues, Spencer High School could be a baseball and soccer powerhouse in no time at all....

But some members of the "M.L.K. P.T.A." say Hispanic parents seem reluctant to take part in the organization. One woman encouraged them by saying, "Schools are open doors." OK, I guess so - but I'm not sure people need to hear that so close to the Columbine High School anniversary.

Another M.L.K. P.T.A. member suggested various cultures in Columbus need to come together, instead of being isolated. This is a good idea, and it's been tried in Columbus for years. But whatever happened to the International Festival during August? Did the fire marshal finally crack down on those Polynesian dancers with the burning sticks?

I can understand why some Hispanic Columbus residents would want to feel careful and be secluded, especially right now. They may be wondering if someone is making them targets for crimes such as home invasions -- especially on weekends. The criminals seem to be focusing on convenience stores and restaurants from Monday to Thursday right now.

Yet if Hispanic Columbus residents choose to remain in seclusion, it will raise questions among other people in the city - the people who suspect they're here illegally. If you're legal, they might argue, why are you hiding? Never mind the fact that recovering sex offenders might be in the same situation....

Given this quandary, it was good to see the second event at Martin Luther King Elementary Thursday - an evening candlelight vigil for the home invasion victims. Nearly 100 people attended, including city leaders and NAACP officials. And for you skeptics in Phenix City: I didn't see anyone being recruited to work at that new poultry processing plant.

Columbus Councilor Mimi Woodson said she's trying to organize classes, to help Hispanic residents assimilate into the community. Several agencies already offer classes, to teach them English - and I truly hope they haven't used old tapes of Don Imus's radio show to do that.

Georgia NAACP President Ed DuBose said it was good to see community togetherness at the candlelight vigil, as well as a desire for justice. This was a bit surprising, considering Columbus Police are seeking African-American suspects in last weekend's deadly home invasion. Hopefully police won't botch this case, by arresting the suspects with stun guns.

Yet I still suspect some people in Columbus are privately muttering about the fund-raising effort to bury the home invasion victims. It's not the $7,000 cost - it's the fact that the victims will be buried in Mexico. They came to this country to make a living and enjoy a bit of U.S. freedom, yet our cemeteries aren't good enough?

(This issue can work both ways, though. A caller wondered awhile back why Coretta Scott King went to Mexico last year for controversial treatments to prolong her life. "She died outside liberty's soil," the caller said - perhaps thinking the rejection of shady "cures" by the Food and Drug Administration shows freedom and liberty in action.)

Robbie Watson said on WRCG's "TalkLine" Thursday people should "do the right Christian thing," and donate to the burial fund for the home invasion victims. Yet I suspect some opponents of illegal immigration are reluctant to do that. They'd argue obeying U.S. law is the right thing. And they want to see a green card attached to the coroner's report....

Yet given all this, there's no reason to think the home invasion killing of two Hispanic residents was justified. And there's really no reason to single out Hispanic residents in the hunt for illegal immigrants, either. Canadians can sneak across the other border as well, you know.

BLOG UPDATE: Here's a special Hurtsboro update, that's weather-related. The National Weather Service confirmed Thursday a tornado from Macon County reached Highway 51 in Hurtsboro Wednesday evening. So far, no one has blamed this on either the Mayor or the Constable.

Now for some more news which was swirling about on Thursday....

+ Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue revealed he has "concerns" about a compromise midyear budget, which includes a one-time tax break for homeowners. He said the tax break was worked out in a "strange fashion." If Democrats can do it with the state flag, why can't Republicans do it with something they cherish -- namely money?

+ West Point showed off its new "Reverse 911" system, where the city government phones residents about emergency alerts. So shouldn't it be called the "119 System?"

+ The Atlanta Thrashers lost their first-ever playoff game, 4-3 to the New York Rangers. If you're new to playoff hockey, we should point out something - it's OK to root for the Thrashers, because none of the Rangers ever have trained at Fort Benning.

(What a nice surprise to hear the Thrashers playoff game on WRCG radio, instead of Atlanta baseball. For one thing, the Thrashers actually scored more points....)

+ Instant Message to WRBL meteorologist Bob Jeswald: Were those hail stones on the plate you showed on the air Thursday evening? Or were you promoting the most unappealing charity dinner I've ever seen?

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

12 APR 07: THE SECOND WAVE

The siren sounded in my neighborhood around 7:30 Wednesday night. The severe weather siren, I mean. Thankfully, Columbus Police still have not invaded my home and seized my blogging computer.

A line of severe storms and possible tornadoes moved through the area, for the second time in six weeks. Thankfully, Columbus escaped serious damage this time -- because it would have looked bad for the Bush administration to overlook Muscogee County in a disaster declaration again.

The biggest hazard from Wednesday night's storms may not have been from tornadoes. Hail was reported in several counties, damaging at least 14 cars -- and in Fort Mitchell it reached the size of grapefruit. Why, one of those stones would be large enough to cool off a Big Gulp drink all by itself.

One Fort Mitchell woman told WXTX "News at Ten" the storm approached her house like a tidal wave, so she stood outside for about ten minutes and watched the hail fall. Hopefully she wore her bicycle helmet for protection as she did....

The Seale area reported "baseball-sized" hail -- and the residents there probably don't mind. It's all the better for Russell County High School's team to practice....

The tornado sirens sounded in Columbus because radar showed a potential twister in the making. The red-and-purple glob shown on the TV screen had what's called a "hook echo." I'm not sure the Columbus Catfish mascot "Hook" ever has said anything, to produce an echo.

Every time the tornado siren sounds, I face a dilemma -- because I can't do what the TV weather experts tell me. I can't go to a lower floor, because I'm in a one-story apartment. I can't really go to a "center room away from windows," because my apartment really has no such thing. And I can't even park my car under a carport, unless you count a big tree near the street.

So when the siren sounded Wednesday night, I shut down the computer to save a big repair bill from a lightning strike. Then I went to my "central location," in a far corner of the living room. I could watch weather updates on TV -- and duck under the wall furnace, if high winds shook the metal frame loose.

About 20 minutes into the Muscogee County tornado warning, WRBL left its weather coverage to show the final rounds of "Wheel of Fortune." I never realized those "Wheel Watchers" call TV stations as fervently as the "American Idol" viewers.

I wound up with some nice rain in my neighborhood, but no hail. So I'll have to keep my little sealed cup in my freezer awhile longer -- the one containing some of Columbus's last snowfall. If only I'd thought to write a date on it, for history....

E-MAIL UPDATE: Maybe we simply aren't savvy with our steaks - as we heard from a reader about Wednesday's review of Ben's Chop House:

I grew up eating what we called Chop Steak..it was chopped all right...usually it was ground round...so in my menu vocab.chop steak does not mean it is the name of a special steak of Ben's Chop House,but chopped meat...guess it is an old Columbus thing.. Have you ever tried "Evelyn's" for lunch next door to Rosehill Seafood..They have an excellent chop steak with veggies for the same price as the tip you left at Ben's..

I couldn't tell if I was eating ground round, plain old ground beef, ground chuck - or at a price of $15.95, ground Charles might be closer to it....

While I've dined at Rose Hill Seafood once or twice, I've never been to Evelyn's Café on Hamilton Road. But then again, I don't eat "lunch" very often -- unless you count hours of occasional nibbling from my stash of chocolate, tortilla chips and cookies.

