Sorry, Airport Authority - you lost!

On the 26th of this month, Judge Stephen Scarlett DISMISSED the St. Marys Airport Authority's lawsuit against the city of St. Marys, ruling that the city has not impeded the operation of the airport; the Airport Authority can not compel the city to renew their lease on the airport in May of '09 when it expires; and the city has every right to be the sole entity to decide whether or not the airport gets moved. I've read the order. It was e-mailed to me as an attached PDF. I just can't seem to figure out how to get stuff that comes to me as a PDF to publish on this blog. Anyone know how?

Jaguar's tragedy worse than we knew.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/09/29/collier.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

House rejects bailout bill; Dow plunges 500+ points.

http://www.cnn.com/

Who in their right mind would eat a damned thing made in Red China?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/09/29/cadbury.milk/index.html Apparently, the Chicoms have not shot nearly enough food industry executives in the back of the head.

BTW's latest prodigal trusties captured in Virginia.

(Yes, the singular is "trusty," and the plural is "trusties," not "trustees" as some media have led you to believe.) http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/17577342/detail.html

Jax consolidation 40 years 0n.

There are some interesting retrospectives and observations on the 40th anniversary of Jacksonville's consolidation with most of Duval County in today's GTU. http://www.jacksonville.com/metro/

Sunday Funnies; Volume 31

By any means necessary.

Paul Newman dead at 83.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/27/paul.newman.dead/index.html

The inimitable Ann Coulter on mortgage meltdown.

http://www.anncoulter.com/

Judge to decide who decides future of St. Marys Airport.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092708/geo_337390404.shtml If the judge rules in favor of the airport authority, the airport will remain in its preset location until such time as the city council can appoint enough move-friendly members to the board to get the controlling votes to move it. In the meantime, Greg Bird and allies will be lining up pro- status quo candidates for city council as early as next year.

Financing dries up; Cumberland Harbor construction grinds to a halt.

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/09/26/news/top_stories/2topstory9.26.txt Update: Apparently, Emily (understandably) left the St. Marys City Council meeting before they returned from executive session this past Monday night. I just watched it on T.V. last night. After returning from considering a "legal matter" in closed session, council very quickly, and with no elaboration, voted to instruct the city attorney to call in the Cumberland Harbor infrastructure performance bond.

Now that's old!

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2008-09-25-oldest-rocks-canada_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

But he just can't be a racist bigot: he's black - and a Liberal Democrat!

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/florida-congres.html

Okay, you caught him, but how long can you keep him?

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092508/geo_336490531.shtml

After the scarecrow gambit, the old ghost scam was sure to follow.

I see in today's T&G where the Downtown Merchants have finally sunk to the level of ginning up the old haunted historic building scam. They are using - where else - Orange Hall, the "Jim Walter Home" of southern "mansions." Anyone care to guess what they will try next to lure tourists off of I-95? Don't dismiss even your wildest ideas as too improbable. I hear the ghost of Ed Wassman was spotted in the DDA building. The ghost of Lila McDill sometimes frolics in the fountain of the Gilman Waterfront Park.

U.S. Supreme Court grants last minute stay of execution to Savannah cop killer.

Reprieve comes less than two hours before scheduled execution. http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/23/davis.scheduled.execution/index.html

Well, at least they didn't find a gun in the truck.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092308/geo_335397710.shtml

So, Tripp, how much has been donated to the "Deputy's Christmas Fund" as of today, the end of its first week in existence?

An answer (of sorts): tommygun3 “Procrastinators unite tomorrow” Joined: Dec 18, 2007 Comments: 748 White Oak ISP Location: Kingsland, GA Reply » Report Abuse Judge it! #1 15 hrs ago As of yesterday, there have only been $150 of donations to the fund. This has been done by two people: Jay, and a freind who chooses to remain anonymous. I did not expect people to run to the bank to donate, so this does not surprise me. The fund is young and unorganized. I have scheduled a public meeting for anyone who wishes to attend Friday night, 6pm at the Woodbine Baptist Church. Please come and show your support. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss ways to raise money by promoting of the fund, and fundraisers. Any ideas you have will be appreciated. I also plan to create a panel of people to oversee the fund, therefore not leaving just one person envolved in the money. We really need your help, so please join us!! You can contact me via email at trippcasey@gmail.com

