The McCollumn - 7/29: 'And now, the rest of the story'

I suppose that one of the hazards of covering news stories in your hometown is knowing more information about what you are covering than what is pertinent to the story.

When I’m sitting in front of a computer screen (generally near the deadline hour on Wednesday), I’m forced to cut down my notes and collection of funny and interesting quotes into a “Just the facts” sort of style.

Thus is news reporting.

I’m not saying this is a bad thing.

I don’t know that anyone actually wants to hear the one-liners floated by various members of the city council. What kills in council chambers may fall flat out here.

Sometimes, events occur that are noteworthy, that is to say worth me picking up a pen and jotting something down about it, but not actually newsworthy, for some reason.

This week, I present for you two examples of “non-news items” that occurred during regularly scheduled public meetings.

Are these actually news? Probably not, but this is my space, and I think they deserve mention.

What do you think?

Opelika City Council

During last week’s city council meeting, a young woman got up to address the council during the Citizens Communications portion of the meeting.

Usually, former councilman Clarence Harris or T Speir are the only people to speak, so I listened as the young woman began to tell the assembled citizenry about her issues in dealing with custody of her children with the Alabama Department of Human Resources.

She said the children were being tossed around from foster home to foster home – a seven-year-old, four-year-old, two-year-old and two-month old deserve more stability than that.

The woman said she had approached Council president pro tem Patsy Jones to ask her advice, and Jones pointed her to the council, telling the young woman she wasn’t sure the council could truly be of help to her situation, but that someone there might be able to help.

The woman raised questions about inadequate legal representation, and city attorney Guy Gunter stepped in and offered the woman his legal advice.

While the council may not have had the ability to do anything, the Reverends Tom Tippett and John Rector, on hand to help lead the meeting in prayer, immediately hopped up to offer their assistance to the woman, taking her out into the hall to ask her further questions and get her what she needed.

Councilwoman Jones seemed touched, adding, “I know we have a mixture of people here, and God is always good,” with what appeared to be a small bit of moisture in her eyes.

Opelika City School Board

“I have something to say,” Patsy Boyd Parker, school board member and veteran educator, said during the Opelika school board’s meeting Tuesday, directing her comments directly at Superintendent Mark Neighbors.

Her tone seemed to imply something important was soon to come forth.

Parker is not known for speaking in vain. Neighbors seemed slightly taken aback.

She began by giving “all due respect” to Phil Raley, then proceeded to upbraid Neighbors for his apparent refusal to go and pose for his official superintendent portrait to be displayed in the lobby of the performing arts center.

Parker gave him a three week deadline to go and get it done.

After she finished, Neighbors breathed a sigh, saying “I wasn’t sure where you were going with that one. Thought I might be in trouble.”

“Three weeks,” Parker snapped back. “You very well might be.”

Opelika Observer Staff Editorial - 7/8: 'Disagree' does not mean 'disrespect'

At this week’s Opelika City Council meeting, a citizen took time to address the council during the Citizens’ Communications portion, a time set aside during each council meeting for the public to address the council with questions or grievances.

While the common belief may be that such an event is a normal occurrence, truthfully, it is not. Citizens rarely exercise the opportunity to speak at council meetings.

The aforementioned citizen was unhappy about several decisions and votes made and taken by the council, and stood up to voice those concerns - a perfectly valid and appropriate usage of the time allotted.

However, the citizen ended by taking aim at the mayor and council members on a personal level - questioning their honor and stating that the council members were “rapidly losing their honor.”

The citizen was later upbraided for those remarks by Council president Eddie Smith, but, to us, it seems a regrettable shame that the situation has come to that.

When did public discourse in this country fall to such a low level?

When did debate become who could yell the loudest and say the most outrageous things - regardless of whether they can be verified or not?

We are used to seeing politicians and commentators on the cable news networks engaging in such dubious behaviors, but we were unaware the poison had spread to so far, to the local, grass-root level.

Votes and decisions may not always be backed by everyone, but no one deserves the right to question and impugn the honor and integrity of someone for their vote.

