Metro Spirit

Metro Spirit http://www.metrospirit.com Augusta's Independent Voice Fri, 14 Jun 2013 20:05:41 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Weekend Events http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7663&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=weekend-events-25 http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7663#comments Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:12:17 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7663 I am, I am, I am Superman Laura Perry School’s out, but there’s still lots to do with kids. Superman’s got your back this afternoon at North Augusta Library. He could even be a part the DuPont Planetarium sky shows…

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Laura Perry

School’s out, but there’s still lots to do with kids. Superman’s got your back this afternoon at North Augusta Library. He could even be a part the DuPont Planetarium sky shows on Saturday. Keep your eyes peeled – it’s clear skies all weekend!

Friday, June 14th
So You Want To Be A Superhero?
3 p.m.
North Augusta Branch Library
Dress as your favorite Superhero and come celebrate the Man of Steel, the Boy Wonder and the Caped Crusader, but leave the kryptonite at home. Our own local Superheroes will get to make some Superhero disguises and test their strength with Superhero challenges. Call 803-279-5767 or visit www.abbe-lib.org.

1st Annual Music and Menus Festival
5:30 p.m. (gates open)
Evans Towne Center Park & Lady Antebellum Amphitheater
For the first time, Columbia County is featuring their restaurants all in one place. Although you don’t really need an arm-twisting to come out and sample food from Cheddars, the Retreat, or Bird Dog Grille, just to name a few, they’ve also got a few servings of great music on the side. The legendary Marshal Tucker Band headlines this new food and music festival tonight, and the show continues Saturday with 9 local bands + Funk You. Its $20 in advance or $30, day of show. Call 706-830-0677 or visit www.wbbq.com or www.eagle1057.com.

Saturday, June 15th
“Cousins (Blood of My Blood)”
7:00 p.m.
USC-Aiken Convocation Center In this dramatic comedy about four cousins that were raised together, you might realize your own family dynamics aren’t so dramatic after all. Set in Atlanta, this play is the story of some real drama and heartache, better than any soap. The cost is $24-$29. Call 803-643-6901 or visit www.uscatix.com.

Sky Shows
8 p.m. “Solar System Adventure Tour”
9 p.m. “Blown Away: Wild World of Weather”
DuPont Planetarium
Hop aboard the planetarium “spaceship” and find out what’s out there as you take this educational tour past the Sun, Moon and other planets of our solar system. And if you’re tired of inaccurate weather forecasts, take matters into your own hands and stay for the second show. You’ll make a journey to the Sun to explore its effects on weather and learn about storm prediction and safety as your trip sweeps you up in a thunderstorm, a hurricane, and finally, a tornado. General admission is $4.50; seniors $3.50; 4K-12 $2.50. Kids under 4 are not permitted to public viewings. Reservations are encouraged, 803-641-3654.

Sunday, June 16th
Candlelight Jazz
8 p.m.
Riverwalk River Stage
This Sunday’s jazz at the river will be the David Heath Project. David Heath is a percussionist and music educator in the Southern New England area. In addition to jazz, he is well versed in classical music and popular genres. His first album, I’ll See You When I See You, is now available on iTunes. Tickets are $6 or free for children under 13. For more info, visit www.gardencityjazz.com. ]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7663 0 Smoked Sausage http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7627&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=smoked-sausage http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7627#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:39:02 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7627 For sheer entertainment value, it’s tough to beat the Augusta Commission’s committee meetings. The committees are where the sausage is made, and the 10 sausage makers do their best to keep everyone entertained, even if it’s not always intentional. The…

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The Heery International contract extension had a little bit of everything.

Heery International oversees Augusta’s SPLOST projects — the big stuff — and it’s time to extend their contract. Commissioners tend to have almost as much fun with contract extensions (remember all the fun they had with Gold Cross) as they do with RFPs, and this was no different, especially since some commissioners are bound to want that contract extended more than others.

For the last 10 years or so, Heery has been paid very generously to oversee those SPLOST projects — some at more than $200 an hour — and Heery very generously gives back in the form of special funding for commissioners’ community events, campaign contributions and skybox tickets at Atlanta Falcons games.

Lately, both Alvin Mason and Corey Johnson have been explaining their relationships with Heery when they’d much rather be telling everyone why the other guy would make a lousy mayor.

Largess aside, Fred Russell was worried about how changing horses in midstream could affect some of those big projects the city’s still got going on, while Wayne Guilfoyle was putting Heery’s Forrest White through an interrogation that occasionally showed everyone just how intertwined Heery is with city government. A couple of times, commissioners seemed generally surprised to hear certain key personnel were in fact Heery employees and not part of city government.