Savannah's public schools have become a jungle.

http://savannahnow.com/node/578200

Two brothers escape from CCSO substation.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092208/geo_335070780.shtml And now, the rest of the story.... "From the Main Mole: The two brothers that escaped from the substation were having a cookout out back with other inmates. This cook out was personally approved by BTW and is written in the pass down book I am told by a deputy. This info was not given to the GTU. Charlie came and investigated it and said this was the sheriff's responsibility so NO ONE will be fired over this act. Charlie gave all credit to the sheriff for the stupid cook out. See if the media gets the inside story. Should have called but thought you might be asleep. "

Sunday Funnies; Volume 30.

Today's Sunday Funnies entry comes from Dr. Jim Burnham:

"Obama was right: You can put lipstick on a pig; it's still just a pig."

But not in Camden, of course.

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/17510709/detail.html

Two mayors flack for ferry.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092008/geo_334449116.shtml

St. Marys Councilor DeLoughy explains budget shortfall; defends millage incease.*

* The proposed millage is actually the same as this year's, but is a de facto increase for all who have had an increase in the appraised value of their real property. The revenue-neutral "rollback" rate would have been 5.1 mills. The rate actually needed to cover budget is 6.1 mills. http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/09/19/opinion/letters/04letter9.19.txt

And then there's this...

Most nights lately, BTW has been putting his shoes under the bed of an employee of the 911 center. Perhaps she's desperately trying to counter a rumor that she voted for Gregory. A couple of weeks ago, when Roger Dyal was at the pay window in the federal court house in Savannah drawing his perdiem check for testifying to the federal grand jury, he was a bit surprised to see none other than erstwhile BTW buddy Jeff Dirkes waiting for his check for testifying against BTW. Not only is the investigation of BTW moving apace, but a separate federal attorney task force is still very actively pursuing the Cisco case. All of this from a heretofore 100% reliable source.

Tripp Casey makes it onto T.V.

Casey has just informed me that he was interviewed today by T.V 12 out of Jax regarding the deputy fund. It will be broadcast 41 minutes from now on T.V. 12 News at 6:00 Thereafter, it will be available on their website: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/

Colerain Road. The good news: two new lanes. The bad news: seven new traffic signals!

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/

ALL CCSO employees to lose five days pay.

$50.00 down and $41,950 to go. Never let it be said that I have anything against the decent CCSO employees. Click on image to enlarge.http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091708/geo_333200296.shtml Okay, so now it's five days spread among the entire workforce, rather than two weeks for a "select" few. That solves the problem of eligibility for help from the fund set up by Tripp Casey. However, I would note that his stated hope of raising $10,000 falls far short of any significant help. If my recollection of the number of employees is correct, that would amount to about $60.00 per employee. To come up with $250.00 per employee, donors are going to have to pony up about $42,000. Special to "Rebel Dawg:" Thanks for the attribution. See poll of potential donors.

The Hell you say?!

http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/16/news/companies/AIG/index.htm?cnn=yes

Prototypical flyer for CCSO fund.

(There's a picture of Santa and a reindeer in the original, but I can't get the damned thing to copy/paste out of Word.) Christmas Fund Drive Deputy’s Christmas Fund Now through December 12, 2008 . Our Camden County Sheriff’s Office employees are in need! Due to budget problems, many employees are losing work time. There simply is not enough money to pay these guys and girls to work. Because of this, many are experiencing unforeseen economic hardships in an already tough time. Let us show our support for the ones who protect and serve us every day by donating to the Deputy’s Christmas Fund. This fund will try to relieve some of the stress brought on by the hardships they are facing. These brave men and women risk it all for us everyday! This is the least we can do to say thanks, and show them we as a community support them! Donations are to be made to: Deputy Christmas Fund Account#0403231674 Southeastern Bank

"Main Mole" weighs in.

