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You can satisfy your craving for The Real Story at any of the following locations:

• 45 Express Mart, Inc. – 2203 1/2 Highway 45 North
• Black Creek Grocery – 1220 Black Creek Road
• Caledonia Quick Stop – 9766 Wolfe Road
• Cal Kola Chevron – 10840 Highway 45 North
• Cattleman’s Steak & Fish - 301 Tuscaloosa Road
• Cindy’s Shell –  822 Main Street
• Creekstone Chevron – 3920 Highway 45 North
• Dollar Market – Hwy. 45, across from Belk
• EJ’s Quick Stop - 1625 Belle Avenue
• Express Mart #7 – 1605 Gardner Road
• Farmstead Restaurant – 142 S. McCrary Road
• Freedom Franchise Services – 65 Industrial Park Road (inside JR’s Get It & Go)
• J&J Tobacco – 910 Tuscaloosa Road
• Kroger – 1829 Hwy. 45 North
• Malone’s Grocery – 1468 Cal Steens Road
• New Mart 69 - 4314 Hwy. 69 South
• New Mart 82 - 5855 Hwy. 182 East
• Pennyridge Grocery - 2003 Ridge Road
• Pig Out Barbecue House – 512 Alabama Street
• Prairie Pointe Chevron - 488 Hwy. 45 South
• Ridgeland Superette - 1450 Jess Lyons Road
• Rite Aid #7139 – 1800 Hwy. 45 North
• Rite Aid #7141 – 201B Alabama Street
• Sandfield One Stop – 2408 Main Street
• Shelton’s Pharmacy – 115 Alabama Street
• SOCO #19 – Airbase Texaco 7125 Hwy. 45 North
• SOCO #12 – Depot 1402 Hwy. 82 East
• SOCO #40 – Eastside Chevron 106 Idlewild Road
• SOCO #17 – Jumbo’s 325 Idlewild Road
• SOCO #43 – Jumbo’s Jr. 1512 Hwy. 45 North
• SOCO #57 – Military Texaco 2246 Military Road
• SOCO #32 – Riverhill Chevron 229 Main Street
• SOCO #62 – Ward’s SOCO 464 Hwy. 373
• Steens Superette – 2657 Steens Road
• The Pit & Cone - 300 Tuscaloosa Road
• The Ranch House – 807 Alabama Street
• Texaco Food Mart - 2110 Hwy. 45 North
• Trojan’s Superette – 3670 New Hope Road
• Wal-Mart – 1913 Hwy. 45 North
• Watkins 45 Mart – 712 Highway 45 North

Don’t blink, because this list will have grown!

If we are not in your favorite business, tell them you want them to carry The Real Story!

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For immediate consideration, send your résumé to kate@realstorypublishing.com.

Coman, realizing he has an opportunity to see early playing time, has added twenty pounds of muscle.

“I’ve been eating a lot and working out right. I’m eating a lot of protein,” said Coman.

Although Antoine had a minor shoulder issue, which has healed, he has been developing his coverage skills, which had been an area of weakness.

“When I went to the spring game, the coaches told me I didn’t have to lift any more weights. I laid off the weight program and started running. I got with my high school DB (defensive back) coach. I worked on my backpedaling, breaks on the ball, and keeping my feet under me,” said Antoine.

A rangy safety, Coman, feels that he has a lot to prove, starting on June 4^th, the first day incoming freshmen can report.

“I can’t wait to get up there; it’s very exciting. I wish I could go early. I will take it one day at a time and get better,” says Coman on the June 4^th freshman arrival date.

He added, “I want to show everyone what I got and why I was underrated.”

A tone-setting safety, Antoine, is taking a workman-like approach to summer training.

“I want them to say I workout like a senior. I don’t want them saying, that’s that freshman. I want to let them know that I’m here for business – not for play!” says Antoine, about what he wants to show the veteran Bulldogs about himself.

Summer workouts will take on more importance – considering the newcomers are expected to be in the rotation. They know that early contributions from them are not only expected – but needed.

“Coming in, as a freshman, it’s a whole other ball game because everyone is bigger, stronger, and faster. I think I can handle it, because I sit down and talk to my dad and coach a lot. One thing they tell me is that I’m a freshman in the classroom, but I’m not a freshman on the football field. It’s not a pressure where I really worry; I think I will be alright, once I get out there,” said Antoine.

“I’ll tell you one thing – it makes you work harder. Just watching spring ball; it makes you work a lot harder. You see the lack of depth; it makes you work,” said Coman.

Coman and Antoine, who stay in regular contact, have thought about their future, playing alongside each other.

“I watch his film and I watch my film; I believe we would be great safeties beside each other. We will be here four years together,” Coman said.

“I talk to Kivon all the time. We both got big plans; he is going to be playing free and I’m going to playing strong. Once Nickoe leaves, hopefully, we can have one of the top safety duos in the SEC. He is a baller and I respect him for that. I like the idea of him on one hash and me on the other,” Antoine says about playing with Coman.

Jeremiah Short covers Mississippi State University football and basketball.  Follow him on Twitter, @DaRealJShort; join his Facebook blog, Real Story Sports: J.Short’s Blog, or e-mail him, JShort@realstorypublishing.com.

Simply click on the article title to be re-directed to the appropriate page on our website.

Ask Meagan! – Topic: Bi-Racial Relationship and Unsupportive Family

Consumer Corner: Thai-riffic Cuisine

Culturally Speaking

He Said-She Said, Crime, and Sagging Pants – The May 15^th Columbus Council Meeting

Invino Veritas: The Burden of Proof

Joe St. John: Remember Memorial Day Like Your Life Depends On It – Because, It Does.

MSU Classics: Keith Fitzhugh – A Man of Integrity

Pig Tales

Ron Parlato:  Why Republicans and Democrats Cannot Compromise

Staying Safe: Guide to Infant Safety

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                            In America every man is free
                         To take care of his home and his family
                                         Randy Newman, “Sail Away”

Memorial Day is set apart from America’s other military-orientated holidays. There are no parades, no fireworks, and, unfortunately, very little fanfare.  Honoring the dead is always a delicate endeavor and, in the case of Memorial Day, it has been lost in a barrage of summer sale ads and vacations. Long after the sting of death has lost its meaning to the populace, the business of a having a holiday becomes the paramount focus.

Memorial Day has long been the gateway to summer, and a reminder that fun is close at hand. Like most of our holidays, the original concept has been lost on the business of business. It has become a day off for government workers, an opportunity for an increase in commerce, and a strange celebration of nothingness.  People are just glad to be off work – nothing more, nothing less.