Now that I've probably revealed a bit too much about myself, let's check other news highlights from Wednesday:

+ A town hall meeting in Harris County brought out about 200 people, many of them against a big new development called "The Grove." Some residents say they don't want commercial businesses across the street from them. Someday they'll realize they're in a Columbus suburb - and only one Waffle House in the county simply isn't enough.

+ Two environmental groups set up an "inflatable power plant" outside the Government Center. They oppose plans to build a coal-burning plant in Early County - and one of its pretend smokestacks said "asthma attacks" on it. So do these groups also support clear-cutting all the pine trees, to reduce the pollen count for asthmatics as well?

+ WRBL reported two Shetland ponies disappeared from a Lee County business, only to be found later near Chambers County. OK, which parent made one promise too many for a birthday party?

+ Alabama Governor Bob Riley says he wants to end the practice of "double-dipping" by state lawmakers - where they make money from government jobs, in addition to the legislative pay. More and more, Senator Ted Little's deal with the private Lyman Ward Military Academy makes him look like a stinking genius.

+ Which man is sending apology letters all over Columbus, because a statistician never showed up for last weekend's Columbus Lions indoor football game? It's a shame the World Indoor Football League is so low-budget that it couldn't have asked a child in the stands to keep track of the numbers.

+ The National Football League released its 2007 schedule. The Atlanta Falcons have three prime-time home games - two on Monday night and one on Thanksgiving. Someone in the league office must be betting Michael Vick doesn't get hurt.

+ Instant Message to the Duke men's lacrosse team: I've got a great idea! Hold a "unity summit" with the Rutgers women's basketball team, since you now have several things in common. But I wouldn't dare go so far as to suggest you have a party....

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

11 APR 07: A CHOP OR A PLOP

So these guys are sitting at a nice restaurant, talking about meals that are even nicer. One man talks about spending 500 dollars somewhere for dinner. "It doesn't seem right to spend that much for one night, when you can build a deck in your yard that will last for 20 years."

The place where this comment was made won't quite set you back 500 dollars, but it comes across as upscale. Ben's Chop House opened at The Landings on Sidney Simons Boulevard last year, and quickly picked up two Reader's Choice awards from the Ledger-Enquirer. One was for "Fine Dining" - and with steaks costing as much as 35 dollars, that's pretty fine.

It's apparent right away that Ben's Chop House tries to be a local version of top-dollar big-city steak house chains, such as Ruth's Chris and Morton's Chicago. The tables are made with deep hardwoods - yet the walls have paintings which remind you more of an Uptown café. Maybe if enough people stop by, the wood panels will reach all the way to the ceiling.

"Good evening. My name is Leslie, and I'll be your server," said Rachel the server when I sat entered Ben's Chop House one evening last week.

"OK. My name is Richard, and I'll be your customer." I was all by myself, and that line came from an old boss at a radio station.

Leslie presented me with a menu - which is a switch from some big-city steak houses right there. And besides, it was on two sides of a long sheet of high-quality paper. Bludau's on Broadway would give you a padded menu book. Some top-dollar steak houses would give you none - because the servers know it all by heart.

There's a separate menu on the Ben's Chop House tables - the small "proprietor's menu." The main event there is your choice of a 12-ounce or 16-ounce prime steak, each costing $34.95. By comparison, I bought a seven-ounce sirloin tip steak on my own days later for less than $1.25 -- and it had hardly any fat. Thank you, Piggly Wiggly....

I decided against being a big spender on this evening, and looked for something economical. That's a polite big-city steak house way of saying "cheap," you know.

Why not a "Chop Steak" from a Chop House? I decided. It cost $15.95, and came with a side order and a salad. While I waited for the salad, I considered some of the restaurant's other amenities....

+ Little "grinders" at your table, with sea salt and pepper. The top-dollar restaurants have a member of the wait staff grind pepper on the salad for you - but I showed up at 5:30 p.m., perhaps before prime-time.

+ The side orders, which included "white cheddar grits." Yup, this certainly is a Southern restaurant.

+ The specials of the day, which were mentioned by the server - and also were written on a chalkboard near the front door. Ruth's Chris might have a chalkboard for the schedule in the kitchen, but nothing more.

Perhaps because it was twilight time, it didn't take long at all for the salad to come out. It wasn't all that unusual or different. It didn't even use some of the overpriced $1.99 heads of iceberg lettuce, which I'm seeing in supermarkets.

Leslie My Server promised me twice that the entree was coming, perhaps concerned that I was a single guy who had nothing to do while I waited. I'll take the blame for not bringing a magazine to read. I'll even give Ben's Chop House some credit, for not having a TV set over people's heads in the dining room.

In a few minutes, Leslie brought out the Chop Steak - meat covered with a tan herb and mushroom sauce. I was ready with Ben's steak knife, but quickly found the Chop Steak was quite tender. The sirloin tip steak I cooked at home was harder to cut - but then, I forgot I still have some meat tenderizer stashed in the pantry.

But at about the fourth bite, I realized something different - the Chop Steak was TOO tender. In fact, some would argue it was not even a steak at all. I had ground beef on my plate. The chef disguised it well with that mushroom sauce, but ground beef it was....

For $15.95 ($23 with a tip and soft drink), Ben's Chop House had given me what my late mother would have called a "Swiss steak" when I was a boy. Others would call it a hamburger steak. It was as if Indie's a couple of miles away had several left over from lunch.

This admittedly was a bit of a jolt - that an award-winning "fine dining" steak house would serve a ground beef steak, which cost 16 dollars at that. It didn't even promise the mushrooms in the sauce were Portobellos.

But this was a case where the side order I selected saved the dinner. Ben's Chop House served "burgundy button mushrooms" on the side -- and the plump mushrooms were tastefully bathed in burgundy wine. If I had gurgled down the sauce in the little bowl, I'm not sure I would have passed a breath test driving home.

I've dined at a Morton's in the heart of Manhattan, and a Ruth's Chris near the beach in San Juan. While Ben's Chop House seems desirous of emulating them, it still has a ways to go. Serving hamburger meat for the price of three "six-dollar burgers" from Hardee's does not help a restaurant's reputation....

But Ben's Chop House had some positive qualities, compared to the top-dollar steak houses. I was in and out the door in under an hour. It offered lighter options such as chicken, which I don't recall Morton's ever doing (although that was in the early 1990's). And it refuses to be so absurd, as to bring out large baked potatoes to let you hand-select one.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Tuesday's Instant Message of respectful decline was answered with a bit of a challenge:

Explain what Bloggers row is part of maybe?

This would help...other Bloggers ain't Skeered to post it!

If there's one sure way to force a blogger's hand, it's by suggesting he's a scaredy-cat.

So there's the link above, to a week of activities in Washington, to oppose special favors for illegal immigrants. It's called the "Amnesty Alamo" - although you have to wonder why Alamo Rent-A-Car isn't a participating sponsor.

Now that we've had some more disclosure, let's discuss some of Tuesday's top news items:

+ Columbus Council approved more of the paperwork, for the Columbus Housing Authority to begin renovating the Baker Village Apartments. One TV report indicated nearly 200 people already have been moved out of the complex. It did NOT say how many were gang members, who were moved to the county jail.

+ As your blog first reported last week, more charges were filed against the teen accused of shooting up Columbus Police cars. Jason Howell now is accused of burglarizing seven homes and 18 cars in the Midland area. That Wal-Mart SuperCenter may not have opened soon enough for him.