You may not like a decision made by the council, but a vote you personally disagree with does not shame or dishonor a council member.

Any character attacks such as that often reflect more on the person making the attack.

If your argument has such little meat that you must use personal attacks as a prop, perhaps it’s best to sit down and be quiet.

You are not contributing to the solution; you are furthering the problem.

Inflamed rhetoric and wild unsubstantiated claims make for great sound bites and pull quotes, but they don’t actually bring solutions to the problems they pretend to address.

Rather, they serve to further drag down this country, as civility and mutual respect are tossed to the side.

Political debate in this country used to be a civilized affair. People could disagree on issues and have arguments without hating the person behind the issue.

We need to find a way back to that model - disagreement without being disagreeable.

We are a nation forged largely on compromise.

When brave men and women recognized that two factions backed by rigid ideologues would never want to find a solution, they met together and forged peaces that would bring the country together.

Let us not forget that the Miracle at Philadelphia in 1776, that new nation conceived in liberty, came about because our founding fathers put aside political differences and inflated egos for the good of creating a new nation.

Compromise and rationality, not inflamed words and angry protests, are the true children of 1776.

Judge today’s arguments by this standard: the louder they yell, the weaker their argument.

The McCollumn - 7/8/: Cliff and the 'dog days of summer'

He tries to eat leaves. I don't judge.

More than a month ago, almost-Dr. Adam Cooner, snake hunter extraordinaire, sent me a series of texts and picture messages telling me about a litter of puppies his mother had come across up in rural Walker County.

I was saddened by their plight, but more than a bit taken aback when Cooner asked if I wanted one of the puppies.

Some of you may not know me terribly well, but know I am not the sort of person who has ever been called an “animal person.”

At best, my relationship with pets has been a sort of peace born of a mutual recognition of each other’s right to exist, but little more than that.

While I often petsit for others, the thought of having to care for the well-being of another living thing was never really a point of interest for me.

I’m barely involved enough to take care of me; how could I handle a pet?

Cooner and others seemed to think otherwise and their arguments prevailed upon me.

Cooner dropped the puppy off upon his return from an externship in Ohio, and the dog and I began a roughly three week experiment, one where he familiarized himself with a strange new home and I tried to develop a name that a) fit the dog and b) I wouldn’t mind yelling for the next 3 to 9 years.

After much hand-wringing and consultations with various McCollum cohorts, a name was chosen: Fitz, short for Admiral Fitzwallace, the fictional Chairman of the Joint Chiefs played by John Amos on “The West Wing.”

“Obscure, but fitting,” the bipartisan, blue ribbon McCollum Pet Naming Commission said in its findings.

Now, Fitz is a fixture at McCollum Cottage, a roguish scamp of a mutt who may slowly be winning me over.

Note I said “slowly.”

I’ve not yet adjusted to the cries and yelps to be let out to go to the bathroom at 4 a.m. Those opportunities do allow me to try out some seldom used Middle English curse words, so maybe they aren’t a complete loss.

I have to remember that I, too, occasionally wake up that early for exactly such a purpose.

The yelping seems to be on exactly the right pitch to set my nerves on edge.

The repeated “You’re leaving me in this crate for several hours alone. I hate you” bark is annoying, but it often makes me feel bad for having to leave him there.

Shopping for the proper food can be more than daunting. The options available to pet owners is somewhat staggering.

I spent almost 20 minutes just wandering the pet food aisle at Kroger the other day, and I still feel like I didn’t really see half of what was there.

I put off going to Petco. If the Kroger aisle made me nervous, that place could make my brain explode.

I suppose, as a non-pet owner for almost all of my life, I’ve never had a reason to think about any of this stuff.

I’m learning now, besieged with advice from everyone I know, whether I ask for it or not.

“You and a dog?” one long-distance friend asked. “Odds are only one of you lasts out the summer.”

Could be, chum.

But, for now, Fitz and I are good.

We’ll watch a little Arrested Development, have a nice lie-down and go to sleep.