The fun increased when commissioners questioned Butch Gallop of Gallop and Associates, one of Heery’s subcontractors who seemed to have an even sweeter deal than Heery itself.

Gallop, who attends nearly every committee and commission meeting, bills the city only four hours a week. He is supposed to be aggressively recruiting local participation.

The icing on the cake for many, though, was when activist Al Gray offered those in attendance his opinion of the contract.

Gray is a polarizing figure on the commission and among city employees, and seeing him emerging from the audience to give his two cents (the actual value is debatable, going up and down depending on who you talk to) seems to be perplexing to many. Yet up he seems to come and advise he does.

In the end the vote to extend the relationship failed.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7627 0 Sleeping Late http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7625&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sleeping-late http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7625#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:37:37 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7625 So is Columbia County District 3 school board member Mike Sleeper gearing up to run for another political office? Sleeper, who somehow manages to get in front of every pen, microphone and camera, was the lone vote against Columbia County…

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Sleeper, who somehow manages to get in front of every pen, microphone and camera, was the lone vote against Columbia County School’s $177 million budget, which would include a tax increase of about $40 per $100,000 in assessed value.

Columbia County doesn’t like tax increases, and politicians have problems winning when they vote for them. Sleeper has been on record preferring furloughing employees for a couple of days. Though that, too, is harsh in Columbia County, and though it obviously doesn’t sit well with school employees, it allows him to preserve his conservative credentials, such as they are.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7625 0 Patching Things Up http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7619&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=patching-things-up http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7619#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:36:16 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7619 Paul Simon’s proposal to merge the First Tee with the Augusta Municipal Golf Course is still lacking details, but it continues to gain ground with commissioners, who seem eager to show no hard feelings about all the bad things they…

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The Patch matters that much.

It matters so much, in fact, that commissioners were willing to buy into a shorter course and an expensive renovation that would have the course close for six to eight months.

According to Simon, the city should agree to the merger because it would reduce costs, make a profit, provide a first-class golfing experience for all, help recruit new business and support the First Tee, a worthy program if ever there was one.

He even threw in the fact that the course could be the golfing home to Paine College, though when questioned he admitted he hadn’t talked to them about it — it just seemed like a good idea. ASU has their own golf course, why shouldn’t Paine have its own course, too?

Costs would be split 25/75, with the smaller Patch paying the least amount.

Until the course turns a profit, there would be no charge to operate it. Once it turns a profit, the profit would be shared 50/50.

Having been burned and befuddled by previous plans, commissioners seemed to be more than happy dealing with the devil they know. And why not? Even if they get burned down the road by some unforeseen business wrinkle, they know that the Patch will be in good hands. Better hands, in fact, than it’s been when it’s been in their own.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7619 0 Did We Miss the Train Again? http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7605&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=did-we-miss-the-train-again http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7605#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:09:26 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7605

High-speed rail inches closer, but is Augusta backing away? Eric Johnson Nearly four years ago, the Metro Spirit took a look at the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. As drawn then, the corridor, one of nine across the nation, included…

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High-speed rail inches closer, but is Augusta backing away?

Eric Johnson

Nearly four years ago, the Metro Spirit took a look at the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor. As drawn then, the corridor, one of nine across the nation, included Atlanta, Greenville, Charlotte, Columbia, Macon, Savannah and Jacksonville but not Augusta. Now, after a study has developed a list of possible routes between Atlanta and Charlotte, Georgia’s second largest city is back on the map. But does anyone here care enough to keep them there?

The Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor (SEHSR) was originally proposed by the U.S. Department of Transportation in 1992 to run from Washington, D.C., to Charlotte. Eventually, that route was to link up with the existing high-speed rail in the Northeast Corridor (Boston to Washington) to provide an even more robust and long-range travel opportunities.

According to Natalie Dale, a GDOT spokesperson, the Atlanta to Charlotte corridor is an additional last leg of that Southeast Corridor.

“High-speed rail in itself is already sort of engrained in the transportation culture of the Northeast,” she says. “People use it for work, play and various activities on a daily and weekly basis, and because of the proximity of the population centers, they can use it to get to work and they can use it for weekend travel, whereas in the South, it’s just not really part of our transportation culture yet.”

Engrained or not, high-speed rail is still an iffy proposition. A 2009 Government Accountability Office report concluded that while high-speed rail tends to attract riders in densely populated corridors like the Northeast, there is still quite a bit of uncertainty regarding cost estimates and overall public benefits.