+ Lee County authorities charged Smiths Station High School teachers' aide Jamie Brock with stealing items from a student's purse. If this doesn't get the Alabama Education Association clamoring for a raise from the legislature, I don't know what will.

+ Lanett police accused Angela Robinson of robbing several homes from Prattville to LaGrange. Robinson works as a nurse, and a search of her home reportedly found ten different prescription medicines. I don't quite understand why this woman would want to match Anna Nicole Smith's record....

+ Instant Message to the Rutgers women's basketball team: I can understand why you're upset. But to call yourself "the best America has to offer" - uhhhh, didn't Tennessee beat you for the national championship last week?

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

10 APR 07: VIVA LAS DIVAS?

Where was the crying baby? That was one of several questions on my mind Monday night, as GPB Radio aired a recording of last September's "opera divas" concert at the RiverCenter. I never heard one making noise. But then again, I never heard the singers lecturing the audience for bad manners, either.

I wanted to know how GPB would handle the September recital by Frederica Von Stade and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa - the one which left some RiverCenter concertgoers insulted and offended. It turned out the radio network handled things with grace and dignity. Some might argue Te Kanawa could learn from that example....

If you came in late to all this: Frederica Von Stade and Kiri Te Kanawa stopped their RiverCenter recital last fall after one song, because of a baby inside the theater and some people taking cell phone pictures [4 Oct 06]. But GPB did NOT air any of the disruptions -- so I guess someone in the audience will have to post them on YouTube.

The baby inside the Bill Heard Theatre didn't make enough noise to be picked up by GPB's microphones, during an opening series of duets. Perhaps the divas simply have sensitive hearing -- or the RiverCenter is using old mikes from the Three Arts Theater, which need replacing.

What makes all the talk about disruptions more interesting is what GPB's Terrence McKnight revealed in introductory remarks about the recital. Dame Kiri Te Kanawa once was a pop star, who sang in New Zealand nightclubs! So flashing cell phones should be nothing to her - and she should be thankful the RiverCenter doesn't allow smoking in the theaters.

(By the way, Terrence McKnight said the RiverCenter was "just about full" for the September 30 recital. Just about?! That's the trouble with scheduling this performance for a Saturday night during college football season....)

The only slightly awkward moment GPB aired during the recital came at the end of a Benjamin Britten work that Frederica Von Stade sang. A few members of the audience applauded before piano accompanist Warren Jones was finished. It's a wonder Jones didn't speed up, or hit some loud off-key chords.

But perhaps the biggest faux pas of the recital came when Frederica Von Stade sang the cute Aaron Copeland tune, "I Bought Me a Cat." It has the singer imitate various animals - and Von Stade did the usual line, "The duck said quack-quack." She's in Columbus, and she doesn't change it to Aflac?!

Frederica Von Stade actually seemed to have rapport with the RiverCenter audience, making humorous remarks several times. I didn't notice any such comments from Kiri Te Kanawa -- so it's no wonder some concertgoers wouldn't have objected if Indonesia invaded her native New Zealand.

GPB interviewed the "opera divas" separately, and Frederica Von Stade admitted her successful 30-year career in classical singing is partly due to luck. She said she's learned "I know what I can't do." That explains why she hasn't appeared on a duet album with Elton John.

Accompanist Warren Jones also was interviewed by GPB. He revealed the only time he's ever stopped playing during a concert occurred at the University of Florida, when he was "immobilized" by how well Kiri Te Kanawa was singing. Compare that with the RiverCenter recital - when the audience was immobilized simply by how she talked to it.

In a classic ratings-grabbing move, GPB invited us back NEXT Monday night - to hear a "master class" Frederica Von Stade and Kiri Te Kanawa conducted with seven Columbus State University students. One was heard saying he screamed so loudly at the invitation, "I caused my dog to p** on herself." This is why some conservatives are so skeptical about public radio....

BLOG CLARIFICATION: After chatting with my Pastor at church, we're clarifying a comment we posted here Sunday. The Pastor tells me the statement that Easter Sunday is an "unsanctified" day really comes from God, NOT from him. So if you have a problem with what the Pastor said, go take it to his Boss on the top floor.

My pastor should be interested in our top story, reviewing leftover news items from the last couple of days:

+ The Muscogee County School Board discussed making the New King James Version the "official textbook," in the upcoming Bible literature curriculum. That would satisfy the traditionalist churches in town - the ones who like to say N.I.V. stands for "not-inspired version."

+ Pine Ridge Elementary School's Daniel Trotter was named Georgia Principal of the Year. So what does he win - a golden paddle?

+ The Sunday morning low temperature in Columbus stayed above the freezing mark, at 35 degrees F. The high was only 56, but one of my neighbors still had an afternoon cookout in the apartment courtyard. How you cook an Easter ham on a charcoal grill, I'm not really sure....

+ Sumter and Taylor Counties had their income tax deadlines extended to April 30, because of tornado damage. Muscogee County is overlooked again - but then again, people in the Brookstone neighborhood can afford the best tax lawyers to avoid paying, anyway.

+ WRBL reported the Talbot County NAACP had a community meeting, on opposing a proposed sludge facility. It was joined by the group "Citizens Against Toxic Sludge" - as if CATS don't produce enough waste on their own.

+ Columbus State's second-ranked softball team swept a doubleheader over Clark Atlanta. C.S.U. won the first game 25-0 - which leads me to wonder if the Clark Atlanta pitchers were held over by midterms, and showed up late.

+ Atlanta baseball pitcher Mike Hampton was declared out for the season, because he'll undergo more elbow surgery today. Hampton's hardly thrown for Atlanta since 2005. Some Columbus employers would have fired him by now, for having obvious attitude problems.

+ The Atlanta Falcons signed quarterback Joey Harrington, to back up Michael Vick. Harrington is an accomplished jazz pianist -- so maybe he can steer his teammates to do proper things in Buckhead nightclubs.

+ Instant Message to the woman who e-mailed information about a "blogger's row" planned in Washington in two weeks: Thank you - but I think other commitments will keep me from attending. Not to mention the fact that I don't have a laptop, so I'd have to borrow one. And the fact that I wouldn't know a "wi-fi hot spot" if someone lit a bonfire on the sidewalk to mark it.

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Sunday, April 08, 2007

for 9 APR 07: FASTER, FASTER

We're posting this several hours early, because of a special church Holy Day. And it's only fitting, because I've reached the conclusion I'm not going fast enough for other people. To be honest, I should have reached this conclusion when I was in fourth grade - and barely outran the last girl in my class, in the 600-yard dash.

The lack of speed is especially evident when I'm driving. There are several reasons for this. For one thing, my humble Honda is almost 13 years ago and is above 121,000 miles. When it goes up hills, I recall something my late Dad said about another small car I once drove on the freeway: "Do you want me to get out, and help you push?"

But to borrow from WSHE's Jim Foster, there's more to my slowness than a car's "get-up-and-go" having "got up and went." For years, I've made a conscious choice to drive at the speed limit -- even on the highway. The only time Judge Haywood Turner might get upset with me is if all the left lanes of traffic were crowded.

People often say it's impossible to drive at the speed limit on big-city highways. I disagree, because I've done it. Simply go 55 miles per hour in the right-hand lane, and set a good example for everyone else - an example they usually ignore, until they see a State Patrol car in their rear-view mirrors.

But the other afternoon, I was convicted of not moving fast enough for other people - and it happened as my car was at a gas pump. I went to the Dolly Madison station where unleaded was still selling for $2.50 a gallon this weekend. Maybe the staff made a deal with Iran's government, to apologize for thinking about stepping into its waters.