Wikipedia sums up Memorial Day with an awkward entry:

On June 28, 1968, the Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved four holidays, including Memorial Day, from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.

And, there you go – boys and girls – the loss of countless American lives, so that we can have a convenient three-day weekend. But, even that has gotten lost, today.  Like most other holidays, more and more businesses remain open. People participating in commerce, without any understanding of what the day really means. What is Memorial Day? Why observe the tragic?

Death is never pleasant. No one wants to talk about it. Sacrifice is nice, but to reflect on it goes against the nature of today’s society – everything in a nice package and no one bleeds. But, that is not the way it is in the real world.

Nothing is free and sometimes it takes tremendous sacrifice to ensure that the masses can be safe in their homes and in their lives. Many men and women have given their all to make sure that our communities are drenched in freedom. Freedoms that are often taken for granted.

It should never be forgotten that America has been built on the shoulders of the soldiers who were willing to fight and die for our country. The notion of ultimate sacrifice should never be eclipsed.  It should remain squarely in the forefront of every American’s mind.

Time should be devoted, daily, to reflect on what it means to have freedom – on its responsibilities and its pleasures; its greatness and its flaws – a remembrance that should permeate the mind of every American.

For all of the positive aspects of the 1960s and 70s, many of the tragedies of the era eroded the trust of the federal government.  The assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy rocked the country to its core. The battle over Vietnam still lingers in the hearts of many people. The hurt and frustration of a war that people, to this day, have trouble defining, can still be seen at veterans gatherings. Serving your country during an unpopular war, may be the greatest sacrifice of all. However, the unappreciated always have a seat at the table of the righteous.

Watergate, Nixon, Ford and Carter left many people feeling empty; trust in the government was in shambles and there was no faith in what America was built upon. In many ways, America was an empty, cold shell of itself.

But, as the saying goes, “time heals all wounds”, and America has come together to celebrate our military. After 911, it was very apropos to speak well of the service branches. That good feeling has not waned, and it never should. They are the reason we are free. No other truth is more evident.

Here, in our own community, we should be extra grateful. We have a wonderful community partner in the Columbus Air Force Base. The men and women who take care of this country also take care of Lowndes County. We should be forever appreciative.

Columbus also takes pride in being the community that started Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day. We should be proud of that heritage, and infuse it into our community’s identity. It is something that should be a part of our daily lexicon.

Monday, May 28th has been set aside as Memorial Day in 2012; it should be seen as a major holiday, in our hearts, if only for this reason:

On June 6, 1944, with the Allied Forces facing the dilemma that Germany and the power of Hitler was on the verge of victory, they launched the greatest military assault in history. The beaches of Normandy turned into sands of red death. Most of the men, who were part of the first wave of the assault, were killed almost immediately.

The D-Day Museum and Overlord Embroidery, Britain’s only D-Day Museum reports:

The Allied casualty figures for D-Day have generally been estimated at 10,000, including 2,500 dead. Broken down by nationality, the usual D-Day casualty figures are approximately 2,700 British, 946 Canadians, and 6,603 Americans. However, recent painstaking research by the US National D-Day Memorial Foundation has achieved a more accurate – and much higher – figure for the Allied personnel who were killed on D-Day. They have recorded the names of individual Allied personnel killed on 6 June 1944 in Operation Overlord, and, so far, they have verified 2,499 American D-Day fatalities and 1,915 from the other Allied nations, a total of 4,414 dead (much higher than the traditional figure of 2,500 dead). 

Germany collapsed, on May 8, 1945, and with Germany’s unconditional surrender, the war in Europe was over.  There was no luck, there were no coincidence and there was no good fortune in the victory. No – just the blood, sweet, tears and death of the individuals who fought to win the war for our freedoms.

Thousands of men and women have now paid the price for our liberty. Let’s never forget. Let’s never take for granted the price that has been paid for the luxury of our human rights. The cost of freedom has been paid for with the greatest price a human can pay – their very life.

Remember Memorial Day like your life depends on it – because it does.

Joseph B. St. John

An article in the Atlantic (4.12.12) describes the decline of American institutions – church, government, school – and discusses the increasing alienation of those who have not adapted to a world without them.  This alienation is the reason why many have turned away from the Democratic Party, which used to be the party of help and support to the middle class.

However, it is not that government nor the institutions it fostered are failing.  It is just that, in the 21st century, there has been such a radical transformation of them from brick and mortar to cyberspace, ordinary citizens have not been able to adapt.  There is no longer a liberal activist Democrat in the White House.  In these days of deficit, debt, and smaller government, an FDR is unthinkable.  “Protection” is now an individual matter and the words “government trust” are fading from the lexicon.  In this new brave and harsh world, familiar institutions are gone and people do not know whom to trust.

Disaffected Americans know that their rock-solid, marble-and-Corinthian-pillared local bank is no longer, but they have no clue how to enter the new financial world of complex investments – a world, which if understood, would reward them more than a savings account.

Americans are dismayed at the decline in local public education, but many are ill-equipped to navigate the increasingly complex world of vouchers, charters, for-profit education companies, and home-schooling.  They see empty pews in traditional churches, but feel emotionally and socially ill-equipped to move to the more dynamic and socially attuned alternative churches like Union Chapel.

Union Chapel’s pastor speaks in phrases you’d expect from an M.B.A. (“I’m in the word business”) or a sociologist (“We’re going from a Gutenberg world to a Google world”). He keeps his sermons simple and strives to make the liturgy relevant to life’s challenges. His church offers counseling for depression, anxiety, eating disorders, marriage problems, alcoholism, and sexual abuse. Union Chapel heavily promotes its social clubs to buoy connection-starved people. The services are casual, hip, and focused on middle-class congregants who feel abandoned amid economic change. “My job,” the pastor says in an interview at his office, “is to fill in the gaps where our institutions have failed us.”

Churches, like all other institutions, are evolving to meet the new demands and standards of modern society.

Government, politics, corporations, the media, organized religion, organized labor, banks, businesses, and other mainstays of a healthy society are failing. It’s not just that the institutions are corrupt or broken; those clichés oversimplify an existential problem: The nation’s onetime social pillars are ill-equipped for the 21st century and are failing to adapt quickly enough for a population buffeted by wrenching economic, technological, and demographic change.

However, it is not that the old institutions simply must be reformed.  It is in the nature of social evolution that they are being replaced by a new order of individual and intellectual enterprise, one of responsibility and accountability.