Well, it seems that Bill Smith has been skulking around the Atlanta offices of the Georgia Secretary of State trying to get someone to listen to his theory that the election was stolen because he failed to get anywhere near the black votes he had paid for. His theory is that evil poll workers, working on behalf of Gregory, had told blacks that if they voted Republican for BTW in the primary, then they could not vote Democratic for Obama in November. On that basis, Smith wants the primary results voided and a do over election held. He got no takers. I'm told he even went to the local Democrat party and offered to switch back if they would intercede on his behalf. They declined his generous offer. MM has confirmed my earlier report that things are pretty slack at the CCSO as they await January 1st. The supervisor of isl;and construction rarely shows up for work anymore - but still draws a salary. It would appear that his only real duties were performing services of questionable legality for BTW. He's now a man without a mission and looking for a new job. The "simple file clerk" claims to have already given up two weeks without pay for the cause, but tells all who care to listen that she will recoup that lost pay by drawing full salary until January, but not showing up on Fridays. It seems that one officer wrote up three subordinate deputies - likely candidates for termination in January - for slacking off and being insubordinate. When he took it to BTW's number two, the paperwork was ripped up and thrown into the trash, with the explanation that he was not reprimanding anyone between now and January 1st. January 1st can not get here fast enough.

Fund established to pay CCSO deputies.

I just retrieved the following e-mail from Thomas G. "Tripp" Casey, III (yes, that one.) "As we all know, our Sheriff's Office has been going through some rough times lately. Many of our deputies and jailers have been forced to take time off without pay, even if they have comp time. This is unfortunate, as times are hard economically for us all. Many of these people are already underpaid. Many have families and only one source of income. Due to this hardship we have opened an account for donations to help support the ones who protect and serve us everyday. This account will remain open until December 12, 2008. Proceeds of this account will go directly to CCSO employees who have experienced economic hardship due to time they have been forced to take off. We only want to help the ones who need it, and many of them do As a community, we can come together and help the brave ones who risk it all for us everyday Donate to:Deputy Christmas Fund Account# 0403231674 Any Southeastern Bank branch in Camden, Glynn, Nassau, and McIntosh counties. Please give thanks to those who serve us by donating. We need to show them that they have the support of the community, and we will stand behind them through hard times." As to how it will be distributed, I'm (Jay) not yet certain. However, I would suggest checking with Mike Fender in county payroll to see exactly who loses time, then divide up the donations equally, irrespective of rank / pay scale, only among those who actually lose time.

Camden NOT immune to hurricanes.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091408/geo_331989715.shtml To find out the risk you face at your address and the cost of flood insurance, click here: http://www.floodsmart.gov/floodsmart/ Note: If your address is in a "low-to-moderate-risk" area, your cost could be between $120.00 and $300.00 per year, depending upon value. CAUTION: there was a piece in today's paper (GTU) about a woman who recently discovered that she has always been in such a zone, but her insurance agent has been charging her a $1,200. "high risk" premium for years. Even if you have flood insurance now, you would do well to use this service to check behind your agent.

Refineries spared: gas prices up nonetheless.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,422261,00.html 5:18 PM Update. Perhaps some good news. http://money.cnn.com/2008/09/14/markets/oil/index.htm?cnn=yes

Sunday Funnies; Volume 29

Thanks to the reader who e-mailed me this one. One sunny day in 2009, an old man approached the WhiteHouse from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he had beensitting on a park bench.He spoke to the Marine standing guard and said, "I would like to go in and meet withPresident Barack Obama." The Marine replied, "Sir, Mr.Obama is not President anddoesn't reside here." The old man said, "Okay," and walked away. The following day, the same man approached the WhiteHouse and said to the same Marine, "I would like to go in and meet with President Barack Obama." The Marine again told the man, "Sir, as I said yesterday, Mr.Obama is not Presidentand doesn't reside here." The man thanked him and again walked away. The third day, the same man approached the White House and spoke to the very same Marine, saying "I would like to go inand meet With President Barack Obama." The Marine, understandably agitated at this point, looked at the man and said, "Sir, this is the third day in a row you have been here asking to speak to Mr. Obama. I've told you already several times that Mr.Obama is not the President and doesn't reside here. Don't you understand?" The old man answered, "Oh, I understand you fine. I just love hearing your answer!" The Marine snapped to attention, saluted, and said, "See you tomorrow, SIR!"