The Dolly Madison store on Victory Drive only has three gas pumps, so six drivers at a time can use it. I turned in and found myself third in line, so I left a bit of space for drivers to go by and park next to the door thrift store door. It only takes one honking horn to tell you your strategy is wrong....

A four-by-four behind me honked, so I moved my Honda up and crowded behind the second vehicle in line. I felt convicted, since the four-by-four driver didn't wave to thank me - and I kept waiting for another drive to honk me backwards, for blocking their way out of the store.

After a few minutes of waiting, vehicle #2 and mine moved up to the pumps. I looked behind me, noticed more cars in line - and convicted by the horn-honker, I decided to take action. I didn't simply walk inside the store to prepay for gas. I sprinted. Sometimes you have to show how much you care.

"There are people waiting in line," I urgently explained to the woman behind the counter as I quickly handed over my credit card to prepay for gas.

"Calm down," the woman told me. "Or you're gonna need to go on some medications."

"I'm OK, but everybody's impatient today." At least, that's what I hear many ministers say - you know, the ones who usually have reserved parking spots at church halls and meetings.

Maybe I wasn't really that OK, because I was getting a bit out of breath and jumpy trying to make my point. The woman at Dolly Madison clearly wasn't being paid an incentive bonus, for handling the most customers on her shift.

After I signed the receipt for the prepaid gas, I jogged back outside and filled my tank. At least at this point, there was nothing I could do to make the pump work faster. And who knows -- maybe a passing NASCAR crew chief might spot me, and want to give me a job.

With the tank full and a one-dollar prepay refund coming, I hurriedly back inside the Dolly Madison store. The woman behind the counter still was unimpressed. "Did you drink too much caffeine today? Is that what it is?"

"I'd explain to you, but people are still waiting in line - and they'll grow even more impatient."

"I know how to take care of that." And with that, the woman behind the counter simply took her usual time handling my credit card refund. Come to think of it, maybe she realizes her station has the lowest price in Columbus....

After I ran back out to the car and pulled out like Jeff Gordon finishing a green-flag pit stop at Talladega, I reflected on what I'd done. Some people behind the counter might have pushed a silent alarm to call police, over what I had done. But then again, my outfit with T-shirt and athletic shorts probably convinced this woman I wasn't dressed to be a robber.

But I still justify what I did at Dolly Madison, because I was trying to show love and concern for others. If I move faster in doing the ordinary things of life, people around me will be less likely to become impatient. They'll be happier, they'll be less likely to honk their horns at me -- and the extra running might help me drop another couple of pounds.

BLOG UPDATE: It's another "Hurtsboro Monday," but the big news from the Russell County town may come later in the week. Mayor Shirley Tarver is scheduled to appear in Russell County Court Friday, in a case involving her adult care center. Will Constable R.J. Schweiger show up, and attempt to psych out her attorneys?

East Alabama Medical Center is suing Shirley Tarver's "Jet Adult Day Care." EAMC hired the Montgomery law firm of Holloway and Moxley to represent it in court. No one answered the phone there when we called Friday afternoon, but the voice mail system noted it's a "debt collection" firm. So you'll recognize the attorneys by their trench coats and sunglasses....

Meanwhile, your blog has received a second "snail mail" letter from "R.C. Ounti" concerning Hurtsboro. This time, Mr. Ounti recommends two restaurants where people talk about the town. Aren't these the places where problems are supposed to get resolved - not only in Hurtsboro, but in Washington and Baghdad?

"The City Grill features a round table," R.C. Ounti writes. "Your Blog and the Constable are both popular and unpopular there!" It looks like I'd better show up there ready to pay for lunch with cash.

"Then there's Marnie's," Mr. Ounti continues - a Hurtsboro café "run and catered to by the black citizens." Oh no! Don't tell me there's segregation in this town - for instance, between the green and black-eyed peas.

R.C. Ounti contends when it comes to the Marnie's Café crowd, "your Blog is much too deep for those folks." Aw c'mon - we have regular readers across in Alabama, and not one has asked us to translate our words into plain English for them.

R.C. Ounti suggests Russell County Judge Kenneth White has convinced Marnie's Café that "he will protect them from the big bad constable." So what does R.J. Schweiger have against an African-American restaurant? Would he argue the food doesn't have enough soul?

SCHEDULED TUESDAY: The most controversial concert of the season is broadcast statewide....

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8 APR 07: APRIL SHIVERS BRING....

Saturday night at sunset is usually "running time" for me. But when I checked the official Phenix City "Redneckin" temperature gauge at 8:04 p.m., it was only 46 degrees F. That's too chilly for me to jog outside - although a temperature of 56 might have meant an empty Riverwalk for running, as people huddled around fireplaces.

The official high temperature in Columbus Saturday was a mere 51 degrees F. That's about 20 degrees below average for early April - but on the other hand, clearance sales of sweaters were about 20 percent above average.

Which Columbus TV meteorologist dared to say of Saturday's cold wave across much of the country: "How's this for global warming?" That person just blew any chance of ever getting hired at the Weather Channel....

My home heater has clicked on during April before, so it wasn't that unusual to hear it running when I woke up Saturday morning. But in the other cases, our Serious Spring Cleaning was still underway. I don't have any vacuum cleaning or oven sponging left to do, to warm me up.

(Those big sighs of relief you may have heard Saturday came from Atmos Energy executives - because hardly anyone had needed to run their heaters for most of March.)

I heeded the warnings on TV, and brought in a potted plant from the porch for the weekend. It found a spot in my bathtub - except when it was time for me to take a shower. I haven't shared that kind of private moment since I played racquetball at a YMCA, more than 20 years ago.

While it was cold, at least Saturday was sunny. One man talked at church about looking out his window, and seeing an outstretched squirrel "getting some sun" for several minutes. Come to think of it, those creatures don't seem to go to Panama City Beach for spring break....

I heard a few others at church openly laugh at the idea of people getting up early for Easter sunrise services. Even our Pastor during his sermon called it an "unsanctified" day. But our denomination begins an annual Holy Day this evening - so if you want to organize a sunset service, you might have some company.

We could break a low-temperature record in Columbus today. But Derek Kinkade said on WXTX "News at Ten" it would NOT be "a one-number kind of thing." That's good news - because the folks up north can keep those readings below 10 degrees.

When I lived in metro Atlanta, the start of the Passover season meant it was safe to turn off the heater for the spring and summer. But not this year -- as Atlanta had its coldest April 7 in 100 years. I suppose it was colder than the Hawks' shooting during a losing streak.

In fact, the first full weekend of April is SO COLD that....

+ A motorcyclist came up behind me on 13^th Street, wearing a skeleton-face ski mask. I asked no questions and let him pass me -- and only later concluded it was really a ski mask.

+ Atlanta had snow flurries before dawn - but amazingly, parents didn't drop off their children at the snow plow garage the way they did at Six Flags on Thursday.

+ The University of Georgia had its annual "G-Day" football game - and Athens actually had perfect football weather.

+ The first-place score at The Masters golf tournament in Augusta is a record high two-OVER-par, by Stuart Appleby. It's a strange thing when the best scores go up, as the wind chill goes down.

(BLOG-BLAH-BLAH: Would you like to finish the little rhyme we started in our title? E-mail us with your idea, and we may post it here!)

Now that we've talked about the weather, let's see what else is left to discuss....