Eastern Europe went through a wrenching period, when all the supports of communism, however feeble and inadequate, were dismantled, destroyed, or removed.  People were suddenly responsible for their own well-being and in competition with others for it.   Now, in a little over twenty years, these countries and their citizens have quickly adapted and changed.  Not only have they changed; they have made the leap from the 19th century to the 21st.

In the sink-or-swim environment of post-Communist Europe, most people swam.  First, people were dependent on relatives in a barter economy; then, with a liberalized foreign exchange, they used remittances from abroad to start kiosks, then larger stores and finally superstores.  In less than a generation, young people talk in Communist-speak, but in the language of MBAs, Google, Facebook, and Apple.

Such social dislocation has happened in America, before:

Almost 100 years ago, sociologists Robert and Helen Lynd documented the transition away from an agrarian economy. Americans were battered by unbridled commercialism, stymied by an incompetent government beholden to special interests, and flustered by new technologies and new media; and there was a loss of faith in social institutions.

But, somehow, institutions adapted. The Catholic Church took on poverty, illness, and illiteracy. The Progressive movement grappled with the social costs of modernization. Labor unions reined in the corporate excesses. Fraternal organizations gave people a sense of community that was lost when knitting circles and barn-raisings died out.

Old-fashioned adaptability – e.g. the Catholic Church becoming more socially attuned or new social groupings, such as labor unions, reconstituted to play an advocacy role – is not the issue here.  These institutions corresponded to an old social order – one in which social organizations were still given responsibility for the individual.  Today, the paradigm of socially responsible institutions has been reversed, and now the individual is responsible for his/her own destiny and well-being.

Some critics still advocate for the maintenance and strengthening of social institutions.  When people trust their institutions, they say, they are better able to solve common problems.  Communities bonded by friendships formed at church are more likely to vote.  “Institutions – even dysfunctional ones – are why we don’t run amok in the woods,” says one observer.

However, it is no longer a question of trusting institutions to look after our interests; but about developing the skills to deal with a highly competitive world, where opportunities must be identified among vying companies and contracts negotiated individually.

I have sympathy for ordinary citizens, for it is unlikely that they will survive the upheavals in American society without pain and difficulty.  He is too old, too uneducated, and too isolated to even make a decent go of it.  His income is just too high for the safety net.  He does not know where to turn.

At the same time, the younger, better-educated, urban generation will not only do well, but they will thrive.  They see social networking as the key to individual learning, expression, and influence.  They see on-line commerce, electronic political action, and New Age religion as liberating.  They anticipate the coming interface between mind and computer as ultimately fulfilling; and synthetic genetics as even more revolutionary, in terms of human nature and society, as anything ever before.  The brave new world looks good to them.

Ron Parlato is a writer living in Washington, DC. He has close ties with Columbus, which he visits frequently.  His writings on literature, politics and culture, travel, and cooking can be found on his own blog, http://www.uncleguidosfacts.com.

Special to The Real Story

Special to The Real Story

Click here to view all of our previous issues online!

Find a location near you, from the list below!

You can satisfy your craving for The Real Story at any of the following locations:

• 45 Express Mart, Inc. – 2203 1/2 Highway 45 North
• Black Creek Grocery – 1220 Black Creek Road
• Caledonia Quick Stop – 9766 Wolfe Road
• Cal Kola Chevron – 10840 Highway 45 North
• Cattleman’s Steak & Fish - 301 Tuscaloosa Road
• Cindy’s Shell –  822 Main Street
• Creekstone Chevron – 3920 Highway 45 North
• Dollar Market – Hwy. 45, across from Belk
• EJ’s Quick Stop - 1625 Belle Avenue
• Express Mart #7 – 1605 Gardner Road
• Farmstead Restaurant – 142 S. McCrary Road
• Freedom Franchise Services – 65 Industrial Park Road (inside JR’s Get It & Go)
• J&J Tobacco – 910 Tuscaloosa Road
• Kroger – 1829 Hwy. 45 North
• Malone’s Grocery – 1468 Cal Steens Road
• New Mart 69 - 4314 Hwy. 69 South
• New Mart 82 - 5855 Hwy. 182 East
• Pennyridge Grocery - 2003 Ridge Road
• Pig Out Barbecue House – 512 Alabama Street
• Prairie Pointe Chevron - 488 Hwy. 45 South
• Ridgeland Superette - 1450 Jess Lyons Road
• Rite Aid #7139 – 1800 Hwy. 45 North
• Rite Aid #7141 – 201B Alabama Street
• Sandfield One Stop – 2408 Main Street
• Shelton’s Pharmacy – 115 Alabama Street
• SOCO #19 – Airbase Texaco 7125 Hwy. 45 North
• SOCO #12 – Depot 1402 Hwy. 82 East
• SOCO #40 – Eastside Chevron 106 Idlewild Road
• SOCO #17 – Jumbo’s 325 Idlewild Road
• SOCO #43 – Jumbo’s Jr. 1512 Hwy. 45 North
• SOCO #57 – Military Texaco 2246 Military Road
• SOCO #32 – Riverhill Chevron 229 Main Street
• SOCO #62 – Ward’s SOCO 464 Hwy. 373
• Steens Superette – 2657 Steens Road
• The Pit & Cone - 300 Tuscaloosa Road
• The Ranch House – 807 Alabama Street
• Texaco Food Mart - 2110 Hwy. 45 North
• Trojan’s Superette – 3670 New Hope Road
• Wal-Mart – 1913 Hwy. 45 North
• Watkins 45 Mart – 712 Highway 45 North

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“I wanted more exposure opportunities. I’m one of the biggest prospects in the country. I feel like playing in a better conference would give me more exposure to west coast schools,” said Butler.

“I’m going to have the ability to make all the “checks and the calls” in their defense. They are going to help me get done, what I need to, academically.”

Butler doesn’t feel schools will have trouble keeping up with him. He has alerted the schools recruiting him, to be on the safe side.

“I’ve transferred a couple of times, before, and people have not had trouble keeping track of me. I really hate moving, because I did a lot moving during my childhood. I kind of felt like it was something I had to do.” Butler said.

The heady middle linebacker is aware that programs will have natural questions about him transferring twice.

“A lot of people haven’t said anything, but in the back of their minds, I’m sure they are like ‘why does he keep moving’,” says Butler, regarding college coaches’ responses to him bouncing around. “In life, you have to find the best possible situation. So, when I pick that Division I school, I know I will make the best decision.”

Butler is still planning to make a late summer decision on a Division I school – in July or early August. His top schools, right now, are: Ohio State, USC, Mississippi State, Purdue, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Miami, and Florida State. He still favors Ohio State and USC, although they haven’t extended scholarship offers.

