Multi-million dollar donation to CSU music school

Sixty-eight Steinway pianos onstage, as seen from the balcony of the Bill Heard Auditorium of the Columbus RiverCenter For The Performing Arts. (Dave Bender)

A single multi-million dollar donation to Columbus State University in southwest Georgia has allowed Columbus's Schwob School of Music to purchase no less than 68 new Steinway pianos for their students.

(L-R) Fred Cohen, director of the Schwob School of Music, Maxine Schiffman, Rex Whiddon, director of major gifts and university stewardship and former director of the music program at The Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, onstage with the Steinway pianos. (Dave Bender)

Donor Maxine Schiffman joined CSU officials and Steinway representatives at a ceremony Tuesday, held onstage at Legacy Hall in the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts. 44 upright pianos and 24 grand pianos, valued at more than $2.5 million were on hand, and will be purchased as a result of the gift.

"Steinway pianos are the standard, according to Fred Cohen, director of the Schwob School of Music.

"Offering all our students Steinways – and nothing but Steinways – to practice with and to perform upon throughout their years at Schwob prepares them best for their musical careers.

"Experience with and exploration of the well-maintained Steinways in the RiverCenter will set the level for professional expectations in piano sound throughout the lives of Schwob faculty, students and in the Columbus community," Cohen said in a statement released by CSU.

In 2007, CSU named Maxine Schiffman an honorary alumnus, according to the statement.

Stage spotlights gleam off the polished wood of several of the Steinway grand pianos onstage. (Dave Bender)

The University of Georgia, Kennesaw State University and Spelman College previously became all Steinway schools.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at CSU.

Columbus: no fines for breaking watering ban

Chattahoochee River (Columbus State University partially visible on left bank), during late afternoon water release. Dillingham St. Bridge to Phenix City, Ala., is in the distance. (Dave Bender)

The Columbus City Council on Tuesday decided not to levy fines for residential outdoor water usage – this, despite the stage four, total ban on such use in Muscogee Co.

Columbus Water Works Executive Vice President Bob Tant, who attended the session, says the motion to impose fines on offenders was tabled for future review by the Columbus Water Board.

The proposed fines would have ranged from $100 to $1,000, depending on how many citations the offender had received. Residential users now receive a warning notice for breaking the ban, a letter for the second infraction, and a possible water cutoff -- depending on circumstances -- according to Tant.

Tant says the total ban is unfair to Columbus:

"We feel that it's somewhat unfair that we have invested in our utility, so that a large portion of the water will go back to the river; and other communities in north Georgia -- under the same restrictions -- have developed on septic tanks, and have no sanitary sewer systems, and are not returning that water to the river, so, we think it's a problem."

Tant says city residents have largely followed the ban. He noted that overall usage dropped from 39 to 23 million gallons a day, since the ban went into effect at the end of September.

Latoya Moore, a Water Works customer service representative, said that, although the majority of clients were limiting their water usage, they were receiving approximately five complaints a week from disgruntled users dissatisfied with the ban, or requesting exemptions.

Tant added that Columbus, dubbed the “Fountain City,” has turned off all the decorative downtown waterworks. He said educational institutions, like Columbus State University and Muscogee Co. schools have followed suit, and are leaving some lawns and athletic facilities dry.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the drought.

Columbus: CSU holds vigil for VT victims

Click on image to view slide show of
Columbus State University vigil.
(Ledger-Enquirer)

Columbus State University faculty and students held a memorial vigil Thursday to honor the victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech.

Students signed a large poster that will be sent to to the VT student government, according to a report in the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newspaper.

Click here to view a slideshow of the event.

From a memorial letter on the GPB Radio website:

It is with great sadness that GPB learned of the death of Pine Mountain native Christopher James "Jamie" Bishop in Monday's tragic shootings on the campus of Virginia Tech.

Jamie, who was 35, was the son of Michael and Jeri Bishop of Pine Mountain. Michael is writer-in-residence at LaGrange College and is a two-time guest on Cover to Cover, GPB's monthly radio book club.

Click here to read more.

CSU: Man arrested for bomb threats, guns

CSU police. (CSU)

Columbus State University Police arrested a Phenix City man Monday morning, just after they believe he made his fifth bomb threat against the institution.

Lawrence E. Price, 45, of 67 McMurrian Drive, was charged with five counts of making terrorist threats, and one count each of carrying a weapon to school, possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime and obstruction of a peace officer, according to a CSU statement.