Obviously, other countries have a head start on high-speed rail. France started its high-speed rail program in 1981 and Japan, the first nation to develop high-speed rail system, has a ridership of 300 million.

These programs required significant national funding, and prior to President Obama’s stimulus package, which committed $8 billion to high-speed rail, the U.S. has never been willing to make that kind of investment. Even with that $8 billion, the Southeast is a long way from actually seeing any high-speed trains.

“We want to be very specific that this is just a study,” Dale says of the current benchmark. “There is no funding mechanism for an actual rail line. This is just really to look at the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor to see if it’s feasible and, if it is, to integrate the Atlanta to Charlotte corridor into the transportation philosophy of the Southeast.”

Just because it’s feasible doesn’t mean people are going to be interested in using it, though, which is part of the reasoning behind three recent public meetings that unveiled the six proposed lines between Atlanta and Charlotte while asking for public comment.

The meetings were held in Charlotte, Greer, S.C., and Suwanee, Ga.

“I don’t want people who were in communities that weren’t near the meetings to think that that was a comment on the importance of that community,” Dale says. “It was just that we had to do one in each state.”

The city of Athens brought a van full of people to last week’s meeting in Suwanee.

“Athens was far and away the most vocal and had the highest number,” Dale says. “I think when you look at what Athens is as a city, as a college town, they sort of have the culture that is very intrigued by high-speed rail.”

According to Doc Eldridge, president of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, attending the meeting was almost an obligation. “We have been in this dialogue for 30 years,” he says. “Seriously, it’s been that long.”

Previously, the discussions have revolved around the so-called Brain Train, a commuter route that would have connected nine colleges and universities between Atlanta and Athens.

“When that didn’t happen by the year 2000, that conversation sort of disappeared,” Eldridge says. “We really thought it was going to happen around the years 1999 to 2001.”

So convinced were they that Eldridge says the city located, paid for and built a multimodal center because they felt sure the commuter rail was a lock. It wasn’t, and now the multimodal center, which has a parking area and is right next to the greenway, is used for Athens Transit and the UGA buses, but not trains.

“We went to the hearings on rapid rail because we certainly wanted to take a look at it and get our feelings in,” he says. “It’s not a commuter rail, but it’s a step in the right direction, connecting the International Airport in Atlanta with metro Atlanta, Athens, Greenville, Charlotte and on to Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, I don’t think any of this is going to happen while I’m still alive.”

At the meeting, the Athens delegation made a pitch for Alternative 6, the Athens route, by pointing out the need for a large university to have easy access to airports, which the route would give them at both ends.

The same could also be said for Augusta, whose new combined university hopes to be an educational institution on par with UGA and Georgia Tech. Throw in the regional medical community, and Augusta would seem to have the same needs and desires.

Regardless of the needs, the desires seem to be lagging at an official level: Augusta was not represented at the meetings.

“I didn’t know about it,” says Walter Sprouse, executive director of the Development Authority of Richmond County. “I saw in the paper that there are three or four routes proposed, but we received no notification here that there was going to be a public meeting about this.”

Still, he says he supports the plan.

“The concept, I think, is ideal,” he says. “It’s probably a concept, to be totally honest, that should have been discussed in 1958 whenever the Eisenhower Interstate Highway System started construction.”

His point: even if the lines weren’t built at the time, there would at least be existing right of ways linking major population centers. A good bit of the groundwork would already have been done.

That said, he says the fact that they’re even looking that far ahead now is commendable.

“I applaud them for having the discussions,” he says. “If magically they had the funding for it, then obviously we’d be thrilled to have it come through Augusta, and I’m sure Columbia would love that, too.”

In fact, he expresses more enthusiasm for the linkage east then the one going west.

“Even though we are so oriented in the state of Georgia at looking toward Atlanta, we also have to remember that where we’re seated, we are exactly the same distance to Charlotte,” he says. “So if this were to happen, I think the greatest beneficiary would be people who live in Columbia and Augusta going back and forth and the people in Columbia and Charlotte going back and forth.”

To his way of thinking, including Augusta and Columbia makes the most sense for everyone.

“If the people in Atlanta were to look at it and say ‘What would be beneficial as far as ridership goes?’ and the people in Charlotte would do the same thing, I think they would take a look at the numbers and take a look at the population centers of Augusta and Columbia and say, ‘Oh, this is a no brainer — it needs to be that route to connect these four big cities,’” Sprouse says.

City Administrator Fred Russell says he also wasn’t aware of the meeting, but he says the idea hasn’t escaped his attention, either.

“The mayor and I are talking about it next Monday,” he says. “It’s something we need to get involved with because I think it’s very important to us. We need a seat at that table.”