Ohio State: “I spent some time in Ohio, when I was a little kid. I still have a lot of connections, there. They have a great tradition and I’m looking for a school that will get me to the pro level.”

USC: “I lived in L.A. (Los Angeles), a little bit, when I was a teenager. I have a lot of connections there.”

The Mississippi State Bulldogs have great depth at linebacker, but that doesn’t scare away Butler.

Mississippi State: “Mississippi State is a great school that is in the best conference in the country. They have been recruiting me since my senior year in high school. So, I feel I have a little bit of a relationship with them, a good relationship with them”.

The 6’1”, 245 pound linebacker should make some Division I school very happy, in the next two or three months. It’s an added bonus that he should be on campus for next year’s spring practice.

“I’m looking to go to a place where it can be my show and I can run the defense the way I set it up, and the coaches would take and value my input.”

View his video, to see Butler in action.

Jeremiah Short covers Mississippi State University football and basketball.  Follow him on Twitter, @DaRealJShort; join his Facebook blog, Real Story Sports: J.Short’s Blog, or e-mail him, JShort@realstorypublishing.com.

Without a doubt, the bizarre tradition, in which elected officials ask for money from the very people they appoint, serves to complicate matters.  It would be much less awkward if these public servants – who are the actual organizers of these festivals – would let others make these grant presentations for them and would exhibit the wisdom not to attend the meetings at which their request is being considered.  The simple truth is that they gave up their rights to be regular citizens, when they were elected.

If they want to be regular citizens, they should quit their elected positions.  And, then they can be regular citizens, all day long.  It is that plain and simple.

If they chose not to attend, it would ease the perception of a conflict of interest.  When Board member Bernard Buckhalter made his impassioned plea for funds for the Southside Festival, those in attendance had to wonder why he was arguing so vehemently for the festival.  Was it just because he is a “loose cannon” or was he trying to impress Mayor Robert Smith, Councilman Gene Taylor and Councilman Bill Gavin – all of whom were in the audience – with his commitment to a program that is sponsored by Taylor and Supervisor Jeff Smith?

Buckhalter’s term is about to expire and one would have to assume that he is interested in being re-appointed. So, does he truly care about this festival or is he trying to ensure his re-appointment?  Only the Shadow knows, and he thinks it was both.  And, why not?  He had the perfect audience.  Why not show those who appoint you, how much you care?  Rest assured, they were watching closely.

In the meantime, Board Treasurer Bart Wise informed the board that restaurant tax collections were up; that is always a good thing.  And, though Buckhalter could not agree with the concept of not giving everyone everything they asked for, in terms of grants, the other board members eventually got it.

The following is a list of the grant awards made by the board, last night:

• Artesia Day had requested $10,000 and received $8,000.
• Crawford Day had requested $8,000 and received $4,500.
• Southside Festival had requested $22, 000 and received $12, 000.
• Tennessee Williams Tribute had requested $16,500 and received $15,000.

In total, almost $40,000 was given out yesterday – a considerable amount of generosity.

However, it was not until the last presentation was made, in regard to the 3rd Annual Legends Concert, that the real “Catch 22″ reared its head.  Roger Short of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority appeared before the Board and admitted that last year’s program was not the success they had hoped for, in terms of being a money-maker.  He then explained that, with modifications to the project, especially the decision to schedule regional acts, instead of nationally known talent, the event could, once again, be a success.  But, herein, lies the “rub.”  It is only a one-day event and doesn’t qualify for grant funding.  It could be considered a special project, but of the funds the CCVB allocated for special projects, only $54.00 remains.  That is a far cry from the $22,000 the concert committee had requested, to fund the project.

Steve Rogers had the best response to a comment made by CCVB Board member Mark Castleberry, who had pointed out that the Legends Committee was asking the CCVB to subsidize the attendees of the concert. Rogers very astutely reminded the board that, in extending grants to the other festivals, the CCVB was, in fact, subsidizing them, as well. That is an undeniable fact. And, that is the real problem.

When the CCVB board says that the festivals need to secure more sponsors, they are right.  But, where would these other sponsors come from?  Who are these magical benefactors?

The school system has received grants from KiOR, Ecolab, and others, and these businesses should be commended.  There are other groups that have given tons of in-kind services, and without them, there would be no festivals.  Unfortunately, there are no large bundles of money for anyone to grab, and the few big businesses that do contribute, are overwhelmed by the number of requests.

It would be nice to see some of the new business that come into our area give back, by helping the community.  It would be nice if Lowndes County had an Andrew Carnegie-type, someone who would help with the arts, festivals and in renovating the Trotter Convention Center, as a gift to the community.

But, as of now, that person or corporation does not seem to exist – at least not in a way that can be seen by the public.  In the meantime, our community will continue to fund festivals with taxpayers’ money, and hope for the best.  Maybe, one day we will have our “Carnegie” in this community.

MoJo

In addition, we have since obtained the list of citizen committee members and the candidate whose interview they are scheduled to observe. That list can be found at the end of this post.

This week it was revealed that the search for the new Columbus Municipal School District Superintendent will be more of a marathon than a sprint.  In what can only be described as a near “Gauntlet of Death,” the interview process will span four nights.  No interviews will be conducted on Wednesday, either because it is an assumed church night, or maybe everyone realizes that even Jesus would had seen enough by this time, and thus it will be a welcomed day off.

Over the past several days, a series of e-mails have been sent to the media.  These press releases, summed up, stated:

“All interviews will take place at Brandon Central Office – 2630 McArthur Drive – Columbus, MS 39705 at 6:00 p.m.”

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Mr. Isaac Leon Haynes
Superintendent of Jefferson Davis County School District
Prentiss, MS

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Dr. Pamela Taylor Henson
Director of Instructional Support of Baldwin County Board of Education
Bay Minette, AL

Friday, May 25, 2012

Dr. Martha Liddell
Interim Superintendent of Columbus Municipal School District
Columbus, MS

 All the Board Meeting interviews will be public and anyone can attend to observe any or all of the interview meetings.

The Board of Trustees will each select five community members to attend each night of the interviews, as well as an additional 25 randomly selected members. These 50 individuals will provide feedback and comments on the candidates that interviewed on the date they were selected to attend.

Any interested person who resides within the Columbus School District boundaries or who is currently employed by Columbus School District may submit an application to be randomly selected to attend and provide feedback on one particular night of interviews.

Applications can be found at www.columbuscityschools.org or at Brandon Central Office, 2630 McArthur Dr.