The McCollumn - 6/17: 'That Old Time Religion'

Bobby and I quietly opened the door to the sanctuary, moving quickly and finding a seat in the back of the Durant Chapel Baptist Church in Bay Minette.

“The Rev” and his cadence were already in full swing, arguing deftly against historian critics taking aim at purported inaccuracies in the book of Daniel.

Normally, a history sermon would put me to sleep faster than my melatonin tablets, but Dr. Henry Cox always proves to be a captivating speaker.

Cox, or “The Rev” (as I like to call him), is a long-time friend of Cliff, Bobby Beauchamp’s grandfather and one of the best people I’ve ever come into contact with in my life.

A graduate of the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, “The Rev” has served at five churches across the state of Alabama, including 26 years at First Baptist Church in Bay Minette.

While I’ve known “The Rev” and his wonderful wife Barbara for many years, I’d never had the pleasure of hearing him preach until a revival he came and gave a few years ago out at Society Hill.

“The Rev” is most decidedly an “old school” preacher, as his cadence and emphasis sound as if they are not a part of our era.

The distinctive “blade” style haircut is a dead giveaway as well. Those of you who knew John Leland, former Opelika First Baptist minister of music and a fellow New Orleans seminary graduate, should know of “the blade” and its mystical powers.

Cox’s booming voice can easily fill a room, a throwback to when preachers had to do without the modern convenience of microphones.

He speaks with a certainty and forthrightness one seldom hears.

His emphatic gestures serve only to enhance, not distract. Every motion of the hand, with or without the Bible in it, fits the speech it accompanies.

Watching “The Rev” give a sermon is watching public speaking the way it should be done.

He’s the sort of believer who provides an example for the rest of us to live up to.

The things that are done and said in the name of Christianity these days give pause and can make us doubt the sincerity of claims of belief.

“The Rev,” on the other hand, can’t help but seem genuine, largely because he is.

I always keep his business card in my wallet, with me at all times. When I need a prayer warrior, I know “The Rev” will be more than happy to be of service.

After the service, he and Ms. Barbara took Bob and me to lunch at Street’s, their favorite Sunday lunch place.

A buffet table littered with delicious fried chicken, macaroni and cheese and a litany of other Southern buffet staples awaited, but we had difficulty making our way back to the table: “Brother Henry,” as Cox is known to most of his flock, had folks to speak to, per the usual.

Even our waitress, an admitted fill-in who hadn’t worked there in years, garnered a spark of recognition from “The Rev,” and he questioned her briefly about herself, asking if she went to church.

“Everybody always wants to talk to Brother Henry,” Bobby said. “And he wants to talk to them, too.”

So much of organized faith, or at least the people who claim to speak on its behalf, spends too much time focusing on what people shouldn’t do, the weight of the sins that will surely condemn us all to hell.

Sad to say, people of faith are known more for what they’re against than what they’re for.

Not Henry Cox.

A simple “Hello,” a friendly word and some light conversation.

That’s how he gets in there, and the Lord handles the rest.

I’m thankful for folks like “The Rev,” and Ms. Barbara, the iron backbone that keeps him standing.

I never doubt there’s a God when I know he sent folks like them to help the rest of us along in our journey.

Opelika Observer Staff Editorial - 6/10: Do it now or do it later, for a lot more money

Over the last four weeks, this paper has tried to do its best to bring you as much information as possible about Opelika’s proposed one cent sales tax increase and the projects it would fund.

We’ve presented facts and figures, talked to city and school officials, and even toured improvement sites ourselves, seeking to see if the city truly needed to go through the arduous and apparently controversial process of raising the sales tax in order to fund said projects.

We feel the city is correct in assigning priority to these projects, and we applaud their bravery and steadfastness in backing this sales tax increase.

These projects must be done, and the sales tax increase is the best available means to pay for them.

The costs of not doing them now far exceeds the costs of having to do them later.

The availability of quality education is vital for continued economic growth.

The Opelika City School system admittedly has some problems in this area, we will admit, and all of these problems won’t be fixed with new and renovated facilities. However, adequate classrooms and related facilities are a critical first step.