Being connected to such big population centers would allow Augusta to be a quasi bedroom community, he says. Or visa versa.

But such long-range objectives — even ones that seem to offer such impressive dividends — are sometimes hard for a community to focus on, Russell admits.

“We’re not real good at being visionary,” he says. “We’re getting better, but we still spend a lot of time talking about tomorrow when we need to be talking about 10 years from now. While both are important, 10 years is really going to make the difference, in my opinion.”

Two of the six proposed routes are drawn to go through Augusta. One would use the interstate highway right-of-way and the other would share existing rail. They are longer than the other routes, but have the advantage of linking the most people.

Alternative 1 would cut north through Suwanee, Gainesville, Greenville and Spartanburg, while Alternative 6 would go through Lawrenceville and Athens.

Initial evaluations show the Augusta alternatives as weaker than some of the others, but Dale says that shouldn’t deter Augusta from pursuing it, should it be something they want to do.

“This is a study, so it’s important that everyone in a community who wants to be heard takes the opportunity and takes the initiative to get their opinions out there any way they can, because that’s how these studies are shaped and that’s how these lines are chosen and identified,” Dale says. “If Augusta or another community of interest feels that they are being overlooked, now is the time to get community officials involved. Now is the time to develop that community group to meet and discuss and develop a plan to educate the community about this and make it a big deal.”

Because it uses all new, dedicated tracks that don’t share or run along an interstate corridor, the Greenfield line initially earned the highest score. But because of all of those things, it’s also going to have the highest price tag, which might make other options ultimately more attractive should the time ever come to take things from the drawing board to the great outdoors.

The elephant in the room, of course, is funding. Motor fuel tax can only be used for roads and bridges, and what the states get from the federal government for intermodal transportation is continually cut back. And several years ago, the state decided that intermodal funding at the state level had to come from the General Assembly, so the General Assembly decides how much cash rail gets.

Regardless, transportation is never a fast-moving process. Dale says that June 2015 is the goal for identifying the preferred route, whether or not there is funding.

“It’s in our benefit to be prepared and to have a very clear vision for what rail would look like so that, if the day comes and there is funding, we could hit the ground running,” she says.

Sprouse agrees.

“I guess the only fear is that somebody in 2045 will say, ‘Well, if they’d have just started this thing in 2013, look where we could be right now.” Those who want to have their opinions heard can complete the survey at dot.ga.gov/travelingingeorgia/rail/AtlantatoCharlotte/Pages/default.aspx.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7605 0 Rolling On http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7603&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rolling-on http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7603#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:06:06 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7603

Operation Rolling Thunder rolls out of town Eric Johnson With Operation Rolling Thunder now complete, the big question is whether or not Augusta drivers have learned anything. In conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the high-visibility campaign was…

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Operation Rolling Thunder rolls out of town

Eric Johnson

With Operation Rolling Thunder now complete, the big question is whether or not Augusta drivers have learned anything.

In conjunction with the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, the high-visibility campaign was an intentional effort to strong arm area drivers into driving safely. Extra officers from all over the state and road checks were just some of the ways law enforcement officials tried to force drivers into compliance with local driving rules. According to Lt. Lewis Blanchard of the Community Services Division, it worked.

Fatalities per month this year compared to last have declined 62 percent and during the operation there were no fatalities on nights that had road checks.

Getting the most buzz throughout the community has been the 32 road checks, which basically shut traffic down to a stop in certain areas as law enforcement officials checked everything from insurance and registration to sobriety.

“Here’s the good thing about roadblocks, whether you like them or not — people know road checks are out there,” Blanchard says. “And if you know the road checks are out there and you publicize it well, it will alter behavior. It will make people think twice because they know they have a much better chance of getting caught if they drink and drive. That’s why we believe we saw fatalities go down and that’s why we believe that when we’re driving around at night, we see a lot more cars left in the parking lots. We saw taxis being used in an extreme amount.”

While bar and restaurant owners have complained that the threat of road checks drastically cut their business, the fact is that even toward the end of the operation, the numbers continued to drop on the DUI arrests, which was their goal.

“There are pros and cons to both road checks and regular traffic enforcement,” Blanchard says. “But we were able to see that obviously you do catch a decent amount of impaired drivers and especially things that you wouldn’t know other than a regular traffic stop. For example, child seat violations or the suspended licenses.”

Over the course of the three-month operation, deputies issued 58 speeding citations, four reckless driving citations and 66 uninsured motorist citations. The also issued 1,166 traffic and equipment warnings, made 17 felony arrests, apprehended 39 fugitives and recovered one stolen vehicle.

