Odds and ends

Procrastination seems to be my middle name the past few days. Here are some odds and ends until I get my act together (hopefully quick)...

• I got my second traffic ticket ever Sunday, and for the second time it was on I-22 between Jasper and I-22. The guy in front of me at the Circuit Clerk's Office on Monday also got caught on I-22. Apparently, the officers have an easy time of it there. For the record, I was doing 82 mph in a 65 mph zone. (I'm not a speed demon, but the Buick has got some power that I'm still not used to. I'll have to put it on cruise control more often.)
• I had some people to tell me that six points on the state traffic system and you can have your license suspended. However, I've had legal confirmation that it is actually about 12 points that this happens, and that most speeding incidents only accounts for two points. (Had I gone 86 mph or more, it would have been five points.) Better yet, once the incident is two years old, the points given for that infraction no longer count toward suspension.
• When I was in to see the circuit clerk about being on the radio show, once I had checked about the ticket (which I couldn't pay because it was not in the records yet), I noticed I was still holding the ticket as I was asking. I told one of the clerks what I was really in to see Susie Odom about. I said that I guessed a number of people actually did try to come in to see Susie or someone about tearing up the ticket. "You have no idea," the clerk wearily said, making me feel better I had said something.
• Of course, everyone instantly becomes a comedian. One lawyer saw me in the courthouse with a ticket. "I could get you off on an insanity defense," he said. If I were him, I wouldn't bill me for the advice.
• Good wishes go to attorney Charlie Waits and his expecting wife, dentist Amanda Waits, who is pretty much resting up and relying on extra help at the dentist office while she awaits the birth of their child.
• The economic problems the country is facing continue to hit the region. I was shocked to see how depressing the once mighty McFarland Mall in Tuscaloosa had fallen. Once anchored by Woolco and Gayfers (later Dillards), it had at one time boasted a movie theater, a pet shop, a major cafeteria restaurant, Baskin Robbins and so much else. The Gayfers end is practically unused, Goody's is closing in the middle, Dollar Tree takes up space in the large restaurant area, and only some low-end chains can be found down the end. There is practically no reason to go. Even in Birmingham, I went by Patton Creek development next to the Galleria, where Circuit City is closing, Linens 'n Things has closed and Barnes and Noble announced that it was cutting back its closing hour on weeknights from 11 p.m. to 10 p.m., which is devastating to late owls.
• The annual breakfast meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County was great, but what everyone talked about was the food. It was plentiful and good. I don't think anyone ate much for the rest of the day. (For that matter, it was good to rejoin the Jasper Kiwanis Club again recently, as the food at the Jasper campus of Bevill State Community College is the best bargain in town.)
• I'm told by Jasper Superintendent of Education Robert Sparkman, who spoke Monday to the Kiwanis, that absentee ballots are now available in Jasper for the special referendum set for Feb. 10. That vote will decide on renewing 5.2 mills of property tax first approved in 1981, and would last another 30 years for upkeep of school buildings. Since state law requires a certain amount of mills, it could be a problem if the tax is not renewed, and it could cause the city to lose state funding.
• An open house will be held at T.R. Simmons Elementary for their new remodeling on Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. The renovations at Memorial Park should be finished by March, Sparkman said Monday.
• Northport Baptist will screen the two-hour movie "Fireproof" at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15. This is the third movie released by a Georgia church, which earlier made "Flywheel" and "Face the Giants." This is, by far, the most professional of the three and is a great tale with a great message about dealing with marriage. It is coming out this month on DVD, but I would catch it with an audience while I could.
• Jim Odom's ComeUnity inaugural meeting in his house last Thursday was attended by about a half dozen people, all of them apparently excited about coming together for Bible study and to promote unity and friendships in Christ in a casual setting. The next meeting is on Thursday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. at Odom's house, maybe a mile off of Highway 78 and just off of Walston Bridge Road.
• First Baptist Church of Jasper apparently has plans to try out a new early morning contemporary service, although it might only be on a once-a-month trial basis for now.
• Back on my radio show, U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt will also join me on my inaugural broadcast, along with Jasper Mayor Sonny Posey. Sparkman will join me the day before the referendum, and Odom will join me on Feb. 11. The show starts at 2 p.m. Feb. 2 on WJLX, which is 1240 on the AM in Walker County.