As we continue to seek high-tech industry for our city, we want the management of those companies to want to live in Opelika as well as work here.

The availability of quality schools is a key factor for families deciding where to live.

What you see when you drive past Opelika High School conceals the problems that exist with the old facility.

As we’ve said before, the outside facade, built around the original set of classrooms, looks great and is great. It will not change, for the most part.

What will change is the falling down, leaking part that you don’t see, unless you make a special effort to do so.

The Frederick Road widening must be completed. It is unfortunate that some of the original federal funding was lost, but it happened and we have to pick up the ball and play on. The city has to come up with the shortfall or we will continue to have a major traffic bottleneck in an economically vital area.

We could lose more business to traffic jams than to tax increases.

The improvements to Hillflo and the northern end of Rocky Brook are just as important, for slightly different reasons.

The undulations in the pavement at the end of Rocky Brook create a sometimes irresistible urge for speed in young drivers, leading to serious accidents.

It needs fixing, and it needs it now. We won’t bother to again list and discus the rest of the city’s top ten projects. They need to be done.

City leaders have addressed this undertaking about as responsibly as it could be addressed.

The original undertaking costed out at roughly $100 million.

With help from the city’s financial advisor (and a reordering of the Celebrate Alabama project) the list of projects has been pared and the projected cost has lessened to an estimated $55 million.

Although some have said that with a slow recovery from the Great Recession, it is not a good time to raise taxes, we have to do it.

Actually, it is never a good time to raise taxes unless the use of the money is for purposes that are justified.

Earlier this week, we were disappointed by the small size of last month’s net jobs created in the national economy.

A major factor in this statistic was state and local government job and budget cuts − job cuts and layoffs contributed directly to lower net jobs, and lower budgets meant less contracts to private businesses dependent on state and local government contracts.

These construction projects will help bring work and income to our area, providing construction jobs to employees that may have soon seen themselves out of work, if they aren’t already.

The City of Opelika’s money will be spent locally and stimulate our local economy in undertakings that are needed for continued progress in our community.

The sales tax increase doesn’t upset our competitive position with other cities around the state.

Dothan, Lanett, Valley, Tuscaloosa and Hueytown just approved one cent increases to a total rate of 10 percent (four percent state, four percent city and two percent county). Alexander City is at 8.5 percent, Montgomery 9.5 and Birmingham and Mobile are at ten percent. Auburn is considering the same amount of increase that we are. The public forum on these matters will be held Tuesday, June 14 at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council chambers at City Hall.

We strongly encourage any and all of you to attend, and let your voice be heard on this issue.

We’ll be there. Will you?

The McCollumn - 6/10: When did I become an adult?

When did I become an adult?

As a 24-year-old, it seems silly to ask a question like that, but I feel myself drawn to ask it nevertheless.

When asked about my day by well-meaning friends, I often start a response that ends as a deluge of recounts of meetings and interviews, talking to city officials and departments, rushing off to schools for photo ops and interesting events and finding time to cram in lunch somewhere.

My cellphone contact list is starting to look like a City of Opelika directory.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve almost called City Clerk Bob Shuman whilst actually trying to call long-time Friend of Cliff Bobby Beauchamp.

I can speak with some semblance of knowledge when asked about the issues affecting our town, because I’ve had to report on most of them.

Yes, I’ve lived here my entire life, so I have the benefit of having known people here for 24 or so years.

My family has been here for generations, so the added benefit of having the last name McCollum has its perks. Some folks have no clue who I am, but they knew my grandfather, Mr. Bud, from the Big Apple or my dad, Homer, as their insurance salesman or their daughter’s softball coach.

The question “Are you related to [insert any McCollum family member]” is generally asked at least twice a week. I’m always happy to go through the family tree with relative strangers.

In my professional life, I do feel like a true adult, for the most part.

It’s when the private life intrudes into that professional life that I feel conflicted.

When interviewing city officials I’ve known since childhood, there’s a part of me that feels somewhat self-conscious about who I am.

They’ve known me as a precocious child for years. Now, I’m waving a reporter’s notebook in their face begging for quotes.