+ An armored car was robbed at gunpoint outside Peachtree Mall. Police say the criminal wore a black business suit. Some of us can remember when the Enron executives were a bit more subtle and sly than this.

+ A billboard in downtown Phenix City announced a free seminar on being "fear-less" at the amphitheater April 27-29. So Phenix City has found a way to fill its Riverfest weekend opening, while the RiverCenter and Civic Center hold big events of their own. And who is that big-name speaker the Historic Columbus Foundation is bringing again?!

+ The Faith Worship Center staged a 100-car parade, to officially move from its old home in Ladonia to its new worship center on Victory Drive. Several people living near the old church building probably plan a "victory party" of their own - happy to have a quiet neighborhood again.

+ The "Real Time" telecast on NBC-38 showed a notable change, as Cascade Hills Church Pastor Bill Purvis now has a web site and ministry named after him. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised by this - as the music played by the church band is almost too hip, even for him.

+ A Canadian agency succeeded in getting a TV commercial with Frank Thomas pulled off the air. It showed the Columbus native and Toronto Blue Jay in a pillow fight, slugging a child to the floor. [True/Ledger-Enquirer] This is why you never hear Canadian Football League teams challenge the Super Bowl champion to a showdown....

+ The Atlanta Thrashers tipped Tampa Bay 4-1, to clinch the team's first division title. The Thrashers are going to the National Hockey League playoffs for the first time - so perhaps some Columbus businesses finally will adjust their "Go Snakes Go" signs.

+ Instant Message to the Days Inn on Victory Drive: Has anyone told you your Georgia state flag is about four years out of date? Or is this as far as you're willing to go, to host a Port Columbus conference?

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

for 6 APR 07: OUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE

Weeks of rumors surrounding Phenix City's new hospital became official reality Thursday. Summit Hospital announced its obstetrics unit will close April 15. At least they aren't borrowing from Doctors Hospital, and renaming it "Zero Baby Place."

Summit Hospital executives didn't make up excuses for the OB-KO, admitting the obstetrics unit isn't making enough money. Maybe those illegal Alabama midwives are doing better than they're letting on....

Summit Hospital has been the site of 184 births since its opening last August. The first Columbus-area baby of 2007 was born there. But executives say they're only making about $1,800 per birth, while Columbus hospitals make about $4,000. Sometimes the Wal-Mart approach of discount pricing simply doesn't work.

Spokesman Ian Watson told WRBL the maternity ward was hurt by the fact that Summit Hospital is "100-percent Alabama Medicaid." Of course, a shutdown could send a message Summit would rather be zero-percent....

It was interesting to hear Ian Watson's choice of word about the closure. He called Summit a "community hospital," but said several times the obstetrics unit was a "business." Can you really have that both ways? I mean, other than when you have "community" cards in Texas Hold 'em Poker?

The status of the Summit Hospital obstetrics staff was a bit confusing. The unit was down to about four nurses -- but one TV report said about 20 layoffs and resignations are occurring hospital-wide. Maybe the hospital food unit will need one less person to puree.

Ian Watson held out hope that Summit Hospital's obstetrics unit might reopen someday. But he said the staff has to make sure the facility is financially viable 15 or 20 years from now. Maybe this hospital was misnamed all along - because once you're at the Summit, there's usually no place to go but down.

(Then again, maybe the hospital executives missed a marketing opportunity here. Give new moms and dads coupons to buy baby food at Summit convenience stores.)

Ian Watson promises Summit Hospital will NOT turn away any patient who shows up at the emergency room in labor. But each expectant mother will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Some might be sent to a Christian "pregnancy counseling" center, so the staff learns there's more than simply showing ultrasounds.

The shutdown of the obstetrics unit comes weeks after word that trauma patients in Phenix City are NOT sent to Summit Hospital, but to The Medical Center. Keep chipping away and chipping away, and before long the Russell County Health Department will have the biggest and fanciest clinic in the state.

Given Thursday's announcement, is anyone ready to dare say what I've been thinking - that Columbus Regional may have known what it was doing, when it closed the old Phenix Regional Hospital? Could it be that Phenix City residents are healthier than we've realized, and they're strong enough to get to Columbus medical centers on their own?

E-MAIL UPDATE: Thursday's news about Judge Haywood Turner apparently sparked a discussion on the "All About Columbus" Yahoo group, which included a mention of us:

....and what about the mayor-

is he really a cop?

He wants people to brandish guns!!!!

At least Columbus Council could demote that old black- shrouded guy to a stun gun or maybe a water pistol, especially if he is off his meds. I knew what I heard was too good to be true....that they had a roomie for the public defender, who is presumably, in prison for child molestation, unless our royal mayor in his judicious righteousness has seen fit to pardon him .

Maybe Mayor Jim Wetherington subscribes to the theory that the more ordinary Columbus residents are carrying guns, the less Columbus Police will have to pull out theirs.

(Did you notice there have been NO gun buybacks in Columbus since Bobby Peters left the mayor's office? I mean, other than what might slip through at the annual police auction, hidden in a car's glove compartment.)

Believe it or not, I once lived in a city where water pistols were illegal. Enid, Oklahoma banned them because teenagers filled them with ink, and shot at performers in an annual high school band festival. When I mentioned the ban on radio during a city code review, it became a national news story -- but at least the City Attorney was thrilled to be interviewed by a station in his old home area of Philadelphia.

But I digress: Are you suggesting Judge Haywood Turner should be locked up with former Columbus Boy Choir overseer Rick Smith? This wouldn't cure any anger management problem. If anything, Smith might turn into a soprano.

Now for more pleasant topics (well, maybe) from a pleasant Thursday:

+ Gas prices across Columbus jumped seven to nine cents a gallon, to a low (to our knowledge) of $2.50 at Dolly Madison on Victory Drive. OK, we can rule out Iran's government as the reason for this....

+ Columbus resident Gordon Rogers complained to WRBL about the Ledger-Enquirer throwing free copies of "Northland Neighbors" in his driveway. Rogers explained he travels often, and all the newspapers tip off burglars. Too bad he doesn't have any Northland neighbors of his own, to pick up those papers for him.

+ ConAgra Foods announced Peter Pan peanut butter made in Sylvester developed salmonella due to moisture from a leaky roof. Next time, put the lids on the jars a little faster....

+ Six Flags Over Georgia offered a spring break special, with free admission from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. - and a traffic jam formed on Interstate 20 as early as 3:30. And then you wonder how desperate some parents are, to get their children out of the house?!

+ The Columbus Catfish opened their new season by clubbing Kannapolis 6-1. But again this year, it appears no Columbus radio station is broadcasting the games. When "Viva 1460" won't even air baseball games in Spanish, that's bad....

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Wednesday, April 04, 2007

for 5 APR 07: JUDGE AND NO JURY

The clues were all over the place that something was up. Municipal Court Judge Haywood Turner's arraignment suddenly was moved up a few weeks, to take place Wednesday afternoon -- and the official counts against him suddenly changed. Either a plea deal was looming, or the judge was about to sell his house and retire to a Florida condo.

Judge Haywood Turner pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of reckless conduct, in a plea-bargain. We should specify this was for his driving on the J.R. Allen Parkway last summer - NOT for the times he's made cutting comments about Columbus Council.

Defense Attorney Peter Hoffman said outside court the guilty plea was NOT an absolute admission of wrongdoing. He explained Haywood Turner felt threatened by another driver on the J.R. Allen Parkway last August, and that's why the judge displayed a weapon. This judge obviously never watches "The People's Court" - with its old reminder NOT to take the law into your own hands.