Deputies also issued 307 DUI citations, 295 suspended license violations and 33 seatbelt citations.

The most surprising number, however, was the number of child seat citations: 488.

“Never in a million years would we have thought we’d have so many child seat violations,” Blanchard says. “Four hundred eighty-eight in three months — that’s just insane. I get why an adult doesn’t want to wear a seatbelt — I’m not saying it’s a smart decision, but okay… you’re an adult and you don’t want to wear your seatbelt. But I can’t imagine any parent in today’s society placing their child in a vehicle unsecured knowing that at the same time of night we’re out there having gotten 300 DUIs right on the exact same roadways they’re on.”

That DUI number is something else that surprises him.

“To be honest, based on the numbers we’ve seen over the years, I wouldn’t have thought we would have arrested over 300 people for DUIs, especially with all the media attention it got. The good thing was, we saw a steady decline, but what’s sad is that out of the deaths we have had this year, the majority of them are alcohol related.”

Now that the extra enforcement is no longer here, will Augusta drivers get complacent and go back to their old, dangerous way of doing things?

“The state’s not sending us any free extra help anymore,” Blanchard says. “We don’t have the extra manpower from the state to accomplish those goals, but hopefully we altered thinking. In cooperation with the media, we made it a top priority for people to understand that drinking and driving in this area will not be tolerated.”]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7603 0 Fortunate Father’s Day http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7601&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fortunate-fathers-day http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7601#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:04:00 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7601

Fort Gordon father and daughter plan to celebrate Father’s Day on home turf Laura Perry For Specialist Chelsae Whitfield and her father, Sergeant First Class Sheldon Whitfield, Father’s Day is a day they’ve almost always been able to celebrate together,…

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Fort Gordon father and daughter plan to celebrate Father’s Day on home turf

Laura Perry

For Specialist Chelsae Whitfield and her father, Sergeant First Class Sheldon Whitfield, Father’s Day is a day they’ve almost always been able to celebrate together, despite the fact that they’re both in the Army. The two have served together in the same unit for nearly two and half years.

“I’ve only missed one,” says Chelsae, 23. “That was last year when I was in Korea.”

“Yeah, she’s only missed one, and unless I was deployed, I’ve always been here,” says Whitfield, 40. “I was in Iraq last year while she was in Korea. I think we talked to each other on the phone or Skyped each other, but other than that, it was just a normal day.”

According to Whitfield, it’s much more common in the military to have a father and son or a husband and wife working together. Even a mother and son are more common than a father and daughter.

Statistics supplied by the National Fatherhood Initiative, a nonprofit focused on improving the well being of children by increasing the proportion of kids growing up with fathers, show that about 593,000 active-duty service members and nearly 300,000 U.S. reservists are dads.

For Whitfield, serving with his daughter has been a lesson in the speed of communication.

“Anytime there was maybe a small issue or something that she may have done wrong, it came back to me immediately,” he says. “It was a matter of seconds that I would know about it. Anything good or bad — it was an immediate response.”

Though Whitfield says the Army is good about providing family time, not everyone is able to serve alongside a family member, and Chelsae sees how tough that distance can be on other members of her unit. Still, family has guided both throughout their journey with the Army.

“I joined when I was 17, and she’s the reason I joined — right there,” Whitfield says. “I wasn’t bound for college right then, and living with my parents was not an option, so I wanted to do something for myself. My dad was a soldier for 28 years and he’d just retired right before I graduated high school. He said it was a great option. I joined and I never looked back.”

For Chelsae, her father was her guiding influence.

“I joined to say thank you,” she says.

“She had a good recruiter,” Whitfield says, smiling. “I told her both. It was, ‘This is not really what I want you to do, but at the same time, you’ve got to do something and you can’t just sit around twiddling your thumbs.’ I gave her the options and she looked over them. I told her what it could do for her and what it did for me.”

Whitfield says that before Chelsae joined, he and his own father were the only two in his entire family to serve in the military, and though they both know they are fortunate to have actual family close by, Whitfield, who is preparing to retire, knows the Army operates as a kind of family, too.

“When you come to a new place, you adopt a whole new family besides your own,” Whitfield says. “If something happens to one of these kids, or one of your friends, or one of the servicemen around you, you feel it, especially when someone passes away. When their families are deployed, they step in. They help each other. I’ve seen guys cut other people’s yards and wash their wives’ cars, and help with the kids. It’s definitely a second family.”]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7601 0 Judging Traffic http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7599&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=judging-traffic http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7599#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 20:00:59 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7599

Proposal takes minor traffic violations out of the courts by creating new Traffic Violations Bureau Eric Johnson Richard Slaby, chief judge of the State Court of Richmond County, wants to reclassify traffic violations and establish a Traffic Violations Bureau to…

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Proposal takes minor traffic violations out of the courts by creating new Traffic Violations Bureau

Eric Johnson

Richard Slaby, chief judge of the State Court of Richmond County, wants to reclassify traffic violations and establish a Traffic Violations Bureau to relieve the solicitor general from the burdens of processing the increasing number of traffic violations.