Since there is no math wizard on The Real Story payroll, it is assumed that this process will last about 75,000 hours, give or take a bathroom break or 20.  This is a fine example of meaning well, but falling flat on your face.  By the time that many questions are asked and reviewed, they run the risk of becoming meaningless – a pointless stew of convoluted chatter mixed with political agendas and silliness. And, what is at stake?  Only the future of our school system.

And, wait, we have not complicated the process yet with the omnipotent Google search.  That’s right dudes and dudettes, how do you select a fearless leader without mindlessly searching the internet?  Nothing is every wrong on the internet. Ever! (Just a note: If you Google your own name and nothing comes up, that does not mean you are a good person. It just means you’re not important.)

So, here we stand with four days before us, filled with more questions than can be counted and where do we go from here?  Let’s hope it is not in the direction of the last Columbus Police Chief search process that left everyone with egg on their face.  The school system deserves better.

In other news, Dr. Liddell sent the following message:

 Teacher Vacancies to be Filled Total 49 Positions  

Even though Columbus Schools’ budget was challenging, this year, due diligence has been accomplished and the district is heading toward a more secure financial future. The budget team and I met with all building principals and department heads, last week and this week, to do another full assessment of our personnel needs, based on student enrollment and cost-efficiency needs. Columbus Schools’ RIF- impacted teachers will receive hiring priority.

I am pleased to report that Columbus Schools will be able to fill 49 RIF-Impacted teacher positions for FY 2012-2013 budget . These teacher positions are a combination of state, federal and local funds. Fortunately, Title I, Title II and Special Education funding projections for next year have enabled the district to exceed projections for hiring vacancies for next school year. We are investing all the resources we possibly can toward classroom instruction and reducing class size for FY 2012-2013.

It been a long uphill battle for Dr. Liddell, this year, but she kept her promise to try to bring back as many teachers as she could.  It has not always been pretty, but the school year is complete.  Now, the real work needs to be done.

CMSD is still not out of the woods.  Without a strong and hard-working leader, the school system has the potential to go under.  The people of Aberdeen understand this dilemma.  This should be paramount in everyone’s mind, as the School Board looks for a new leader to move our children forward.

Joseph B. St. John

Mr. MoJo Rising

]]> http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/22/lets-hope-we-dont-get-too-much-of-a-good-thing-cmsd-superintendent-candidate-interviews/feed/ 1 33.495674 -88.427263 33.495674 -88.427263 rspublishing http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/21/monday-morning-water-cooler-talk-for-may-21-2012/ http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/21/monday-morning-water-cooler-talk-for-may-21-2012/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 19:03:52 +0000 The Real Story http://realstorypublishing.com/?p=5329 ]]> Do You Drive A Prius Or A Ford F-150?

In a very amusing column in the Washington Post (5.12.12), George Will reviews “Engines of Change: A History of the American Dream in Fifteen Cars” and writes how cars reflect our individual identity.  Detroit turned out models which would appeal to image rather than practicality, shortly after the first automobiles came off the assembly line:

By 1924, the Model-T was offered only in black but cost just $260 and had America on the move. Three years later the LaSalle, a Cadillac sibling, announced Detroit’s determination to join Hollywood as a manufacturer of visual entertainment, but working in chrome, rather than celluloid. The phrase “It’s a Duesie” became an American encomium in tribute to the Duesenberg, which sold for upward of $20,000, or $245,000 in today’s dollars.

The American love affair with cars – which made a statement about you, rather than simply moving you from Point A to Point B – was born.

The designer of the Corvette explained why such dream cars had so much appeal:

“In our age, where the average person is a cog-wheel who gets pushed in the subways, elevators, department stores, cafeterias . . . the ownership of a different car provides the means to ascertain his individuality to himself and everybody around.”

Ere long, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s Corvette license plate read “RES IPSA,” lawyer’s Latin for “It speaks for itself.” And, loudly.

We Americans value freedom of expression over all else, and our bumper stickers proclaiming support for environmental protection, gay rights, or gun ownership display our own identity as much as political commitment. The car, however, is the way to make an image statement.  You can eat local produce, wear hipster porkpie hats and funky glasses, and belong to 100 advocacy groups, but the growl of Porsche Carrera turns heads.  It screams wealth, power, taste, success.  You may glance at bumper stickers, but you crane your neck to see who is driving that black, sleek, throaty monster.

It isn’t just high-end cars which make a statement.  When I was growing up in New England, the beat-up 15 year-old “woodie” was the preferred car of the WASP elite.  My tweedy neighbors eschewed anything new and shiny.  They gagged at the sight of the Cadillacs parked in the driveways of Italian doctors – cars which themselves were identity wagons, symbols of immigrant success.  The WASP woodies were a reverse statement of wealth. “We have it. You know we have it, so why flaunt it?” The woodie was the automotive version of English sensible shoes – reliable, versatile, simple, ugly, and cheap.

Banged up cars – if their owners have money, are another sign of reverse cachet.  An old Toyota workhorse parked in an upscale neighborhood, its sun-baked paint peeling off and dings, dents, and spider cracks showing its 150k miles, is “in” and, like the woodie, shouts “We could buy a new Volvo; but we choose not to throw away our money (like you bourgeois spendthrifts).”

These cars, however, speak only the upper middle-class language of earned income.  That spoken in the wealthiest neighborhoods is far different. There are no beaters there.  Affluent neighborhoods with resident investment bankers, capital fund managers, real estate investors, and, still, some old money, are not places to take chances on car choice.  All driveways are filled with Mercedes, BMWs, and Jaguars.

Even Jersey Shore goombas have their distinct image-wagon.  When I lived there, many years ago, the preferred car of the Italian Mafia up-and-comers was the Buick LeSabre.  They couldn’t afford Caddies, yet, but the LeSabre was just one notch below.  Forget about the Oldsmobile (a telling rung down), or the bottom-feeder Chevrolet.  The LeSabre told everyone, “It won’t be long now.”

The car-gender link is hot in 2012. There are hundreds of websites which list “gay” cars, here and in Europe.

Meghan Daum, an op-ed contributor to The Los Angeles Times, wrote about a promising first date with a man who never led to a second one because, as she later learned, the guy saw that she drove a Subaru Outback station wagon and concluded she must be a lesbian.

And, when Joe LaMuraglia, the founder of Gaywheels.com, an informational site modeled on the likes of Autoweb.com, told his partner he wanted to buy a Mini Cooper convertible, the boyfriend joked that he would not be seen in it because the couple “would look like such a gay cliché,” Mr. LaMuraglia said.

What makes a car “gay”?