Way weird!

http://www.herobuilders.com/08.htm

NOAA storm surge guidance for Galveston.

Click on image to enlarge and check out those possible surge depths. It does not look good.

No, Sir, it definitely ain't looking good.....

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/09/12/hurricane.ike.texas/index.html

CCSO top dogs AWOL?

I just heard from a heretofore reliable source that many legitimate law enforcement business phone calls to "upper management" personnel at the CCSO are going unanswered lately. He further reports that deputies are saying that many of the salaried upper ranks - especially those likely to be goners non January 1 - are rarely showing up for work here lately. Any insider confirmation on this. Main Mole?

Houston to ride out Ike: residents advised NOT to evacuate.

Click on image to enlarge.

http://savannahnow.com/node/571696

Massive storm surge predicted....

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420783,00.html

Coming soon to a county near you?

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091208/geo_331258985.shtml

County commissioners, take note.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/09/11/sewage.energy.ap/index.html

GA D.O.T. public hearing on Colerain widening.

ALERT: It's today! Sorry for the short notice. I just happened to go up 40 on my way to Brunswick Tueday and missed the sign on Colerain. Just saw it this afternoon. D.O.T officials will be on hand in the conference room at the Rec Center on Wildcat Drive between 4:00 and 7:00 PM today to hear any comments and/or answer any questions on the widening project. 1905 HRS: Did anyone attend? What was said?

Ike's gonna mess with Texas.

Click on image to enlarge. 9/11/08 @1900 HRS.

Texas orders massive evacuation.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420783,00.html

On 7th 9/11 anniversary, economy trumps terror on national worry meter.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,420815,00.html

Cumberland motorized tour plans released.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091108/geo_330801344.shtml

Russian strategic bombers in Venezuela.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/09/10/russia.venezuela/index.html Still comfortable with a "President Obama?"

Lawsey, Miss Lawsey! A far-right Wright rags on "Obama Momma."

http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/ndnr09-03-08.html

Camille Paglia on Sarah Palin.

Paglia is the only left-of-center, feminist, lesbian, intellectual observer of the American scene whose work is invariably interesting, thought provoking, and well worth the read - says I. http://www.salon.com/opinion/paglia/2008/09/10/palin/index.html

Increased workforce + higher costs = decreased levels of service? Only in St. Marys!

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/09/10/opinion/2opinion9.10.txt

One crooked sheriff closer to BTW's day in court.

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/17420519/detail.html

All clear: Ike heads for Texas / Mexico.

Click on image to enlarge.

St. Marys votes to advertize 5.6 millage rate.

I just got back from the 4:00 budget meeting and the 6:00 council meeting. The council finally voted to advertise a 5.6 millage rate. The rate really should be 6.1. At 5.6, with the council not showing the courage to reduce the bloated staff (Councilwoman Hase being the notable exception) the compromise figure of 5.6 will leave the city a couple of million short. I would tell you more, but I've had a very long day and I'm facing another one tomorrow. Check out Wednesday's T&G. 09/09/08: Gordon Jackson's coverage of the 4:00 budget meeting: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090908/geo_329951689.shtml Note: Gordon could not stay for the actual council meeting at six. Based upon what transpired at the budget meeting, his coverage is accurate. However, the actual meeting made it clear that there is not the political will (courage) to actually terminate ANY currently employed city workers. Tune in tomorrow for Emily's coverage of meeting in T&G. 9/10/08: Gordon Jackson's reportage on results of Monday's regularly scheduled council meeting: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/091008/geo_330442849.shtml

Motorized tours coming to Cumberland Island.

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/090808/geo_329688300.shtml This development might well turn out to be the reason the water taxi just barely makes it after all - if it comes soon enough.

Ike's 5:00PM, five-day track.

Click on image to enlarge.

Reminder: St. Marys "budget workshop."

What I believe will be the final St. Marys "budget workshop" will be held tomorrow at 4:00 PM in the council chamber, followed immediately by the regularly scheduled city council meeting. This will be your last chance for citizen input.

