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January 20, 1978 Around Adair with Ed Waggener I was enjoying rereading one of Dad's favorite stories as a possibility for today, and thought to check first if he'd already published it online. Of course it had already been on CM, so I've picked a different Around Adair to post below for today, but I'm going to post a link to the classic anyway: The Isetta Story. The article below first appeared in the January 20, 1978 issue of the Daily Statesman. It gives a nice snapshot of the players in city/county politics in late 70's, all while he was holding them to task, in Ed Waggener fashion, to follow the rules when procuring bids for a proposed new $21,000 "micro" computer. --Pen. By Ed Waggener Dr. Loy suggests beautification ideas Dr. Glenn Barry Loy, D.D.S., suggests that Columbians examine what other towns in the South are doing to beautify their communities. He notes that in the January, 1978, issue of Southern Living, special articles tell about Jonesboro, Tennessee; Lancaster, Texas; Dahlonega, Georgia; Selma, Alabama; and Murfreesboro, North Carolina. "Some of the town leaders might visit these towns and see how they handled the beautification projects," Dr. Loy said. Two of the towns are within five hours of Columbia. Jonesboro is near Johnson City, Tennessee; and Dahlonega is just south of Chattanooga. The article in Southern Living tells about planning, financing, and implementing the beautification projects. Although the Columbia Beautification Committee is well along with its plans, additional input would most certainly be beneficial. Present Circuit Court Clerks comments The present Circuit Court Clerk, Bill Ballou, has the new court system under control. He showed me a stack of cases he has filed with the fines attached. The defendants have 10 days in which to pay. One of the defendants has two or more convictions already, but he's free until the tenth day after the first conviction, and longer if he pays that first fine. Ballou claims that one defendant came in before the 10 days were up with his suitcase packed. "I can't pay the fine. Put me in jail." But Ballou said he had to decline because the men can't be turned over to the jailer until the 10 days are up, whether the man wants to go to jail or not. He says that one regular, who apparently likes the conditions up at Jailer Hailey Neagle's, was out on the street, drinking, purposely close to Deputy Gary Melton. Melton, Ballou says, asked the man if he hadn't been drinking a little and if he couldn't take him home or somewhere. "I guess you're going to take me to jail," the man asked Melton. Melton said, "No, you're not that drunk." The man was disappointed, but he managed a final plea. "I'm a whole lot drunker than you think," he said. A good staff will get the job done I have said all along that I am for Bill Ballou to be Circuit Court Clerk until somebody better comes along, and so far, nobody has. The reason he makes a good circuit court clerk is that he has a good staff, which includes veteran Deputy Susie Neil, and Marcella Hodges and Barbara Jean Coomer. It is good that they are there. Judge Myer Garner and Trail Commissioner Daryl Bragg run tight shops, which is the way Ballou would do it, too. But I feel a lot better about My Man for Circuit Court Clerk with that excellent staff he's chosen. They won't let him get in trouble. But I do wish he'd quit making trouble. He has gone to messing with comments on the weather, and that's Billy K. Neat's department. Ballou says that ever since they held that darned Inauguration, we've had bad weather. Computerization is off to bad start You may have noticed that the City of Columbia Utilities Commission advertised in the last two issues of the Daily Statesman for a mini-computer. It's mini, but it's not cheap. The thing is supposed to cost about $21,000. I was happy to learn that the Commission is computerizing, but the specifications look fishy to me. It didn't look like a Kosher bid invitation. It turns out it's not. The specifications are taken from a brochure given to the Commission by Burroughs representative Doug Norton of Bowling Green. Only Burroughs equipment meets the specifications. If the Utilities Commission really had a valid bid invitation published, they could have been charged with rigging the specs. Commissioner John D. Lowe says that the specs were taken from the Burroughs brochure, but that they were just guidelines. He said that NCR plans to bid, too, and that the Utilities Commission had no intention of being rigid about the specifications. He said that the review of the bids would be made January 27, not January 20, so that National could get their bids in, too. "We'll be using this computer for billing, only," Lowe said. He added that the computer would not displace any worker, but that it would cut down on additional hiring." City Attorney hadn't seen bid City Attorney Terry Hodges, who is also attorney for the Utilities Commission, said that the Commission had asked him if they were required to take bids on the computer and that he had gotten an attorney General's opinion which said that bidding would be required. But, he said, that was the end of the Commission's discussion with him. I asked Hodges if the bids were proper, since the Commission first advertised for bids on January 18 and again on the 19th, with the bid opening scheduled for January 20 (tonight). Hodges said that to his knowledge, the bids had to appear for two times, in two different weeks, with the last publication at least seven days before the bid opening. That means that there are two strikes against the computerization of the Columbia Utilities Commission at this point: The restrictive specifications and the legal notice violation. Third strike is the Upstairs Opposition If I read the mood of the City County correctly the first Monday night in January, the council and the mayor are asking for more, not less cooperation with the city government upstairs. Mayor Coy Downey says that he isn't saying he's against buying the computer, but that he would like to know more about it. "I think we ought to see some salary savings when we put out $21,000," he said. That's a third strike against the purchase at this time. But the computer is a good idea I think that the mistakes made in the quest for a Utilities Commission computer were honest mistakes, and that the intentions were proper. But borrowing a phrase from Judge James Brock, "Everything has to be legal." And the planning does appear to be a little sloppy in this venture. Both the City and the County Governments need the latest clerical technology. It'll save money in the long run. But my guess is that one computer in the under $30,000 range would suffice for all the city accounting, including payrolls for city employees and the general accounting, not just utilities billing. The same equipment could likely handle several county functions, including the county payroll, if the city and county cooperate and share time. Apparently, the Utilities Commission thinks that because it is flush with funds, it can venture out on its own and buy this expensive piece of electronic gear without consulting the city. I think they are doing a good job; don't get me wrong. Columbians are proud of the quality of the service the gas, water, and sanitation departments deliver, and the price is right. But I think they are flubbing this time. The members of the Columbia Utilities Commission are Bobby Yates, Dan Royse, John D. Lowe, III, Delmer Upchurch, and D.L. Jessie. This story was posted on 2019-06-23 12:39:26
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Have comments or corrections for this story? Use our contact form and let us know. More articles from topic Around Adair with Ed Waggener:
August 24, 1977 Around Adair with Ed Waggener October 27, 1977 Around Adair with Ed Waggener May 1978 Around Adair with Ed Waggener September 30, 1977 Around Adair with Ed Waggener May 17, 1978 Around Adair with Ed Waggener April 4, 1978 Around Adair with Ed Waggener April 11, 1978, Around Adair Around Adair: It must have happened in Columbia Around Adair with Ed Waggener The BMW Isetta: A vexing car that invited bullying View even more articles in topic Around Adair with Ed Waggener |
 
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