Ramone Johnson is a gay journalist who said that driving a stylish car can be a way of “taking control back” and saying “this is who I am”, and maintains that “soft lines” and a “vibrant personality are typical attributes of a gay man’s car, and fashion-forward red gauges and other styling cues, for example, make the Pontiac G6 more of a gay car than its sibling, the Grand Am, because the features express a taste for freedom and fun. (NY Times Fashion, 2007).

It is interesting to observe that even in the most obvious cases of brand-personal identity, car owners do not realize that they are driving a parody:

“You have a Prius. . . . You probably compost, sort all your recycling, and have a reusable shopping bag for your short drive to Whole Foods. You are the best! So, do we really need the Obama sticker? The Portland Mercury, 2008.

One of the most popular cars in America is the Ford F-150 pickup.  There cannot be that many husky haulers as seen on TV, wrestling north woods logs, towing stuck semis out the mud, or loading stray steers; and many non-worker consumers still buy the very American “truck-as-hero” image.

Will is amused at the Prius/Ford-150 dichotomy in America, but is clearly no fan of the PC hybrid:

Prius, vehicle of the vanguard of the intelligentsia, does not have the most obnoxious name ever given an automobile. In 1927, Studebaker, which anticipated the Prius mentality, named one of its models the Dictator. The car supposedly dictated standards that the unwashed would someday emulate. In the mid-1930s, Studebaker canceled the name.

 Ron Parlato is a writer living in Washington, DC. He has close ties with Columbus, which he visits frequently.  His writings on literature, politics and culture, travel, and cooking can be found on his own blog, http://www.uncleguidosfacts.com.

]]> http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/21/monday-morning-water-cooler-talk-for-may-21-2012/feed/ 0 33.495674 -88.427263 33.495674 -88.427263 MMWCT rspublishing http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/18/5323/ http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/18/5323/#comments Fri, 18 May 2012 21:46:23 +0000 The Real Story http://realstorypublishing.com/?p=5323 ]]> ONLY FIFTEEN MINUTES LEFT to enter the contest! Visit our Facebook page and “Like” us (our page, not this post) or visit our website and sign-up for FREE new-post notifications.

Lowndes County politics is often feast or famine, and this week was a prime example of the area at its crazy, busy best.  Starting with a school board meeting that went from boring to interesting in the span of sixty seconds to a city council meeting that ensured that we are not going to see anyone’s underwear in the near future, these were a strange and eclectic five days.

Monday’s school board meeting was the usual cut-and-paste collection of awards and reports, when, suddenly, it all became very interesting.  When the matter of whether to renew the contract of the board’s attorney took center stage, the meeting took on a curious feel.  Regardless of what is being said by the board members, three of them are uncomfortable with either David Dunn or how he had been appointed.

In a world where timing is everything, the triad of Jason Spears, Currie Fisher and Aubra Turner seem to be willing to roll the dice right before one of the biggest decisions this particular board will ever face – naming the next school superintendent.  At any other time, dragging their feet in appointing an attorney would be less dramatic.  However, next week they will face the make or break moment of their professional lives, and if it all explodes in their face, the man who has been charged with providing legal representation just received a vote of “no confidence”, regardless of how they try to “sugar coat” the obvious.

Speaking to Ms. Currie after Tuesday’s city council meeting, she is confident that everything will be okay, and, for the city’s sake, we hope she is right.  All five board members have heaped praise on Mr. Dunn; unfortunately that cannot change the cold, hard facts.  As the board faces a critical decision, they cannot agree on the simple matter of legal representation.

And, to make matters worse, they have no plan to address this – no date to advertise, no date to appoint, no date to do anything.  As the future of the Columbus Municipal School District hangs in the balance, this is not acceptable.  If this board does not demonstrate greater vision, it will only be a matter of time before they fall into the disarray that has plagued several other boards that serve this community.  Let’s pray that this does not come to pass, because the stakes are way too high.

Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting was living proof that “no good deed goes unpunished.”   For the second straight meeting, the board has tabled a decision on the “Summer Work” program – not because they can’t agree on what to do, but because they have been unable to figure out a way to protect themselves from the very people they are trying to help.  It is evident that, in the past, some of the summer work participants have filed unemployment claims after the project was completed.  And, even though this is, technically, their right, it has basically destroyed the program.  Some of the very people who have benefited from the program, have killed “the goose that laid the golden egg.”

The stark reality is that these programs are, primarily, a nice way to employee young people, over the summer.  The world is not a better place because these individuals are performing “Rocket Science” for the community. These are nice, entry-level jobs, which help the young people of our community.  It is a shame that a “few” have destroyed the program for the “many”, who just want to work for the summer.  But, that is the cold reality and it is a shame.

Tuesday’s city council meeting was a mixture of the good and bad in our community.  We can now all rest comfortably, now, knowing that young people, everywhere, will be pulling up their pants.  However, the simple truth is that the community is fearful of crime and until they are assured that they are safe, it will be impossible for them to relax.  The “sagging pants” law is just window dressing to cover the greater problem that the community is frightened about crime.

The public forum that is being called for by Lynn Nordquist and the Columbus Facebook Watch group is a good start.  The community has the right to feel safe, and open communication is the only answer.  Let’s hope that the mayor and every city council member attend.  If they are absent, it shows a lack of concern that should not be ignored by voters, come election time.

Crime is everyone’s problem.  The media, the government, the police department and the citizens all have to be engaged.  Only a commitment from each will solve the problem. Period.

And, in the excitement of a world of no drooping pants, let’s not forget the real voice of reason – Berry Hinds.  He is correct in saying that each city council member should release a report, through the media, detailing how they spent the money in their wards.  This idea made several councilmen uneasy, especially Ward 6 Councilman Bill Gavin, but it something that needs to be done.

Council members should not be afraid to show the citizens where the money is spent.  Berry gave them a June 30 deadline.  Let’s see what happens.  Transparency in government!  What a wonderful concept!

Joseph B. St. John

Mr. MoJo Rising

]]> http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/18/at-weeks-end-for-may-18-2012/feed/ 4 33.495674 -88.427263 33.495674 -88.427263 atweeksend rspublishing http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/17/mississippi-brawl-stars-ticket-giveaway/ http://realstorypublishing.com/2012/05/17/mississippi-brawl-stars-ticket-giveaway/#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 17:52:08 +0000 The Real Story http://realstorypublishing.com/?p=5304 ]]> We’re giving away two pairs of tickets for this Saturday’s Brawl Stars bout! All you have to do is “Like” us on our Facebook page or sign-up for a FREE subscription to new-posts on our website.