Will Savannah's red lion fountain be restored?

http://savannahnow.com/node/568061

Sunday Funnies; Volume 28.

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated:'If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.' In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics: 1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash........ Twice a day. 2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car. 3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason, you would simply accept this. 4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine. 5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads. 6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light. 7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying. 8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna. 9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car. 10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off. PS - I'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call "customer service" in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!!!!

Ike's 5:00 PM five day track.

Click on image to enlarge. It looks like it will probably miss us, but the Gulf Coast folks better be packed and gassed.

Five more excellent reasons to vote McCain-Palin!

http://www.alternet.org/election08/96838/five_reasons_the_world_wants_obama/?page=1

The "orthorexic:" an interesting new kind of green weenie whack job.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Stossel/Story?id=5735592&page=1

Folks won't like this Ike.

5 day track at 5:00 PM

Click image to enlarge.

True grit.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,417122,00.html

Watch John McCain's acceptance speech.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/04/sot.rnc.mccain.entire.part1.cnn Part 2: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/04/sot.rnc.mccain.entire.part2.cnn

Hanna's 8:00 AM track update.

Click on image to enlarge.

Hanna's 5:00 PM track update.

Watch Sarah Palin's full speech.

http://video.ap.org/v/Legacy.aspx?partner=en-ap&g=1b1b2bea-5b2f-4ebd-a9de-f62677ddaf52&t=s60&p=ENAPus_ENAPus&&f=gasav "); //--> BREAKING: Sarah Palin "Winged" Her Speech Because of "Broken" Teleprompter Posted by: Erick Erickson Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 01:00AM 61 Comments (2 new) --> Halfway through Sarah Palin's speech tonight at the RNC, people following the speech noticed she was deviating from the prepared text. According to sources close to the McCain campaign, the teleprompter continued scrolling during applause breaks. As a result, half way through the speech, the speech had scrolled significantly from where Governor Palin was in the speech. The malfunction also occurred during Rudy Giuliani's speech, explaining his significant deviations from his speech. Unfazed, Governor Palin continued, from memory, to deliver her speech without the teleprompter cued to the appropriate point in her speech. Contrast this to Barack Obama who, when last his teleprompter malfunctioned, was left stuttering before a crowd unable to advance his speech until the problem was resolved. Sarah Palin. Winner.

Hanna's 5:00 PM track update.

Click on image to enlarge. Looks like we may have dodged this one. Will report again after tomorrow's 5:00 PM update.

Hanna's 11:00 AM track update.

Click on image to enlarge.

T & G letter writer nails it on St. Marys budget woes.

http://www.tribune-georgian.com/articles/2008/09/03/opinion/letters/06letter9.3.txt

Hanna's 8:00AM potential track.

