The Columbus fire chief is being reprimanded, but will keep his job, following an investigation involving a subordinate who tested positive for drug use after an accident. Mayor Jim Wetherington says the probe found no evidence that firefighter Zachary Allen, the son of Councilor Gary Allen, received preferential treatment after he tested positive for cocaine in a post-accident drug test. Wetherington says he decided to issue a written reprimand to Chief Jeff Meyer. Wetherington says he considered termination and suspension of Meyer because of a rash of issues in the department, but ultimately decided on the reprimand.
Columbus and Taichung, Taiwan signed a sister-city covenant on Tuesday. Mayors Jim Wetherington and Jason Hu signed the agreement at the weekly city council session.
The two cities agreed to share and update mutual development in cultural, economic and educational affairs.
More GPB News details of the delegation's visit are here.
The City of Columbus and Taichung City, Taiwan, will establish a "Sister City" pact on Tuesday, Sept., 11th, during a planned visit here.
Mayor Jim Wetherington, and Mayor of Taichung City, Jason C. Hu, will take part in the signing ceremony, to be held at a meeting of the Columbus City Council, an official statement released Thursday morning said.
Hu and the Taiwanese delegation will tour the city and visit several locations in Columbus during its two-day stay. The Taiwanese are set to speak on a local radio program, and visit several cultural sites, Columbus State University and The RiverCenter for the Performing Arts among them.
A host of economic, medical, cultural and tourism-affiliated attaches' are with the 14-member group, the statement said.
Chattahoochee River, July 4, 2007: sandbars illustrate lack of water. Columbus is on right, 13th St. bridge to Phenix City, AL, is in background. (Photo: Dave Bender)
The city of Columbus is considering filing a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers over reduced access to the Chattahoochee River.
The city council first discussed the issue in June, and a resolution giving the go-ahead for the lawsuit was agreed upon at a closed session on July 10.
The city says that unless the waterworks and water treatment facilities get their full allocation mandated by its state permit, they may have to spend millions in equipment upgrades.
Mayor Jim Wetherington and Governor Sonny Perdue have met twice in recent weeks to discuss the issue.
The council is set to decide the matter on Tuesday.
Columbus Update. Click here if the video does not show.
A delegation of up-and-coming Israeli Knesset parliament officials and the deputy mayor of Tiberias visited Columbus Tuesday.
The seven-member group reflects both right, centrist, and left-of-center political parties.
Gil Messing, deputy spokesperson for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's Kadima party told GPB news that Iran was Israel's "greatest strategic problem in the region."
"Wherever we go we stress that we have a strategic problem, that is not an Israeli problem, but an international problem, and this is a nuclear Iran.
"We hope that the United States' activities in Iraq -- however it will end, it's an American affair -- but that our friends in the United States will remember that Israel is under constant threat from Iran, and as days go by, the bad guys are getting stronger, and that the good guys need to stay together and ensure that the free world will remain strong -- and the United States is a major factor in that.
"This is what we say in Washington, and this is what we're going to say in Columbus, Georgia, as well."
The group attended a Columbus city council meeting where they received commemorative keys to the city from Mayor Jim Wetherington and met with local judges and security officials. They also met with Army officers and soldiers at Ft. Benning.
Keren Barak, Likud Party Knesset member nominee displays proclamation and key to the city. (Photo: Dave Bender)
The group's visit winds up an 11-day sojourn in the US where they met with administration, senate and congressional officials in Washington, DC. They learned about American government processes and practices, and shared similar experiences from Israel.
Muscogee County Superior Court Judge Bobby Peters and Jeff Breedlove of the Georgia State Senate Research Office hosted the group on the Georgia leg of their stay. Both are alumni of the exchange program.
