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ASPHALT JUNKIES
Kindly hear this Green Alert. I'm not sure how
to color code it to express its urgency. Maybe
black, to match the rising tsunami of asphalt just
cresting the horizon.
A work associate of mine passed on to me this
disturbing tidbit relating to the latest in corpo
rate Newthink.
It seems that CVS, the 800 lb gorilla of
pharmacy/whatever retailing, has, in its profit
maxirr :ing, investment-oriented wisdom, initi
ated a new policy of only operating self-owned,
free-standing stores. Accordingly, it will begin
abandoning its leased square footage as it
moves to acquire and build new stores (for your
convenience).
The one in particular that I've the scoop on is
the one in Hull, GA beside the Ingles there.
Ingles, you may remember, recently blessed the
citizens of Hull with a huge abandoned facility
when it built its new megastore right next door, at
the edge of a new asphalt ocean which they both
ered not even to adorn with a token set of crepe
myrtle and nandina islands that they graciously
CONTACT US AT P.0. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603, MAIL@FLAGP0LE.C0M
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awarded the neighborhood when they were
courting planners for permission to build there.
CVS. it seems, is not a happy camper on the
shores of the first Ingles Black Sea. They seek, as
we speak, a new location. An engineer who is
doing their scouting let it be known that new
thinking at CVS has it that the current mini-
Tiananmen in front of the leased location is really
too small for them. Here is the reason why.
CVS fearless leaders think that they need an
even bigger parking lot because they want the lot
to always appear uncrowded, no matter how many
customers they might have. They reason that an
almost empty-looking lot will not dissuade
passersby from turning in and visiting their store.
They think that people won't stop if they have to
*ait to be served, and will just keep driving to
the next location!
Does this make sense to you?
Jim Baird
Comer
911 ABUSE
I'm writing in response to Brad Aaron's June 5
City Dope item about the untimely response of the
ACC Police to his 911 call. I found it more than
disappointing that Mr. Aaron chose to call 911,
the emergency number for what sounded nothing
like an emergency. 911 is for car accidents, broken
limbs, robberies, etc., not for minor offenses like
public urination. Athens-Clarke County citizens
need to understand that the number to call in
non-emergency situations, like the one Mr. Aaron
described, is 706-613-3330. 911 operators are
there to handle the most important and dire of
calls, not the everyday public nuisances of down
town Athens. Mr. Aaron took quite a gamble
calling 911 and potentially taking away time, ser
vices and officers from a more pressing or life
threatening situation. Not knowing the number is
no excuse, either. Mr. Aaron, as the writer of the
City Dope column, seems to pride himself on
public responsibility and his watchdog tendencies
are not unappreciated by this reader. However, his
action was irresponsible and couid have cost lives.
Call 613-3330 next time somebody takes a piss on
your building, Brad.
Jennifer Pilon Smith
Athens
BRAD AARON RESPONDS:
Though I disagree with your cavalier attitude
toward public urination, Jennifer, your point is
well taken. In my defense, I have called the non
emergency ACC-PD number during off-hours in the
past, but found it to be a pointless exercise. In
this case, I almost instinctively dialed 911,
thinking it would be the only way the police
would ever bother trying to catch the Neanderthal
peeing at my front door. Now I know better.
Brad Aaron
CAMPUS UNSAFE. TOO
I read in your paper last week a column
bemoaning the construction downtown and the
subsequent havoc it is causing with traffic and
pedestrians. It did not mean much to me at the
time, but today I had my point of view changed.
You see, I am on south campus in the Plant
Sciences Building where there is a great deal of
construction going on with the Brooks Dnve
revamp into a greenspace and the soon tc be
Coverdale Building. While waiting on a bus today,
I observed a blind man with a long cane walking
up the side walk. He walked past me and a
flagman and walked right into the construction
site and nearly got creamed by a bulldozer. I ran
up to him, helped him out of the site, and offered
to give him a hand and guide him to his destina
tion. We had to walk two blocks around a cir
cuitous course that felt like an obstacle course on
Parris Island, one that would have made my old
Drill Instructor proud. We encountered holes in
the sidewalk that were halfheartedly filled with
soil, construction signs that completely blocked
the path, wobbly metal plates barely covering
DEEP holes, UGA trucks (which by the way the
blind gentleman said he has run into on numerous
occasions because he can't feel them with his
stick until it is too late....thanks, UGA
employees), and construction equipment piloted
by well, shall we say, less than courteous, not
very observant gentlemen. On the whole, it was
an arduous journey even for me and I am not
blind. At least I can SEE the need for someone
(the person who hires these construction compa
nies, perhaps?) to make sure that public rights of
way are made safe for pedestrians and bicyclists.
Steve D. Pettis
Email
POUR IT ON
Pete—Y*all must have spilled some of that
beer if you poured over the articles (Pub Notes,
June 5). The word is pored. I've had to straighten
out Joanna Soto-Carabello at the Banner-Herald
and Cynthia Tucker at the AJC about the same
common but avoidable mistake. On another sub
ject, since the bike race, BreastFest, Boybutante
Ball and, no doubt. Flagpole's AthFest made the
cover of Flagpole this year, I think next year's
Silver Anniversary Human Rights Festival should
be on the cover. Y*all talk about loving the Athens
community. The rights fest has been a non-corpo
rate community effort for 25 years. How 'bout us?
Ed Tant
Athens
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4 FLAGPOLE COM JUNE 19. 2002