Attorney Peter Hoffman explained a jury trial for Judge Haywood Turner would have been a "my word against his" case, where anything could happen. It might have boiled down to which talk show host could pack the courtroom with more spectators.

For pleading guilty to reckless conduct, a Troup County judge gave Judge Haywood Turner a "combination platter" sentence:

+ Forty hours of community service. I hope he follows Naomi Campbell's example, and wears designer clothing when he collects trash.

+ One year on probation. There's no word on whether gavels will be barred from his meetings with a probation officer.

+ A $1,000 fine. That part makes me wonder if Judge Turner is the one I really want to face, if I'm in trouble with the law.

+ A mandatory anger management course. Why does he have to go through this, while members of the Columbus Cottonmouths don't?

Perhaps the most noteworthy section of the sentence is that Judge Haywood Turner does NOT have to resign from municipal court. As a city employee, I don't think he has to stand for election - so former Judge Roxann Daniel will have to send her resume to every member of Columbus Council.

Mayor Jim Wetherington says he still has "a lot of respect" for Judge Haywood Turner, and hopes Wednesday's plea bargain will "be the end of it." But I suppose the victim of the reckless conduct on the J.R. Allen Parkway could file a civil suit - and put the judge's face in a lot of ads for Attorney Ken Nugent.

At least one weekly newspaper spread rumors in recent months that Judge Haywood Turner might retire, because of his legal problems. That did NOT happen Wednesday - but maybe he's working on a separate "plea bargain" with the City Manager on a pension.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Now a lesson in why it pays to read beyond the front page of the newspaper....

Did you notice in the Ledger obits today that the same person was there twice?..Seems in one life he attended Jordan and in the next life he attended Hardaway.

Now, now - the Ledger-Enquirer's staff may be living up to a motto. "We'll keep doing the news until we get it right."

When my mother died, the obituary in the newspaper wasn't quite accurate. But I was struck when the pastor of our family's church actually read from the obituary during the funeral service. As many years as my mom taught Sunday School, you'd think the minister would have come to know her a bit better than that.

Now for other Wednesday news from the land of the living....

+ Federal, state and Lee County officers investigated an alleged "chop shop" for cars in Smiths Station. When the business is named "Bi-City Parts and Salvage" and it's NOT in Columbus or Phenix City, that could be a clue right there.

+ Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington told WRBL the city is down to only ten openings on the police department. If this trend continues, the city "park police" might make a comeback - with wanna-be officers filling empty recreation positions.

+ A homeless man named Randy McCook carried a 30-pound cross for several miles down Veterans Parkway. For some reason, WRBL never asked him how he kept that cross stored under the Second Avenue Bridge.

(Randy McCook says he hopes to start an annual parade of homeless people, following his 30-pound cross. Of course, no one would dare suggest cutting up the wood and selling it for rent money....)

+ Alabama State Senator Ted Little told the Opelika-Auburn News he lobbies for state money for the private Lyman Ward Military Academy because it's the biggest employer in the town of Camp Hill. So why not go all the way up the chain of command, and ask Fort Benning to put some of the BRAC programs there?

+ The Columbus Cottonmouths returned home from the hockey playoffs - only to find a pipe for the Civic Center ice had burst. It's not clear whether a Friday night playoff game with Jacksonville could have been played. But part of me wonders if the Catfish are getting even, for all those drainage problems at Golden Park.

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4 APR 07: VEE NOT FOR VICTORY

"Both sides have been getting away with a little bit of murder...." Where might you have heard that quote Tuesday night? At a gang summit? A sports event? Or in a cable news discussion about Britain and Iran, arresting members of the military?

The correct answer is the middle one - and the quote was said Tuesday night by Columbus Cottonmouths play-by-play announcer Mike Vee. The Snakes were eliminated from the Southern League playoffs 4-3 by Jacksonville. But when Vee talks about BOTH teams getting away with "a little bit of murder," that's actually his strange way of complimenting the referee.

(Yes, I know -- you can't literally commit "a little bit" of murder. But no one ever accused Mike Vee of being a newscaster on the order of Roszell Gadson. He's a sports announcer - more on the order of being on the Cottonmouths' payroll.)

People who have heard Mike Vee on radio or the Internet know he definitely wears his Cottonmouths logo on his sleeve. When the final seconds ticked off Tuesday night, he went silent for a few seconds - then sounded like he was about to cry. You'd think Vee would realize tough-guy hockey players don't cry. Not even when they make post-season trips to the dentist....

Here's an example of Mike Vee's hockey view: he called a Jacksonville "very wrong" Tuesday night for putting a skate near a Columbus player's face - yet he later praised a Snakes player for cheating when the referee's back was turned. Somehow I doubt we'll ever hear Vee announce he's taking a job with the Pastoral Institute.

Mike Vee actually was tame and calm Tuesday night, compared to Game Three of the Columbus-Jacksonville series Sunday. In that game, Vee strongly suggested the referee was biased in Jacksonville's favor -- and almost said a "religious" swear word on the air. Considering that was a game Columbus won, I'm glad I couldn't hear the Jacksonville announcers.

I've disagreed with Mike Vee for years about his perspective on rough play in hockey. He openly wished at one point Tuesday night that it was a mid-season game and not a playoff game, so the Cottonmouths could "drop their gloves" and start brawling a bit with Jacksonville. And you thought "Five for Fighting" was simply a clever name for a rock band....

Mike Vee called Tuesday's Game Four "much more entertaining" to watch than Sunday's third game, because the referee allowed a large amount of rule-breaking. Yet that sort of stuff isn't allowed in football and basketball - and really isn't needed at all in hockey. If people really wanted to see fighting in Columbus, they'd draw much bigger crowds for GCW Wrestling.

Columbus led 3-1 after two periods Tuesday night, but Jacksonville rallied for three goals in the third period to win. You could tell Mike Vee's frustration in his voice at the end, when he very quietly thanked everyone for another season of hockey. By comparison, he exclaimed each "SCOWUH!" by the Cottonmouths like a vulture announcing a feast.

Mike Vee called Jacksonville's 3-1 series win over the regular-season champion Cottonmouths an "upset." Yet he suggested late in the season that sixth-place Jacksonville was peaking at the right time, and could give a team trouble in the playoffs. Maybe the Snakes shouldn't have dominated the regular-season series quite so much?!

It's tempting to say the Cottonmouths were a bit overconfident, heading into the Jacksonville series. The players cut up for TV cameras a couple of times, before the series started. But at least they didn't get ugly-looking Mohawk haircuts this time, which become marks of shame after you're eliminated.

E-MAIL UPDATE: Our Sunday tripleheader of beggars may have inspired this:

I was stopped on the main st.of Woodland,GA to let a train pass..A lady ,who had to be 80,walked up to the closed window and tapped..I almost had a heart attack...She said she had 5 grandchildren she was raising under 8 yrs old..Her check didn't come until next wk and she needed some money to buy some milk and oatmeal and peanutbutter...I gave her $20 and she started to cry and I did also...She walked into the only little store there and knew just what she needed that would last until the next check..I offered to take her home and she said no..I asked why..and she said she didn't want her neighbors to see me drive her up or they would come get some of her groceries...WOW..broke my heart...First that children in the US would be hungry and then because this elderly ,somewhat feeble lady was taking care of children that were thrown away by their parents...when she needed her own children taking care of her...What would the US do without grandparents..