University Police identified a location where the calls had originated and during an undercover operation Monday morning, and identified the suspect after a call indicating the presence of a bomb at CSU was made to the Columbus Police Department and to the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Police closed in and arrested Price in a university parking lot.

Inside Price’s 1997 pickup truck, officials found two rifles, a shotgun, a small handgun, a compound bow, an axe, an antique saw, three bottles of alcohol and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A Bomb Squad dog checked Price and his truck thoroughly and found no indication of explosives. University Police alerted the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Phenix City Police.

The incident follows two bomb threats against the university in the last two weeks. Officials evacuated the faculty building for several hours after the second call.

The Columbus Police Department, the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office, the county’s bomb squad, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation took part in the investigation.

Price was enrolled in the biology program, the statement said.

Click here for related GPB coverage, and here for coverage of CSU affairs.

CSU plans 9/11 memorial events

Columbus State University’s Cunningham Center will be the site for a day-long “September 11 Remembrance Day.”

Opening at 9 a.m., on Tuesday, Sept. 11, the event will feature educational displays; community public safety exhibits and demonstrations; videos, artifacts and stories from “Ground Zero” in New York; musical performances; and a closing vigil at 8 p.m. and military fly-over at 8:15 p.m, according to a university statement. Remembrance events will include:

• Ground Zero artifacts including a 1,700-pound piece of World Trade Center steel, rescue equipment, personalized notes and messages and flags
• Personalized items memorializing 9-11 Pentagon victim Marjorie Champion Salamone, provided by her mother, Lillian Champion of Pine Mountain
• Simultaneous and continuous large-screen video presentations of the “Inside 9-11” documentary; live news feeds from remembrance events in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania; and a compilation of local news interviews from 2001 with local officials and ground zero rescue workers.
• Hazardous device response demonstrations utilizing both a robot and explosives-sniffing canine
• Musical performances, from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., by high school ensembles.

Columbus Consolidated Government, In conjunction with the activities at the Cunningham Center, CSU students will stage a brief, “CSU Remembers” vigil at the clock tower, starting at 11:55 a.m. and including a tolling of the tower bell at noon.

Groups expected to take part in the event include Columbus Consolidated Government, the Muscogee County School District, the Muscogee County sheriff’s and fire departments, Homeland Security, God Bless Fort Benning, the Columbus Museum, the Salvation Army, the Community Emergency Response Team, CSU’s Cunningham Center for Leadership Development, and the university’s Student Government Association and Student Activities Council.

Columbus: State water issues on tap

The Georgia Water Council is set to discuss statewide water issues at a town hall meeting Tuesday evening in Columbus.

State agency heads and legislators dealing with water management are expected to attend the planning session, to be held at Columbus State University.

The event will be hosted at Founders Hall on the CSU campus from six to eight PM, and is open to the public.

More information on the subject is here: www.georgiawatercouncil.org.

Tourism up in Columbus

The bad economy didn't prevent a banner year for tourism in Columbus. WGPB's John Sepulvado explains.

One point one million visitors came to Columbus in 2008, according to a Columbus State University study. on average, the visitors spent almost 365 dollars ---It is the first time the area has cracked the million visitor threshold.

Peter Bowden, with the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau says local leaders were able to see the poor economy coming and adjust it's strategy.

"I think one of the key things we did is getting out in front of gas prices," says Bowden. "We were doing staycations before anyone knew what a stay cation was. "

Tourism is the second largest industry in Georgia, key to keep arts and cultural and even recreational enties strong as a way to draw people.

Many other caluclations around the state are not out yet. As for Bowden, he says if the same number of visitors come to Columbus this year, he'll be happy. After all, he adds---in this economy flat is the new up.

Harris Cty. bans outside watering

The Harris County Water Works has placed a ban on all forms of outside water use until further notice.

The step comes one day after a public meeting in Columbus held by the Georgia State Environmental Protection Division, where the agency outlined a comprehensive state water management proposal.

Some 150 residents, state water officials and legislators commented on the plan, in a discussion session held at Columbus State University.

“I find that in the process of legislation, this is not a Republican or Democratic issue. This is an issue of those of us who are south of Atlanta and those that are north of Atlanta,” State Senator Seth Harp (R) told the group.

A series of local citizens and farmers, conservationists and eco-activists, business leaders, teachers and children cautioned against a part of the plan that would divert more water from the Chattahoochee River to Atlanta's growing needs, at the cost of downstream communities and ecosystems.