1125 HRS: Latest release from Camden Emergency management, released just after 11:00 NOAA report:

CAMDEN COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY EVENT: Tropical Storm Hanna SITUATION REPORT, TS-H3 All information contained in the report is based on the CURRENT forecast. PROCLAMATIONS/DECLARATIONS: None at this time. POTENTIAL EFFECTS TO CAMDEN COUNTY: RECOMMENDED LOCAL ACTIONS: Based on current advisory, Camden County does not expect Hurricane force winds or significant storm surge. If conditions remain the same, no evacuations are expected. Camden County residents should review their hurricane plans, stock their hurricane supplies and monitor the progress of the storm. Periodical updates will be provided as long as the threat of tropical weather exist. To monitor the progress of the storm between updates, please check the National Hurricane Center website at http:/www.nhc.noaa.gov/ or call the Emergency Management office at 912-729-5602. CURRENT CONDITIONS: Tropical Storm Hanna: Over the past 24 hours, Hanna performed a tight cyclonic loop and now appears to be drifting to the north at a forward speed of perhaps 2 to 3 mph. Maximum sustained winds early this morning are near 60 mph. The overall track model guidance has shifted a bit to the east early this morning. It appears that the track Hanna took to the south yesterday has influenced its final landfall location. The storm will now have farther north to travel and the flow aloft ahead of a incoming trough of low pressure will steer the storm far enough to the east to bring it inland somewhere on the South Carolina coast. Most of the model guidance clusters on a landfall on the South Carolina coast on Friday evening. Therefore, Hanna is forecast to gradually speed up in forward speed as it tracks northwestward over the next 2 to 3 days. My forecast call now is for a landfall a bit further up the South Carolina coast, between Charleston and Myrtle Beach on Friday evening. The shear that has been pounding Hanna over the past 24 hours or so has finally begun to really weaken the storm; although, the shear has now begun to lessen around the storm. A large extratropical low remains off the southeastern Canadian coast, holding a trough of low pressure in place over the western Atlantic. Until this large low pressure system moves out of the region, which is expected to occur by late tonight or early Thursday, the shear will not significantly lessen over Hanna. Ridging is then expected to build into the region during the day Thursday and through Friday. Once this happens, the shear is expected to decrease. So, very slow intensification, if any, is anticipated today into tonight with steady intensification forecast for Thursday, Thursday night and through Friday. I expect Hanna to make landfall as a upper end Category 1 or low end Category 2 hurricane (90 to 100 mph) on Friday evening. All interests on the southeast US coast should continue to monitor the progress of Hanna closely and start thinking about what actions you will take when Hurricane Watches and Warnings go up. Tropical Storm Ike: Ike continues to maintain an excellent satellite presentation and banding features have become more organized in a centralized area of deep convection. In addition, the entire system is rather symmetrical in shape. Ike has maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and it appears that the environmental conditions are quite favorable for development ahead of Ike. A ridge of high pressure near Ike is now located to the southeast of the storm and is providing divergence aloft. Wind shear values are 10 knots or less and these wind shear values are forecast to remain at 10 knots or less right into this weekend. I expect steady intensification for the next several days and Ike may be a Category 3 hurricane by Monday morning. Ike is tracking to the west-northwest at a forward speed of 18 mph. The track forecast for the next couple of days is pretty straightforward as a ridge of high pressure to the north of Ike will push the storm on a west to west-northwest course. By this weekend, there is more uncertainty. The global models depict a building of a ridge of high pressure to the north and northwest of Ike this weekend and this would force a turn toward the west-southwest and perhaps even southwest. The track model guidance differ on how much the storm will turn. The GFDL and BAMD models are the southernmost and bring Ike over Hispaniola, whereas the UKMET model takes Ike to a much higher latitude. The model consensus forecasts Ike to be located in the southeastern Bahamas by late this weekend into early next week and this may end up being close to reality. Click For Tropical Weather Information Prepared by Rob Lightbown, Crown Weather ServicesDisclaimer: All forecasts herein are made to the best ability of the forecaster. However, due to standard forecasting error, these forecasts cannot be guaranteed. Any action or inaction taken by users of this forecast is the sole responsibility of that user.

This e-mail just in...

from an impeccable source, well known to me, who shall remain anonymous. "Last Thursday, August 28, three or four Sheriff Department folks took advantage of the vehicles on Cumberland (i.e., vehicles owned by the CCSO and kept at Dr. Ben Jenkin's place) and did a little fishing at the jetties. Apparently that bunch did not pick up on the article concerning the indictment of the Sheriff in Hazelhurst for using a sheriff department vehicle for his personal use. After the indictments they will have to use personal vehicles to drive to court to answer to their follies. No wonder they are all in trouble. They don't have enough sense to quit their violations of oath of office. It may be that they know there will not be any more tax payer sponsored Cumberland junkets and this is their last chance. For certain they are the slowest of learners."

Hanna 8:00PM update.

Sorry for the delay in posting anything today. I've been out and about and busy between 9:30 Am and 9:30 PM today. Just walked in the door. Note that I had a message on my answering machine. "Special needs" people are being advised to be packed and ready to bug out tomorrow around noon. Hang on while I check the county web site. Be right back. I'm back. Nothing much there. Info over 12 hours old. http://ga-camdencounty.civicplus.com/index.asp?NID=437 I'll get on it in the morning.

Here we go again?

http://www.news4jax.com/news4georgia/17321354/detail.html