Here's hoping that woman really used the 20 dollars on hungry grandchildren - and that the "neighbors" weren't really police officers, checking to see if she's a scam artist.

I would have wondered if Woodland has some sort of food pantry, to help people in the grandmother's situation. A few years ago, I recorded here several trips I made to Columbus pantries with my late next-door neighbor. It beat her knocking on my door at the end of every month seeking loans - after she openly talked with neighbors about playing Cash 3.

As it happens, Columbus Mayor Jim Wetherington announced Tuesday homeless people have until April 30 to move away from the Second Avenue Bridge area. They probably would have done this, anyway - to enjoy the summer breezes on the 14^th Street Bridge.

Now let's catch up on some news we've overlooked from the last several days....

+ Your blog has learned the teenager accused last week of shooting up Columbus Police cars is now a suspect in several home burglaries. I'm told one man lost not only a coin collection, but the safe where it was kept. Maybe the lesson is to put a few bricks in that safe, to slow a criminal down.

+ Former Muscogee County School Board President Mary Sue Polleys was appointed to the Georgia State Board of Education. Maybe she can timeshare a house in Atlanta with State Senator Ed Harbison....

+ Columbus Council approved Pamela Hodge as the city's new permanent Director of Finance. Have you seen Hodge on TV? If this was ten years ago and Bobby Peters was still Mayor, the Government Center wouldn't be big enough to hold the romance rumors.

+ Aflac unveiled a new commercial which keeps the nameless duck, but adds a goat. If the Amos family isn't careful, Pine Mountain Wild Animal Safari may file a lawsuit....

+ The Southeast "Super Seniors" tennis tournament was held at Cooper Creek Park. The age 60-and-over players brought an estimated million-dollar surge to the Columbus economy - and I imagine the Waffle House cooks are still recovering from it.

+ Instant Message to Shoney's: Are you kidding me?! I show up at 8:00 in the morning, and your public address system is playing the borderline sex song "Strokin'"?! I want breakfast, not a taste of the Howard Stern show.

COMING SOON: A $16 hamburger steak?!?!....

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Monday, April 02, 2007

2 APR 07: IT IS FINISHED

Our title sounds like it came directly from a big Biblical event many people mark this week - and it does. But today, the meaning is a bit different for me. It's the finish of my annual Serious Spring Cleaning - where papers get sorted, the toaster gets toppled, and I visit more recycling bins in two weeks than some people do in a year.

The church denomination I attend keeps a Biblical festival called the "Days of Unleavened Bread," where all the leaven is removed from homes for a week. For many families, it's probably as easy as a sweep through the kitchen. But for a single guy like me - well, chocolate chip cookies can be eaten anytime, anywhere, for almost any occasion.

(The leaven is a picture of removing sin from our lives. So if you'd like to join in this project, my motto for this year is: "Put out all leaven in 2007 -- and you might move a little bit closer to heaven.")

The Serious Spring Cleaning at my home takes more than five weeks. I have to leave room for the interruptions which inevitably happen. This year, I lost an evening to the March 1 tornadoes -- although I suppose a real-life "white tornado" would have cleaned my kitchen better than Ajax Cleanser ever could.

(One year in metro Atlanta, a neighbor who attended church with me called on the final day of cleaning - and demanded I call the Clark Howard Show over and over again, to get on the air with HIS travel questions. I could tell his wife did the bulk of the cleaning at their apartment, and he didn't care how much I did.)

Sometimes strange things happen during cleaning season. Our Sunday entry noted not one, but three examples of beggars needing my help. Imagine if any of those three had been Girl Scouts, trying to sell extra yeast-filled cookies....

Serious Spring Cleaning also provides the opportunity to find lost money from the last year. For instance, I recovered a dime which had dropped between my car seats. But nothing fell under the couch cushions - perhaps they're too filled with papers for me to sit on them.

But in recent years, Serious Spring Cleaning has served another important purpose. I try not only to get the leaven out of my house - but the cockroaches. They can hide in gaps in the medicine cabinet. They hide in the backs of kitchen drawers. And it's SO frustrating when you triple-fold the top of the cereal bag, and they still climb inside....

The trouble is that I'm sure my kitchen cleaning really gets the cockroaches out. Even when I use a vacuum cleaner in well-hidden areas, they seem to find ways to hide a little deeper. You may draw your own comparisons with Usama bin-Laden here.

Yet here's the strange thing: when I lugged a giant trash can to the curb today and declared Serious Spring Cleaning over, I was reminded the bathroom needs a once-over again. That's what happens when you haven't touched it in five weeks. You can keep sweet rolls out, but somehow mold and scuzz still sneaks in.

So if you hear me whistling or humming some unusual tunes over the next seven days, it's because I'm keeping the lessons of Unleavened Bread on my mind. For instance, I hope the Village People don't object if I sing, "I've got to be a matzo man...."

BLOG UPDATE: It turns out we have time on this "Hurtsboro Monday" to mention - well, Hurtsboro. A surprise letter reached our mailbox in the last week, from someone who signed it "Russell C. Ounti." When someone has the initials R.C., you know he's truly Southern.

Mr. Ounti declares in his letter Hurtsboro Constable R.J. Schweiger "has the goods on Mayor Tarver, Paul May, Jim Baxley, and His Honor" - apparently referring to Russell County Judge Ken White. A couple of these names admittedly are not familiar to me. But maybe this is why Governor Riley didn't appoint any of them to that opening on the county commission.

The letter contends a group of Hurtsboro is going after the Constable because the city refuses to "open their books." Mr. Ounti adds the state of Alabama is refusing to get involved with the group's prosecution of R.J. Schweiger on contempt of court charges. So? The state still hasn't answered the Schweiger petitions for a state takeover of Hurtsboro -- so apathy can be fair and balanced.

There are more contentions in the letter, but the final stages of Serious Spring Cleaning prevented us from tracking down the facts. Hopefully we'll have more time in the coming days to do that. We only ask that no one leave a trail of leavened bread crumbs or croutons....

But we're struck by a P.S. in Russell C. Ounti's letter: "The concerned citizen is no longer in town" - the mystery person who contacted us with details on Constable Schweiger's legal problems months ago [17 Jan]. How does Mr. Ounti know this? Is Hurtsboro so small that he took a roll call, and found someone didn't answer?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Our usual blog format should resume Wednesday, after we pause Tuesday for the first Day of Passover/Unleavened Bread.)

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Sunday, April 01, 2007

1 APR 07: THE THREE-BEGGAR OPERA

Yes, I'm aware what day of the year this is - but I have a serious question. Did ANYONE get paid on Friday? Really? It was the busiest day for money-starved people that I've seen in all my years in Columbus. And not one of them was trying to scrape up the money to buy Cottonmouths playoff tickets.

BLOGGER BEGGAR #4 began the action about 2:30 p.m. Friday. "How ya doin'?" asked a slow-moving woman who passed my car in the Oakland Park shopping center parking lot on South Lumpkin Road.

"Hi," I said quietly without even glancing at her. It was "car day" in Serious Spring Cleaning, and I stayed focused on the thing I was dusting outside the car. Pitchmen thrive on eye contact, you know.

"Do you have 50 cents, so I can get a soda?" No one else was around in this part of the parking lot. So if I didn't help her, she'd have to walk on to the Hispanic shoppers who would have even more trouble understanding her mumbling.