Tracy Spencer, board director of Chattahoochee River Watch said his group opposed so-called “inter-basin transfers,” saying they should not be considered an option in a statewide water plan.

The session is one of a series of meetings the State Environmental Protection Division is holding throughout Georgia.

The EPD wants to gather input and gauge the proposal's impact before a legislative vote on the plan next January.

Columbus remembers 9/11

CSU students singing national anthem at clock tower.
(Dave Bender)

Columbus State University's historic clock tower rang out at noon Tuesday as faculty, students and city residents gathered to remember the grim events of September 11, 2001.

Tony Oxford, president of National Security Associates is a security specialist who spent several weeks working with recovery crews at the World Trade Center site after the attacks. He told GPB News that the recovery operations left a deep impression on him:

“It was a very humbling experience, a life-changing experience, and it gives us an appreciation for America, what America stands for and why we live here - and why we continue to fight to keep America what it is today.”

An honor guard of Columbus fire and law-enforcement officials stood at attention near relics of the attacks, at an extensive multimedia exhibition.

Honor guard at attention near steel remains recovered from WTC site. (Dave Bender)

A central display featured a torn and twisted steel column recovered from the base of one of the twin towers.

A table featuring documents and relics from the attack on the Pentagon was set out in memory of Marjorie Champion Salamone, a Defense Department employee who was killed in that suicide attack. Salamone grew up in Pine Mt., and attended Troup High School.

"God Bless Fort Benning" flag. (Dave Bender)
A support group called, "God Bless Fort Benning," hung a commemorative 26-by-32-foot American flag in front on the exhibit's venue at The Cunningham Center. 700 children of service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan contributed the panels of patriotic messages.

Busloads of high school students from Muscogee County schools attended the events, which included educational displays; community public safety exhibits and demonstrations; videos, artifacts and stories from “Ground Zero” in New York; musical performances. A vigil at 8 p.m. and military fly-over at 8:15 p.m are to close the exhibit, according to a university statement.

Col State 9/11 page.

Bradleys and Baghdad on the 'Hootch'

Maj. Shane Sims goes through a final checklist with the driver of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle on the testing pad at Fort Benning, a day before trucking the 25-ton tracked vehicles into Columbus on Thursday, June 5, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Two Bradley Fighting Vehicles – tank-like personnel carriers – clanked along in downtown Columbus traffic on Thursday, in order to test out hi-tech camera gear.

A Bradley Fighting Vehicle pulls into traffic in downtown Columbus for a test run. The tank is sandwiched between two of the test team's pickup trucks to minimize the chance of hitting a civilian vehicle , June 5, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Cpl. Jason Wade of Columbus State University police watched as the vehicles rolled by his post near a parking garage on Front Street:

“That's something downtown's never seen before. It's pretty neat! Couldn't imagine being stopped at a red light and seeing this big 50-caliber gun stuck in my rear view mirror (laughs).

He's watching an army test to better protect soldiers out on patrol from bombs, bullets and the mayhem on Iraqi streets.

They want to keep soldiers safely buttoned up in an armor plated, 25-ton Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The steel and aluminum-hulled heavyweight runs on treads, carries a three-man crew and up to seven infantrymen.

Fort Benning officials are here to acid test a new camera vision system that's supposed to transmit a 360-degree color and infrared view of what's going on outside to the crew's tv-screens inside.

But the system's camera and infrared scanners – which translate degrees of heat and cold into a black and white image – are blinded by southwest Georgia's scorching 100-degree heat reflecting off walls, cars and people.

Spc. Kyle Jolley and another crew member take a break on the Bradley Fighting Vehicle's ramp, between sorties through downtown Columbus to test camera systems, June 5, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Specialist Kyle Jolley, who monitors the cameras is having a tough time interpreting what's on his screen:

“It's kind of overwhelming at this point, because there's so many noncombatants that are there, and a lot of them have cameras, so it's hard to distinguish an actual video camera or something like that. Also, you're trying to pick people apart in groups, and by the time you do, you're already passed them and moved on to the next group.”

Interviewer:
What about the infrared signatures?

Jolley:
“Infrared's difficult during the day, because the sun heats up the surrounding areas so much, that people don't stand off against the background as well as they do during the nighttime.”

Jolley has to pick out eight soldiers who are wearing street clothes, and posing as insurgents. They're brandishing long black tubes as make-believe weapons, and hiding in the deep shadows of windows and doorways, and behind bushes and foliage.



