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RON WOODGEARD   OUR VIEWSRoads program hits another bumpT rust, a commodity that has been lacking between the Bibb County Road Improvement Program and citizens involved in CAUTION Macon, continues to be in short supply. If the latest letter to DOT's Office of Environment and Location from the DNR's Historic Preservation Division is an indication, a kinder, gentler relationship remains around the next curve. The latest snafu plays right into the hands of those opposed to plans for making Houston Road five lanes and puts a halt on a project scheduled to start next month until at least September. The DNR is asking the DOT to reconsider its decision not to include John Heard School on the National Registry. Heard school was built in 1934, and apparently the materials submitted by Moreland Altobelli, the road program's managers, to DNR told less than a complete picture of the condition and history of the school which formed the nucleus of the Rutland Community. DNR made its own site visits starting in April 1999 and have come to the conclusion that Heard School, along with Liberty United Methodist Church and cemetery are historically significant. An official from DNR now thinks the area might form a "small National Register-eligible historic district." DNR had asked for more information than it was given about Heard School from Moreland Altobelli. But according Richard Cloues, the deputy state historic preservation officer, no additional materials have been received. This latest DNR letter comes on the heels of revelations that last year its top historic preservation officer was told by his superiors not to send a letter to Mayor Jim Marshall critical of the road program's plans in the historic district. The officer, Mark Edwards, resigned over the flap. Edwards thought the road plans could jeopardize the historic designation of the in-town historic area.
The delay on Houston Road may be a godsend. It will give both views an opportunity to insure that documentation is complete for the Houston Road project and other potentially controversial improvements. This action along with road engineer Walter Kulash's increased involvement may pave the way for a better climate of trust in the future.
Charles E. Richardson/For the editorial board
TV talk show host shooting self in the foot Why should a talk television host be different? No reason, we suppose, although we'd like to tune out comedian-turned-pundit Rosie O'Donnell, self-proclaimed polar opposite to the National Rifle Association on the gun debate. With friends like these, gun-control advocates need no enemies. Last week O'Donnell behaved like a cretin by getting in the face of unsuspecting guest Tom Selleck, who has taped a commercial for the NRA. By all accounts, Selleck might have been justified in fearing that at any moment Rosie might pull out a gun and shoot him on camera. O'Donnell's outburst was so viral that she was moved to give a half-hearted apology. Meanwhile, trash talk TV host Stern joined the fray by trashing Rosie as a hypocrite for being a commercial spokeswoman for a department store chain that sells guns. Now O'Donnell is accused of what sounds like attacking the Second Amendment by abusing the First. The New York Post reported that she asked the Broadway cast of "Annie Get Your Gun" to change a lyric in one of the show's songs before taping her show because she felt a line that goes "I can shoot a partridge with a single cartridge" conflicted with her gun-control message. An O'Donnell spokesperson denied the story. The Broadway show's producers substituted a song for the taping that doesn't mention guns.
If O'Donnell keeps up this nonsense, the NRA might be well advised to sign her on for its next commercial.
R. L. Day/For the editorial board
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