I find myself unsure of what to call them when asking questions.

City Council President Eddie Smith and Ward 3 Councilman Joey Motley are “Mr. Eddie” and “Mr. Joey,” respectively, since I’ve known them for decades, but Ward 5’s Councilman David Canon is “Mr. Canon,” because he’s a largely new acquaintance to me.

I find myself simultaneously attempting to press for more information from the people I do know, but immediately making myself back off because I don’t want to damage the cordial relationship I’ve enjoyed with them.

Every journalist has this battle with sources on their established beats, but working in your hometown presents a certain special set of self-created issues.

I think, though, I may be the only person for whom this is an issue.

While I enjoy the treatment and respect that comes along with ‘adult’ status, there’s still the part of me that balks at the label.

I feel it necessary to adjectivize that noun, throwing ‘young’ in front of adult to imply that while I am of legal age, I’m still young enough to be allowed certain defenses youth provides.

A ‘young adult’ city reporter is allowed to be slightly brash and forthright, more so than the ‘adult’ label could provide me.

I can cover city council on Tuesday and still be able to enjoy DJ Ozz at Quixote’s on Wednesday - the perfect fusion of ‘young’ and ‘adult.’

As I turn 25 in two weeks, I wonder how much longer I’ll be able to play my little adjective game, but I’m going to cling to it, Charlton Heston-style.

You’ll pry it from my cold, dead hands — understood?

The McCollumn - 6/3: 'We may not be perfect, but Heaven knows we try'

I forget about the simple joys this town has to offer.

Being born and raised here, and having lived here for almost all of my 25 years of existence, I have a tendency to overlook how blessed we all are to live here.

By and large, we possess certain little joys here that make our living here that much more bearable, more enjoyable than the lives of our neighbors.

We must never forget we live in a city that has Mrs. Story’s and its malted chocolate shakes. Yes, we all know the chili dogs are phenomenal, but you can lose yourself in a chocolate malted. They really don’t make them like that any more, anywhere else.

The last Thursday of every month, you can head out to the Sportsplex and listen to a live band while you ballroom or line dance the night away with your sweetie. And, guys, if you don’t have a sweetie, there are plenty of women there waiting to dance with you, I promise.

For that matter, the Summer Swing concert series at the Municipal Park (Monkey Park to the locals) is a must-see. You missed Fake Neil Diamond, who was an excellent showman, but I’ve no doubt the rest of the lineup will be phenomenal.

I’ve driven down a county dirt road or two, listening to music and just allowing myself a brief respite from the demands of the world around me.

Just me, the car, some music and the natural splendor of rural Lee County.

Absolutely necessary for mental health, I assure you.

Anytime I consider packing it all up and leaving, going somewhere else and just doing something different, I always am presented with reasons why I have and will continue to stay.

When it gets down to it, I actually enjoy seeing people I know almost everywhere I go.

It’s one of the main perks of being from a place that maintains a small town feel: We all at least know of each other, if we don’t, in fact, know one another.

Names can trigger a question game midst local residents, and we generally figure out how we could know one another in six moves or less.

It’s our own version of the Kevin Bacon game - the Opelika Network.

This network can come in handy for us even when we leave the bounds of our little locality.

There are Opelikans almost everywhere. I have no doubt you could visit most of the globe and leave with instructions from home to visit at least three or four formerly local folks who now live there.

Even the reigning Miss Manhattan is an Opelika girl.

We’re a lucky town to be filled with such a large amount of interesting people.

Not many of us are sane, but I’ve found crazy people are more fun to be around anyway.

Sound travels faster than light here, but we maintain, “It isn’t gossip. It’s sharing and caring. If we didn’t care about them...”

I’ll buy it.

As Randy Newman once wrote, “We may not be perfect, but Heaven knows we try.”

A good motto for us, I think.

Opelika certainly isn’t perfect, but, Heaven knows, we try.

Opelika is, and for the foreseeable future shall be, my home.

It’s taken me years to be able to admit this next part, though:

I’m happy about it.