The effect would be to drastically decrease the number of cases coming through the state court.

At Monday’s committee meetings, Slaby said that of the 254 cases on the morning’s calendar, 89 percent would have been eligible to go through the Traffic Violations Bureau, a number he expects to increase.

Slaby authorized the Administrative Office of the Court to perform a study looking at figures from 2006 to 2008. The study anticipated between 10,000 and 15,000 traffic citations a year going through a Traffic Violations Bureau.

“Talking with the sheriff about this, I think it would be more than that,” Slaby said. “Since he’s now established a traffic division, he’s writing more citations. I suspect there will be more activity going through here.”

Sheriff Richard Roundtree’s decision to rededicate 40 officers to the traffic division changed the numbers even before the three-month traffic operation called Rolling Thunder brought an extra focus and an increased dedication of manpower to traffic incidents. According to Solicitor General Kellie McIntyre, the numbers were ballooning already.

“Rolling Thunder started February 14 and ended this past weekend, but in the first six weeks of the year, the Sheriff’s Office had already written 2,000 citations that we processed through our office,” she said.

Though the Traffic Violations Bureau process would save considerable time spent on paperwork and processing, the process remains similar up to a point.

Currently, if you are charged with a speeding ticket, the ticket stays with the Sheriff’s Office for 10 days. If you don’t pay it during those 10 days, it works its way through the Solicitor’s Office and the Clerk of Court until the day of your actual trial. Once it moves out of the Sheriff’s Office, it’s treated as a misdemeanor crime, triggering different forms of information gathering.

With the Traffic Violations Bureau, you would simply pay your fine at the Traffic Violations Bureau. The violation would go against your license, but you would not be guilty of a misdemeanor.

Administrator Fred Russell voiced his support for the project.

“Several years ago — 2010 — we began this conversation and the timing didn’t seem right to bring this forward,” he said. “But based on the current conditions, based on the number of citations that are currently being written as well as the cost of the additional employees, I think we’ve been able to close the gaps fairly well. It seems to me at the moment, this is one of the more progressive things that we could possibly do to not only serve the citizens of Augusta, but to make sure that we emphasize the need for traffic safety, but do it in a way that doesn’t criminalize the issue to the point where the individual thinks they’re a criminal when they’ve just made a mistake.”

Russell said he would endorse the plan and that the cost of the two additional employees Clerk Elaine Johnson told Slaby she’d need to process the cases on her end would be well returned by an increased level of service, if not in the dollars that would be generated by the plan.

He suggested that if the committee recommended Slaby proceed — and given the work involved, Slaby wanted to get that commitment before moving forward — he would attempt to put it in the budget in November, to be effective sometime in early 2014.

Slaby emphasized that shifting the violations to the Traffic Violations Bureau would decriminalize traffic violations, making them fineable violations rather than misdemeanors, which would take offenders out of the system, bypassing the Solicitor General’s Office to a large extent and bypassing the public defender’s office, because the offenses aren’t crimes anymore.

The reclassification would free up the solicitor general to handle more pressing matters and keep those guilty of minor traffic violations from potentially going through the probation system. However, anyone wishing a bench trial or a jury trial would be allowed that opportunity.

Though Russell seemed willing to set aside money for the new employees in the new budget, Commissioner Donnie Smith made it clear he would like to see the money come from reduced workload of the solicitor’s office and the Public Defender.

Using Slaby’s numbers, he argued that if 89 percent of the cases would be eliminated by the Traffic Violations Bureau, those freed up workers could be reassigned.

McIntire protested the move, saying her people had too much to do as it was while Slaby stressed that he was currently simply looking for conceptual support before putting together a detailed plan.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7599 0 The Other Costner http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7597&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-other-costner http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7597#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:57:54 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7597 Adults using valedictorian to advance their own agendas When I first got wind of this whole Roy Costner story, I had trouble contextualizing it of its own accord. In case you don’t know, Roy Costner is the valedictorian of…

]]> Adults using valedictorian to advance their own agendas When I first got wind of this whole Roy Costner story, I had trouble contextualizing it of its own accord. In case you don’t know, Roy Costner is the valedictorian of a South Carolina high school, and recently defied school board — and federal government policy — by reciting the Lord’s Prayer at his graduation ceremony as part of his speech.