Second Lieutenant Alfred Spiteri, posing as an insurgent, points a mock anti-tank rocket at the Bradley Fighting Vehicle as it drives by a parking garage, June 5, 2008. The maneuver is meant to test the vehicle's on-board camera system in real life situations, similar to those encountered in Iraq. (Dave Bender)

Infantry Second Lieutenant Alfred Spiteri quickly points his mock anti-tank rocket out the window of a parking garage, and then pulls back:

“Our job here is to work as an enemy for this exercise, so that they can see if the new camera systems they're trying to incorporate into the Bradleys' are effective. Other people out here have mock rifles, so that the Bradley crews can differentiate between what weapons we're using.”

But despite the snafus the army says it wants all the feedback – positive and especially negative - from the camo-clad troops, so they can fix the bugs before the system is deployed in Baghdad's back alleys.

I ask Major Shane Sims, who's in charge of the field testing, about other possible battle scenarios:

Interviewer:
“You're running through downtown Baghdad; a kid runs up with spray paint, gets two cameras out; someone throws a grenade on it – you can blow out a camera...”

Sims:
“You're very attuned into what some of the issues are. those are very good questions, and those are issues we're all addressing in this experiment.”

After the Bradleys are trucked back to Fort Benning, and the field reports are filed, Sims says additional system testing and adding improvements will take place at the Army's armor center at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Crewmember undergoes an inspection before deploying his vehicle on a test sortie in downtown Columbus, June 5, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at Fort Benning and the post's effect on Columbus and the surrounding area .

CSU To Test Emergency Notification System

Columbus State University will test its new emergency notification system, CougarAlert, on Wednesday, sending a message to thousands of e-mail addresses and phone numbers at once.

The Dec. 19 test will be only for faculty and staff. A broader test, including an emergency drill and student notification, is planned for early 2008, according to the university.

The university bought the system during the summer, and officials spent the fall collecting and compiling emergency contact information from students, faculty and staff. Each group was asked to update online their emergency contact information to ensure the system’s effectiveness.

CougarNet and local media outlets will also be used to inform faculty, staff and students about an emergency. The university’s newly revised emergency action plan is at: http://police.colstate.edu/emergencies.asp.

The school reminds recipients that the Dec. 19 message is only a system test and that no action will be required. For more information, go to http://www.colstate.edu/CougarAlert.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of events at CSU.

Returning troops expected to boost economy

Sign of the times in Columbus: a dry cleaning service near Fort Benning welcomes the 3rd ID home. (Dave Bender)

The return of several thousand troops from Iraq in coming weeks, is expected to give a boost to businesses around Columbus in western Georgia. The hoped-for economic shot-in-the-arm will come from some 3,800 combat soldiers of the US Army's Third Brigade, who served in the Baghdad area.

Several units recently redeployed to nearby Fort Benning, in order to prepare families and the post for the main force. But the brigade's year-long absence was felt far beyond the gates of the base.

Mike Gaymon of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce:

“When the Third Brigade left, the growth of Chattahoochee County became the worst in the 159 counties in Georgia, and then when the third comes back, they will lead the state in growth.”

Gaymon says apartments complexes, car dealerships, and furniture and appliance stores are among those eagerly awaiting the “boots on the ground.”

Billboard near Ft. Benning pitches studies at Columbus State University for returning troops. (Dave Bender)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of Fort Benning and other Georgia military affairs.

Columbus: poly-sci expert considers Obama-Clinton odds

Muscogee County

Barack Obama will have an edge over Hillary Clinton in Muscogee County, according to a Columbus State University political science expert.

When polling stations open in Georgia Tuesday morning, Columbus headquarters for the two Democratic contenders will have tried to outdo each other, for what one analyst calls the progressive, liberal voter.

Tom Dolan, who chairs the political science department at CSU, says over 4,000 voters cast their ballot in Early elections in Muscogee County so far; the highest the county has seen:

"I suspect Obama will do better in Georgia and I suspect he'll do better in Columbus."

Dolan says while Obama attracts younger voters, they were less likely to actually get to polling stations.

County voting officials are predicting a 25% local voter turnout in tomorrow's primary, and state officials put the overall numbers at about 30-percent.

Click here for more GPB News primary election coverage.

CSU: state nursing grant is good Rx

Columbus State University officials are optimistic that $3 million in competitive grant awards from the Board of Regents Nursing Education Initiative will alleviate the nursing shortage statewide.

CSU is to receive $141,043 to increase nursing faculty salaries to more competitive levels; increase admissions to 96 applicants to the bachelor’s of science in nursing program; and increase student retention and graduation rates to produce 66 additional graduates by 2010, a school statement said.