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The funding appropriation, as signed by the Governor, provides Mississippi Adequate Education Funding (MAEP) that is “close to level”, except for the fact that the increases to the retirement system will be passed on to MS school districts. Also, overall funding for the state’s school districts has declined, over the past four years; because the state’s education budget is taking the brunt of state budget cuts.

As noted by Anthony Brown, Columbus schools assistant superintendent for Federal Programs, the federal government requires that school districts budget at 85 of the previous year’s budge figure, each year. However, over the past ten years, Columbus Schools has received 95-110 percent of the past year’s budget amount in federal allocations. Because this positive federal funding trend is expected to continue, school officials are confident that the district will have more than sufficient dollars to pay the salaries of RIF-impacted teachers that are being rehired through federal programs (Title I, Title II and special education funds) in the coming year

Based upon a thorough assessment of the district’s state allocation, it has been determined that, of the 49 RIF-impacted teachers being rehired, 30 of them are MAEP-funded, with the remaining 19 being funded by a combination of Title I, Title II and special education dollars (federal funds).

According to Dr. Liddell, the district has been earnest in finding ways to trim their budget. The district took into serious consideration the recommendation provided by Bonnie Granger, in July, in which she analyzed the district’s budget and personnel load, in consultation with the district’s CFO and Dr. Liddell, and proposed that the district cut 30 positions from its budget, to bring expenditures back in line with revenues. Liddell indicated that this has been successfully accomplished, this year, through hard work and due diligence. In addition, the district has cut four administrative positions across the district, including two central office positions and two assistant principal positions, saving the district over $350,000. The district is currently evaluating the feasibility of additional administrative and athletic cut-backs, where there is the potential to realize another $250,000 in administrative savings. At this time, two athletic coaching positions have been cut, with more coming, potentially, over the summer.

Dr. Liddell believes that the district’s instructional programs cannot bear the brunt of all cost savings and be expected to increase student achievement significantly over the next four years, a goal that she is advocating in a new “Believe and Achieve Strategic Plan” that she plans to present to the Board of Trustees for consideration.

Athletic supplements and other supplements that were being paid in the district by past administration, have been cut deeply and fairly to balance the budget. Total cuts for next year’s budget will result in excess of 2 million dollars in cost savings. This does not include planned cuts to the district’s operational budgets, in June, where Liddell is looking at more cost-effective ways to run buildings for next year.

As reported at Monday night’s CMSD Board meeting, by the district’s CFO, Kenneth Hughes, the Ad Valorem dollars requested for this year are doing what they are intended to do, which is to fund the district’s local budget. The amount of ad valorem tax dollars that the district is scheduled to receive this year is on target, and Liddell said “I expect to keep a level local budget, as well, for next year.”

Dr. Liddell expressed that she keenly aware of the impact of tax increases on the local economy. “I realize, from meetings with the county tax assessor and with Joe Higgins at the LINK, earlier this spring, that the local economy for the city of Columbus is extremely fragile, now. We have difficulty recruiting new business and there are established businesses that could, potentially, close, all of which have a direct impact on the value of a mill for the school district.” She continued, saying “I believe the worst thing we could do, now, as an educational system, is to put an additional tax burden on businesses located in the city and on homeowners, each of whom could easily pack up and leave or buy homes in the county. As she stated in last night’s school board meeting, Liddell believes that any short term gain from raising taxes could be devastating in the long-run, if other businesses close, as Omnova and Sears have done. “In my humble opinion, no one wins when taxpayers frustrated with rising taxes leave the city limits.”

Dr. Liddell went on to say, “As a district leader, my first priority is to make the district’s budget much more cost efficient and much more responsive to the needs of our students. If we do this well, we can make better use of the tax dollars we already have and live within our means. My goal is to continue to cut any waste and duplication of services in the district’s budget. I’m committed to supporting teachers and schools and running high quality athletic programs by staff members pulling together and taking on more responsibility.”

Liddell stated that, in light of a declining state and local economy, as well as with the realization that charter schools will likely be approved, next year, fiscally responsible districts are making the necessary budget adjustments this year rather than waiting for the other shoe to drop. Columbus Schools is preparing, now, for the future of education in MS, all while striving to realize better student achievement results. She feels that the bottom line is that if students are not achieving at a high level, school districts aren’t getting the job done.

“No amount of talking and glamour will get the district off ‘Academic Watch’, in the state’s accountability system. It will take a student achievement improvement plan and dedication, to accomplish that,” said Liddell.

Dr. Liddell understands that there is no substitute for quality teachers and a great principal in every building, to lead student achievement to higher levels. For that reason, she has chosen to invest in teachers and will recommend that the district hire back the 49 RIF-impacted teachers for next year, in an effort to keep class sizes down, as much as possible, going forward. She wants to remind everyone that the funds required to accomplish his are the result of cuts non-instructional areas.

Dr. Liddell also implored the community to become more involved in the educational system, saying “Columbus needs to get behind student achievement, or our city will suffer for it, in the future. Education is still the great equalizer in our nation.”

Special Note: Despite the fact that they are entering into some tumultuous times, the CMSD Board voted 3-2 to not renew the contract of board attorney David Dunn, and instead, open a search for a new board attorney.

This could be very interesting.

JBS

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud,

Under the bludgeoning of chance

My head bloody, but unbowed

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll,

I am the master of my fate;

I am the captain of my soul.

“Invictus”, William Ernest Henley

As the Real Story moves into its fourth month in print and our seventh month of existence, it is time to give thanks to the people who matter most - our readers.  Without the people who buy the paper and support us through purchasing ads, there is NO Real Story. While I attended Market Street Festival, this weekend, I was overwhelmed by the love and support that I felt from the people who approached me.  And, after this weekend, I truly felt that the transformation from former police chief to “newspaper man” is complete.

The encouragement I have received from the community has always been amazing. I don’t always understand it, but I am glad I have it.  During my “Dark Journey of the Soul,” I was often asked what I was going to do and whether I was going to move.  A couple of well-meaning friends even said I would have to move.  “What would the ex-chief do in Columbus, if he wasn’t chief?” they asked.

And, even when I didn’t know the answer to that question, I knew this: I was not moving!  Columbus is my home.  My experiences, over this past weekend only reinforce this decision.  I love C-town.  I love Lowndes County.  And, now I can say without a doubt, “I am a Mississippian and I am proud to be from Columbus.”

A really smart guy who is the Star of his own book, but never wrote a word of it, once said, ”In patience, you shall win your soul.”  These words ring true for all of us, and should be our governing concept in life.  To win is to fight and to overcome adversity.  It is the glue that keeps everyone on focus.  The words, “Even when failure seems certain, cling to your ideals and principles” are words I will never forget.  They have been brought to my attention, most emphatically, over the past few days.  I didn’t know much about the author, beforehand, but I understand his words’ meaning.  And, that is the important part – understanding.