The reaction from each side of the political spectrum has been, to put it mildly, predictable: Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly all but soaked her swivel chair while interviewing Costner, barely finding the breath to gush words like “remarkable,” “brave” and “awwwww.” The reaction of the liberal media — i.e. the Great Satan — has been a tad more subdued, though you practically feel a gust of wind, so great is the velocity of their eye rolling. A few sphincters have also, I suspect, involuntarily, surreptitiously tightened.

I watched the video of Costner’s speech, as well as a few interviews, and the worst thing I can say about him is that he’s difficult to get a bead on. He’s just… kind of a bro. For his Fox News appearance, he dressed like a sophomore third baseman posing for homecoming dance photos; his beard is unkempt yet inoffensive; his tiny gold cross necklace was only slightly noticeable against his white undershirt (see above) and I only really saw the damn thing because I was looking for it, due to the headline.

And he doesn’t sound, at least, like he’s doing this for the attention. His responses to Kelly’s questions were unrehearsed, and he seemed nervous as hell, though nowhere close to the aw-shucks demeanor that Jimmy Stewart — and only Jimmy Stewart — could pull off.

All in all, Costner seems fairly genuine, if completely unaware of the social implications of his actions, not to mention the damage it’s already caused and will continue to cause. Mind you, I’m not — nor should anyone, if I’m being particularly judgmental — take an empirical stand against prayer, or even public prayer. Just like the mainstream emergence of same-sex rights doesn’t mean you have to divorce your wife and run off with the milkman — though wouldn’t it be kind of quaint, as infidelity goes? — freedom “of” religion operates in complement to freedom “from” religion: each may worship if/as he or she pleases, though not to an extent that governmental representation is at all implied, or is otherwise foisted on the populace at large. Hence this controversy.

Let me put this another way: Roy Costner is 18. Freaking 18. Do you remember how much of an idiot you were at that age? When I was 18, I was barely a year removed from an identity primarily characterized by Jncos, Mountain Dew and professional wrestling. If you’ve led a fairly stable, even cloistered life up that point, chances are that you haven’t had much of an opportunity to develop any sort of broadened, thoughtful worldview. You have no concept of how your actions — especially in an era whose identity is so swathed in viral news/videos and watchdoggery, and dominated by ideologues — may affect those in your immediate social vicinity, not to mention the rest of the country, or even the rest of the world. It was an ill-conceived, shortsighted decision; but then again, so are most decisions 18-year-olds make. So Roy gets a pass. Truly, he does.

Two people — or sets of people — who do not, however, get a pass: first, Roy’s parents. When interviewed regarding the speech, Roy’s father recounted how he told his son that if Roy felt like this was something he was being led to do, then he should go ahead and do it. Here’s why that’s inexcusable: a father, at least one not hungry for publicity, should know better. A father, at least one who’s lived a life worth living, should possess something of a more learned cultural experience and outlook than his teenage son.

I have no way of knowing how extensive the conversation was, whether or not the father may have expressed any degree of reluctance, or with how many caveats he may have layered his final advice. But the fact of the matter is that he left this socially atomic decision in the hands of a teenager, and that is almost scarier than Roy’s own decision to go through with it. Second: high-profile conservatives and their persecution complex. Any time that a modicum of social progress is made — the expelling of Creationism from science textbooks, more restrictive gun laws, same-sex rights — these attention-starved dingbats use it as an excuse to prop up their belief that they, somehow, are now the ones being oppressed. To be clear, I don’t think this is what Costner had in mind when he did what he did; remember, teenagers are legally brain-damaged. His limited worldview combined with what is obviously — and I’m being genuine here — a serious attempt to be true to and stand up for his faith conspired to make it seem like a good idea.

But conservative personalities — who, like Papa Costner, are old enough and educated enough to know better, and frankly just don’t give the tiniest crap — are loving this, because they are now able to frame the plight of white, middle-class Christians in the context of civil rights. And while that definitely holds water if we’re talking Roman-and-tigers, or some of the more brutally oppressive regimes operating in the world today, Christianity in this country certainly doesn’t need any help standing on its own two feet. Nobody is refusing to provide Seattle Christians with flowers for their wedding; nobody is trying to make it illegal for Christians to have sex in Virginia.