June Goyne, chair of CSU’s Department of Nursing said that:

“Beginning around 2010, nursing faculty retirements are going to begin increasing exponentially across the state. Unless more nurses with master’s degrees are attracted to nursing education careers, the state’s ability to graduate nurses is going to fall dramatically while the need for nurses continues to rise. Right now, nursing faculty salaries that are not competitive with clinical salaries for similarly educated nurses is our major obstacle.”

CSU’s efforts are part of a statewide goal of dramatically increasing the number of nurses in the state. Click here for more GPB News coverage of this story.

Columbus: Taiwanese delegation visit on 9/11

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.

EPD opens Columbus office

EPD districts and offices.
The State Environmental Protection Division has opened a new field office in Columbus.

Officials told reporters that the new office is located at the Cunningham Center on the Columbus State University campus. The bureau will aid them in in serving area residents and monitoring environmental issues in the West Central District area. The district's central office is in Macon.

On June 28th, 2007, the EPD submitted a "Draft Comprehensive Statewide Water Management Plan" to the Water Council. Details of the plan are viewable here. More information about the EPD's activities is available at their website.

More GPB News coverage of the EPD is here, and on the water crisis, here.

CSU Names Presidential Search Committees

Brown plans to retire on June 30, 2008. (Courtesy CSU)

Columbus State University is looking for a new president.

Dr. Susan Herbst, University System of Georgia executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer is to announce the appointment of two committees charged with implementing a national search to replace President Frank Brown, who announced on Aug. 13, that he would
retire on June 30, 2008.

Brown, currently the longest-serving president in the University System of Georgia, will have been president of CSU for 20 years upon his retirement, a CSU statement said.

George Stanton, CSU vice president of academic affairs and search committee chairman will lead an informal, public discussion about the presidential search process at four p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 6, in room 215/216 at the Cunningham Center on the main campus.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of CSU.

Rash of car arsons mystify Columbus officials

A rash of mysterious car arsons have been keeping firefighters in Columbus busy in recent days.

Fire officials say eleven vehicles have been torched in downtown's historic district, and in residential neighborhoods around the campus of Columbus State University over the last four days.

Columbus Fire Marshal Thomas Streeter says the arsonists used an accelerant to spark the fires, and that investigators are analyzing the material:

“What makes this fairly unique is that the vehicles were not stolen, and that some of the vehicles were close and up around the resident's homes...”

There were no injuries in the arsons. Residents in the areas hit have started watch groups.

Streeter says investigators don't have any leads yet, and asked the public to be vigilant and call 911 if they have any information.

Columbus: brass tacks at Ft. Benning BRAC session

Military and civilian officials at BRAC session.
(Dave Bender)
Over 100 Georgia and Alabama officials, and federal and military representatives met in Columbus on Monday to discuss the army's planned Base Realignment and Closure program (BRAC).

The army plans to move an armor school, currently based at Ft. Knox, KY to Ft. Benning within the next three to five years.

The comprehensive morning session met at Columbus State University's Cunningham Center for Leadership. On the agenda were schools, housing, health care, transportation, public services, ecological, economic impact, as well as funding issues related to the move.

Colonel Keith Lovejoy, Fort Benning Garrison Commander of Fort Benning, told GPB News they planned to cover issues of anticipated base growth: “in terms of soldiers coming to the base; what kind of construction we're going to do; effects on the local roads, the networks... the different utilities... basically just making sure the community is aware of what's coming and when it's going to be here – and then also, to answer some of the concerns of the local community.”

The army expects over 30,000 troops, and their families, contractors and service providers to move into the Columbus and Chattahoochee Valley area.

CSU Graduation Set For Saturday

CSU belltower. (file photo/Dave Bender)

Columbus State University will recognize about 450 degree recipients in a commencement on Saturday.

The ceremony also will feature an honorary degree presentation to Thomas B. Buck Jr., a senior member of the CSU Foundation Board of Trustees. A well-known business and civic leader, Buck is credited for playing an important role in the growth of CSU and Columbus.

Expanded graduating classes in the past three years reflect a 35 percent enrollment increase since 2001, the university said in a statement released to the press.

A live Webcast will be available at http://graduation.colstate.edu. A high-speed connection is recommended, and a room in Lumpkin Center and Fine Arts Hall auditorium will be set up for attendees seeking an alternative viewing location, the statement said.

Click here for more GPB News about CSU.