There were two diet cola cans in the cup holders next to my front seat. But these were already-opened, sipped-from cans -- so it wouldn't be right to offer them to this woman. Besides, one of them might still have germs from my 103-degree fever weekend. What if she was good at memorizing license plate numbers?

"Tell you what...." I realized quickly where the easy answer was. It was also my laundry day, and the coin laundry had a soda machine inside. So I put the cleaning tools in the car, and escorted the woman toward inside. She offered no objection -- so maybe she really was thirsty for a drink, not hungry for money.

The woman sat down for a moment at the opposite side of the coin laundry from the soda machine. "What would you like?" I asked her.

"Sprite." We had a match, and she had no excuse for trying to negotiate something different -- like some exotic Vanilla Diet Dr. Pepper or something.

At this machine, the sodas cost 60 cents instead of 50 -- but the can of Sprite satisfied the woman. She took it, stood up and moved on her way. In Russell County before long, she might have to ask two people for change instead of one.

As beggars go, this one was downright tame and simple. The woman had an easy request, and was happy for me to make it. It didn't suddenly jump into a ride to Cusseta, or a request for half my items in the clothes dryer.

I drove home with a full hamper of clean clothes, put it all away and proceeded to finish cleaning the car in the driveway. It takes a while to do this annual project, because things can pile up in the back seats. Thankfully, I didn't find any forgotten riders buried under envelopes.

The big deed was done around 5:30 p.m., and I decided to walk a block away to Spectrum for a cup of "celebration soda" from the fountain. But barely after I crossed Second Avenue, BLOGGER BEGGAR #5 intercepted me. I was more in a mood for Mambo #5, but....

"I'm homeless, and I need a dollar to get me something to eat." A man named Mike actually held out his hand, and showed he had about 80 cents in change. Admittedly, I didn't think to ask what might be hiding in his pockets.

I still had pre-Sabbath tasks to do, and hoped to settle this beggar's need as quickly as the woman's. I pointed him toward Spectrum, where they serve hot dogs and Polish sausages on a rotisserie. But....

"If I go in there, they'll know I've been begging out here." Wow - another regular customer.

"So you can't eat anything in there?!" Regular blog readers will recall I've encountered other people in the Fourth Street "begging zone" who have been barred from convenience stores, for hitting on the customers. In this case, Mike wasn't even turned off by the fact that I held an empty cup in my hand.

I think Mike really wanted me to go inside Spectrum, buy him dinner and bring it outside. But I was reluctant to do this. What if I bought two hot dogs, walked outside and found him gone? Especially if he asked for relish, which I don't like on my hot dogs?

"What CAN you eat?" I asked to move things along.

"Kentucky Fried Chicken!" Mike answered authoritatively. Two bad KFC does business hookups with fish shops, instead of gas stations.

"Let's go," I pointed Mike in the other direction. "My car's one block away, and I'll take you to KFC." Some beggars would have backed out right there or tried to negotiate, but Mike decided to follow me. Perhaps he figured I wouldn't simply go home with an empty soda cup -- but he didn't know what was in my refrigerator.

"You walk pretty fast. You must walk for exercise," Mike said as he followed me. No, I actually hadn't walked outside in a week. But the faster I resolved
this interruption, the quicker I could return to my tasks -- and the less time Mike would have to think up other requests.

"We could eat there...." Mike said as we walked past Lil Kim's Cove, between Spectrum and my car.

"No, you named a specific business," I told him. Some people are heavy on brand loyalty. Besides, I think Lil Kim's is better known on Friday evenings for serving alcohol.

"I didn't think of that place," Mike explained.

"That's why you should think before you speak."

"Thinking can be hard." Which may help explain why Mike was homeless, while I was not.

Mike joined me in the car, for a rather quick drive to KFC at Ninth and Veterans Parkway. He apparently wasn't used to having a ride, as he stuck his head out the passenger's side window like a pet golden retriever.

"Are you looking for something?" I finally asked him.

"The air's just so refreshing," Mike told me. A few beggars might have been trying to bail out on me -- concerned I was really heading for the police station.

"You've been homeless -- how long?"

"Four months." It's become such a habit for Mike that he says he sleeps in "the Riverwalk bathroom." What a shame that Synovus doesn't set up a few cots in its lobby.

In mere minutes, we reached KFC - and Mike walked in and went straight to the counter. As I stood behind him waiting for the staff to provide help, a man standing outside the service-line barrier pulled the biggest surprise of all. "I need two dollars for a fix-a-flat, and I need to get to Spectrum up the street."

BLOGGER BEGGAR #6 had crossed my path, the third beggar of the day. Even with the price of gas approaching $2.50 a gallon, there still are times when drive-through lanes have advantages.

What made #6 a bit more complicated was that another man was standing alongside him. He apparently owed that man money to fix his flat tire, before he could move on to a Spectrum. "The first one," he said after I reminded him that Veterans Parkway only has about six Spectrums on it.

"I used to live in Atlanta," #6 continued -- as if that would influence my decision.

"I used to meet plenty of beggars there," I responded. "I once counted ten in 60 days. I kept score." That got me invited to Creative Loafing for an interview, but they never published my article about the "beggars' log." Maybe the editors expected me to beg for a paycheck, following the examples I'd been set.

(I actually once met a "begging tag-team" on a Saturday night in Atlanta, and gave both of them a free night's stay in my duplex. They amazed me, by happening to know all about gold chains which other people were selling in fast-food restaurants.)

It seems fair to say #6 and his buddy were dumbfounded by the answer I gave to his request for help. "First things first - this man has been homeless for four months. Let me finish with helping him, and then I'll get to you. We handle all beggars in the order in which they are received."

Since Mike said nothing to correct me, he turned out to be the biggest trump card I could have played to stop a beggar. The whole thing seemed fair to #6 and his buddy, so they walked to the other side of KFC and waited for Mike to be served. The two-leg dinner with two sides cost him $4.70 - and thankfully, they were out of biscuits. I didn't want to vacuum up crumbs for a second time today.

Perhaps #6 and his buddy also didn't realize that I knew the neighborhood. Across Ninth Street from KFC, there's a Car Quest Auto Parts store. "Have you checked there yet for your fix-a-flat?" I asked them as walked out the restaurant door.

"We're OK," #6 said as he started to walk away from me and the store and toward Veterans Parkway.

"No, you're not," I responded. His need still wasn't met, after all.

"We're OK," #6 insisted. It was as if he'd feel better getting hit by a car, than receiving car repair tools from me.

"He must not have needed it," Mike said when I returned to my car and explained what had happened.

"I don't know that for sure," I answered. The comment sounded judgmental - but then, Mike may have been exactly right. Perhaps #6 chose to have mercy on me, since I was already helping someone else. Or perhaps he wanted exclusivity rights.

I drove Mike and his two-leg dinner back to the Spectrum where we'd met. He took his food and found a shady spot along the back wall of the property. I still had my empty soda cup - and decided to fill it as fast as I could, and drive home.

We're at the "quarter pole" of 2007, and I'm only two people away from matching the begging total for all 2006. Is the word getting around, about what Mayor Jim Wetherington did for the homeless people under the Second Avenue Bridge? Or are that many people waiting for the new Kia plant to open?

(BLOGGER'S NOTE: Because of these unusual events, our "Hurtsboro Monday" item will be rolled over to another day. Monday's entry will be our annual "spring cleaning wrap-up" edition, and won't be posted until we're through with the cleaning - probably in the afternoon.)

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