The most common admonition that I have heard, since the inception, of the paper has been for The Real Story to keep it real.  And, that is what we plan to do.  We will endeavor to keep it real for as long as The Real Story exists.  It’s the only way to get things done.

The support I have received, over the past 10 months, will never be forgotten; nor will the commitment I have to the community.  The Real Story will be there and, yes, will even stir things up, when necessary.  We want to be “the community’s newspaper”.  We want to be the publication that you can send to anyone, anywhere in America and be proud of the content, the layout, the photos, the writing, and the ads; in short, we want you, the reader, to be proud of everything we do.

From the onset, the paper has said, we will be the “government watchdog.”  That concept should be every paper’s true agenda.  It is not acceptable for a legitimate media outlet to prey on the unfortunate, the wreck victim, the one-time, minor offender, while “Rome burns and Nero fiddles.”  It is not only sloppy journalism – it is a disservice to the community.  It’s that plain and simple, and if you’re in the media and have to look up either “Rome” or “Nero” that is also a problem.

So, for all the people who approached me this past weekend and told me to keep giving “the man” hell – rest assured that we will never stop.  The Real Story is dedicated to being a community watch dog.  And, I promise that we will never hunt rabbits and squirrels, while there is big game in town.  That is a waste of your time and mine.  It is a sophomoric attempt to be important, in a troubled world.  Using your power to promote silliness and irrelevance is never truly journalism.

In closing – because 2,700 words are 1,700 words too much, two quotes resonate with me, as I come to the climax of the article:

Meet failure and disappointment with courage. Rise superior to the trials of life, and never give in to hopelessness or despair. In danger, in adversity, cling to your principles and ideals. - Dr. William Osler

Think often of how swiftly all things pass away and are no more – the works of Nature and the works of man.  The substance of the Universe, matter, is like unto a river that flows on, forever.  All things are not only in a constant state of change, but they are the cause of constant and infinite change in other things. Upon a narrow ledge thou standest!  Behind thee, the bottomless abyss of the Past!  In front of thee, the Future, that will swallow up all things that are now.  Over what things, then, in this present life wilt thou, O foolish man, be disquieted or exalted – making thyself wretched;  seeing that they can vex thee only for a time – a brief, brief time!  – Marcus Aurelius

These are words we can all live by!

Joseph B. St. John

Editor and Chief

The Real Story

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America and the War on Women

Ask Meagan!: Discrimination in the Workplace

Consumer Corner: Buffet City

Culturally Speaking:  Awash in a Sea of Culture

Election Season Must Have Begun –
The May 1, 2012 Columbus City Council Meeting

Jeremiah Short:  Wilson-led Defense Could Dominate In 2012

Joe St. John: The Real Story and the Quest for Truth

MSU Classics: Mississippi State Is a Labor Of Love for Flick

Pig Tales

Portrait of the Artist: Sarah Oswalt

Reducing Cellphone Use While Driving – An Addiction Model

Special Budget Message & Legislative Updates for Columbus Schools Staff

Staying Safe: Computer Safety Tips for Children

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Then, place your pointer on the image of the paper and use the scroll wheel on your mouse to move between pages.

In observance of National Police Week, the Columbus Police Department will honor all fallen officers by conducting a Peace Officers Memorial Day Service/Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Columbus Police Department, 1501 Main Street, on May 15, 2012, at 11am.

Light refreshments will be served, after the ceremony,  in the lobby of the police department.

For more information, contact CPD Chaplain Capt. Fred Shelton, at 662.364.1829 or e-mail fshelton@columbusms.org.

Special to The Real Story

Shortly after a newspaper is formed, a seemingly incessant tsunami of incoming information ensues. Phones are ringing, emails are being received, blogs are being posted, and letters arrive in the mail.  It is an actual information overload.  Quickly, our staff went from saying, “OMG, how will we fill up 8 pages?”  to asking, “What do we cut from our standard 24 pages, so that we don’t mess up the balance and design of the newspaper?”  Add layout design and ad creation, and it is easy to see there is more to the newspaper business than writing articles.

An amazing amount of information is conveyed via the telephone.  In a matter of minutes, after the last Columbus City Council meeting, our staff was notified about citizens who were not happy with the way Councilmen Charlie Box and Joe Mickens jumped to grab the spotlight, in regard to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program office closing, in East Columbus.  They wanted the council’s help, but they did not want them to turn it into an election season game.

In regard to the same meeting, the Mayor’s Youth Commission has been lampooned by citizens and government officials, for years.  Whether Robert is sincere or not, he has not sold everyone in this community that he is forthright.

And, here is the rub, for many people.  The Real Story doesn’t ignore that information.  We add it into our reporting.  It is why we call ourselves “Gonzo” journalists.  And, oh by the way, The Real Story will never change.  These are the facts. It is who we are!  And, we say it proudly.

In the meantime, the phone calls, emails and blog posts keep coming, and here is a sampling of what is at the forefront of many people’s minds:

• “You might want to check on something! Why is the City paying for that “Welcome to Columbus” sign going up between the river and the downtown exit? I drive past that thing, every day, and it is SEVERELY out of whack and looks horrible! Go take a look at it! (and better yet, take some pics!!) I think they need to tear it down and start again!!”
• “Sign at Tennessee Williams…It is so big you can’t take a picture of the house.”
• Arguments from both sides of the fence, on whether Sherman Smith got a “break” over his gun violation charge and punishment.
• “They have the bridge that was damaged today (May 4) closed. This evening, the HWY patrol had a road block DIRECTLY UNDER the bridge!!!! I can’t drive over this bridge because of damage, but they can stop traffic directly under it?? Please, please say something about this!!”
• “I think even elected office holders should have to take drug test random as well !”

Over the past few months, The Real Story has been swamped with stories of “Thuggery“ by elected officials, as well as bonds to pave roads where elected officials’ friends and, possibly, family live. In Caledonia, it is frequently brought to our attention that, oftentimes, the degree to which rules are enforced is determined using the concept of “who you know, not what you did or are trying to do”.

Add to this the fact that many people in Columbus believe the story that “old money” has killed our prosperity and that the LINK is only worried about big business, and it is going to be long hot summer.

Let’s hope the stories of gangs and dead bodies are exaggerated.  If not, Columbus may never be the same.  And, that will have nothing to do with the media!

Remember, we are not the government’s PR Department.  But, we are watching!

MoJo

Special to The Real Story