Most unforgivable, however, is the use of a pretty innocent 18-year-old who doesn’t know any better as a pawn in these ongoing ideological games. Because of all the extra attention and glad-handing, he’s going to think there were no ramifications, no other, more complex social implications to ever consider. Eventually, of course, he’s going to find out. But it’s going to take that much longer, and be that much more painful.]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7597 0 Dad’s Day http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7594&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=dads-day http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7594#comments Wed, 12 Jun 2013 19:55:00 +0000 metrospirit http://www.metrospirit.com/?p=7594 While the kids are with their dad, I’ll be with mine For the past several years, The Man has taken The Kids camping for Father’s Day. Some time ago, he asked if I minded. “Hey Babe? Is it okay…

]]> While the kids are with their dad, I’ll be with mine For the past several years, The Man has taken The Kids camping for Father’s Day. Some time ago, he asked if I minded.

“Hey Babe? Is it okay if I take The Kids camping on Father’s Day weekend?”

“Um. As far as I’m concerned, you can take them camping every single weekend. Seriously.”

I mean, even if they want to go on Christmas, we can work something out. I was shocked he even asked. We don’t typically ask permission for things like this, and it seemed like a no-brainer. It’s not that I don’t like camping. I grew up going camping and hiking, and while I like it just fine, I don’t mind a weekend to myself, either.

I love the Father’s Day tradition they’ve started. Several dads, who have kids of similar ages, pack up the truck for a little car camping in North Carolina. For those who aren’t well versed in camping lingo, this doesn’t mean they sleep in the car, but they can pretty much bring as much stuff as they want, because the car will be right nearby. There are bathroom facilities. For experienced outdoorsmen, this is called candy-ass camping (CAC).

I’m not making fun. I prefer CAC myself, and it’s probably the best plan for a large group with limited resources and time. Besides, I doubt the dads are interested in carrying their large coolers of beer deep in the woods. They’re already lugging all the kids’ crap and setting up camp. Car nearby equals cooler nearby.

When my people leave, I am left with two choices. I can stay home and enjoy a quiet weekend in my house. It’s an incredibly attractive option. Once you have kids, time along in your home is a luxury. I make lists of things I swear I’ll do, but I usually just savor the peace.

Although that sounds great, I often end up going out of town. Last year, I packed up for Colleen and Andy’s Mexican wedding. This year, I’m spending Father’s Day with my dad.

He lives in Chicago. Y’all might say this makes it an easy choice, right? Well, yeah, it does. We are going to see “The Book of Mormon,” we have tickets to a late-night Second City show and I’m sure we’ll eat and drink pretty well. He likes wine. He lives on the lake, so we’ll probably walk along the beach. We both like good coffee and morning crossword puzzles.

I’ll tell you why it’s going to be a great weekend, though. I like my dad. Sure most people love their dads, but I like hanging out with mine. We talk on the phone several times a week. I’m sure I call him too much sometimes, but he rarely says he doesn’t have time to chat.

He took me to Paris for my 16th birthday. I knew how to speak French but was intimidated by the natives. I told him what to say. We only fought once. I stand my ground. I knew the best way to get there. We did need a map. I actually read it. I wish I’d been old enough to have wine with him. We’ll just have to go back. Hint, hint.

When it came to my wedding, he didn’t ask many questions. He wanted the reception to be a huge party with great music. I think his only request had to do with the bar: Top shelf only. My friends are still thanking him for it. When our band cancelled a mere six weeks before the wedding, he didn’t panic. He found someone but warned me that our planned father/daughter dance song might be too difficult for the new group. I was a bit disappointed, but it didn’t last long. Little did I know he asked the band to sing it anyway, and they did. “I Could’ve Danced All Night” from “My Fair Lady,” one of our favorite musicals, was our song. Everyone else probably thought it was weird. We didn’t care.

We have a bad (but fun) habit of thinking we’re funnier than we really are. If we pick on you, know it means we love you. If you ask us to pass the ketchup, and we start passing it around the table, making sure it gets to everyone but you, expect, “You didn’t ask us to pass it to you.” We always think we have the next idea for “Saturday Night Live.” I’m sure we don’t.

Many years ago, I knew I’d found my husband when I woke up and found The Man and my dad talking over coffee. Dad always liked my boyfriends just fine, but now they had things in common. I won’t let it bother me that one interest they share is those nasty five-finger toe shoes.

While I hate to miss a great weekend with The Man and Kids, I’ll gladly trade it for a weekend with Dad. He’ll probably be rather embarrassed by the sentimental nature of this week’s column. Hell, who am I kidding? Almost 500 hundred words about him? He’ll love it. And I love him. Happy Father’s Day, Dad! Cheers!]]> http://www.metrospirit.com/?feed=rss2&p=7594 0