Society Hill, Williamson hotspots for speeders

By Joe McAdory

Now that stop signs have been erected at the intersection of Society Hill Road and Gateway Drive in Opelika, it’s time a speed trap was set up nearby. Why? Drivers of cars, pick-up trucks, dump trucks, SUVs, motorcycles, whatever, simply refuse to adhere to the 45 mph speed limit between the Interstate 85 underpass and the four-way stop intersection on Society Hill Road.

I cannot drive 45 without being tailgated. Speed limits were created for public safety. It disappoints me that the public refuses to acknowledge them.

Opelika police, if you’re looking for a hotspot to nab speeders—I’m giving you one on a silver platter.

No, make that two.

Drivers on Williamson Drive between Society Hill Road and Alabama Highway 169 either cannot see the 35 mph speed limit signs or believes the DOT was joking when they were erected. Again, another a smorgasboard of gas-pedal heavy drivers with no regard to public safety.

OK, I’m off my soap box now.

Mary Ann busted for pot

By Joe McAdory

Heard news today that actress Dawn Wells—better known as Mary Ann on Gilligan’s Island—was caught by Idaho police with marijuana in her automobile. I can’t help but wonder what was really in those pies she cooked for Gilligan. The great debate still rages: Mary Ann or Ginger?

Below is a link to a story:

http://www.accessatlanta.com/entertainment/content/entertainment/stories/2008/03/11/DawnWells_E0726.html

Chance of snow again

By Joe McAdory

Forecasters are calling for rain to change over to snow tonight across central Alabama. Places north of Birmingham could get up to two inches, while the Opelika/Auburn area could see a half inch, or maybe even just a flurry. Winter weather is very hard to predict.

If it does snow, that would give us two snowfalls this year, which is rather unusual. I guess we still need the precipitation, whether it’s frozen or not. Then again, we may just get rain. Regardless, it’s going to be cold Saturday. Not exactly golf weather.

Burk family friend sends message

By Joe McAdory

Here’s a strong letter from Dawn Barrs, a friend of the Lauren Burk family:

The tragic death of Auburn-coed and Marietta, Georgia native, Lauren Burk, has received much deserved attention. She was greatly loved by the hundreds who knew her, and she is deeply missed by her still-in-shock family, friends and community.

The violent way in which she died has caused us all to ask, why, even if “it was her time to go,” did it have to happen in such a horrific manner. What possible positive value can there be in this manner of passing, when something more simple, such as a car accident, would leave an enormously more gentle memory for the family to hold. This is the question that I have been asking myself, as a parent. Perhaps her death can serve to force the discussion of two important points:

* The widely varying criteria that colleges and universities use to determine whether to issue campus-wide alerts when a crime occurs

* The way in which colleges and universities deal with publishing or suppressing news and statistics regarding campus crimes

By reading the http://www.auburn.edu website, it is amazing to see that, even though AU has a tested process to automatically notify students (and parents) of any potential threat, this system was not used. This, even though the authorities had tied Lauren’s death (off-campus) with her torched car (on-campus). Obviously, the authorities knew that a lethally armed person was (and still is) at large… and this person was evidently on campus sometime near 9:27pm. Yet, no students were alerted to be watchful, or more obviously, to stay indoors and “lock your doors.”

This imprudent decision “not to act… not to notify” would severely limit my willingness to send my son or daughter to school on this particular campus. The irony, here, is that Auburn’s decision not to use the mass-notification process might have been partially influenced by an awareness that this is the prime season for students to be choosing a college… wrong time for bad press!

In my most generous perspective of the Auburn Administration and Police Department’s underreaction to warning students of a possible danger on campus, these two organizations behaved in accordance with what historical processes have probably dictated. Their error was less a conscious decision than a serious oversight that, when filtered with the very recent images of mass murders at North Illinois University and Virginia Tech, constituted a reaction that was blatantly “not enough.” One might remember that the VaTech massacre began with a murder of a coed, which campus authorities also treated as a single event… yet 90 minutes later, it turned out to be the foreboding of a much more heinous intent.  Auburn University’s underreaction to alerting other students of Lauren’s death illustrates the need for a nationally standardized escalation process that all colleges and universities would be bound to follow. The guesswork of “how intensely to respond” must be removed. Perhaps this is the real purpose of Lauren’s heartbreaking death.

Just as 9/11 taught the airline industry (and even airline passengers) to, never again, view a hijacking event as something to be quietly suffered, Vatech, N. Illinois U. and our beloved Lauren’s death at Auburn University have shown us that the nation’s campuses must have a unified response plan for heinous murders that involve students.

My eyes are still burning from yesterday’s sadness… and my heart is with Lauren’s family and closest friends.

Dawn Barrs

Tragic death paints negative picture on area

By Joe McAdory

The shooting death of an Auburn freshman Tuesday night was tragic, but students and residents in the Opelika/Auburn cannot suddenly believe this area is any more dangerous than it was before.

Murders have happened in Auburn and Opelika in the past. Murders have happened in Montgomery, Atlanta, Birmingham, etc. It seems the area will be painted by the national media as some sort of collegiate killing ground. It was a random act. Why someone would want to take another’s life is beyond me, but we must realize this is a sick world we live in.

It’s probably a good idea not to venture to some places alone, but that shouldn’t stop you from living your every day routine. This is still a great place to live, work, go to school and raise a family. Whatever safety measures AU can examine, it’s probably a good idea to go ahead and examine them for the benefit of all.

Whoever killed Lauren Burk will meet his or her fate.