The Fourth of July is here. That means we are over halfway through the year. I never like to wish time away but with the economy the way it is, I'll be glad to see 2009 gone. Unless, that is, 2010 is worse!

Thomasville is planning several Fourth activities on Friday the Third, including fireworks that evening. Jackson is also having its fireworks Friday evening. I sometimes wish the two cities could coordinate a little better and not overlap activities and events but I guess that is asking too much.

But on Saturday night you can go to Coffeeville and see a pretty good fireworks show there. The town doesn't bring in a professional fireworks company. Rather, the town buys fireworks and the local firemen set them off. It is always a good show.

Also in Coffeeville on the Fourth is the Coffeeville Music Festival. A group of citizens and former Coffeevillians who have moved away got together about three years ago and they have had some good talent. During the day, local gospel groups perform. At night, they have more "adult" entertainment, jazz and blues. This year, The Apollos and Mr. Southern Soul Man Jeff Floyd will perform.

The festival is on Dr. Edwina Hart's front lawn on Highway 69 just south of town.

****

I'm not going to fall out with the Clarke County Board of Education over the way they handle personnel matters in a public meeting but I do think it is a bit crazy.

Acting on advice from the state school board association, the local board—and many others—don't name the individuals that board members are taking action on as far as employment, transfers, resignations, etc. Instead, the individuals are referenced as "A," "B," "C," etc. They say it is to protect the individuals' privacy.

Last week, for instance as the front page headline notes, it wasn't Stuart Etheredge that several people attending the meeting heard was hired as interim principal at Jackson Middle School, but "Part II: a."

It wasn't until the meeting was over with that spectators at a public meeting learned who had been hired. I think it is akin to taking secret votes. The name should be put out there. We aren't employing someone named "A" but a real live John Doe with a real name.

The county commission doesn't do that when it hires someone and neither do area municipalities. The school board shouldn't either.

****

I sure hated to see Gloria's Pour House Cafe close. Gloria's, in the old Deaver's Restaurant that dates back to the early 1960s, was Grove Hill's only full service restaurant, offering breakfast, lunch and dinner weekdays and breakfast and lunch on Sundays.

Everyone has their opinions about Gloria's closing. I guess everyone is entitled to their opinions, just like everyone knows how to run little weekly newspapers. Simply put, the restaurant didn't have enough business to stay open.

The closing is a loss for the town, certainly. Gloria's was a local gathering place—coffee drinkers in the mornings and afternoons and its meeting room was used by local civic clubs, the chamber of commerce and other groups.

I'm proud of all of our Grove Hill eateries but none offer the hours or the variety that Gloria's did and none have a private meeting space that a small town needs in a local restaurant. Cafe Bella Rhue is nice and has the space but isn't open every day during the week. The chamber is going to be hardpressed to meet at Bertiles or the Courthouse Deli, for instance, because of space requirements.

I hope someone will reopen the restaurant, or consider the old Pruitt's, across from The Democrat. Grove Hill needs a "family" restaurant. But we also need families and individuals to patronize restaurants and other local businesses too.

****

I see in the Monroe Journal that the county commission across the Alabama River voted to take a 10- percent reduction in their salaries until the depressed economy improves.

The four commissioners there are paid $20,582 each annually. A 10-percent reduction will save the county $8,232 annually.

A 10-percent cut isn't a lot of money considering a county's entire budget but it does signal the commissioners' willingness to try and help out during tough times.

We have five commissioners in Clarke County. Each makes about $20,000 annually for what is a part-time job.

I'm not suggesting that our commissioners reduce their salaries but given the fact that they recently cut half of the road department employees and the fact that many folks are complaining that the roads are in poor shape, a modest cut in their pay might fund at least half of the salary of a road worker.

****

You would have thought Elvis Presley had died all over again last Thursday when Michael Jackson pegged out. Perhaps the comparison has merit. Presley was the King of Rock and Roll and Jackson has been called the King of Pop.

Whatever, the comparisons are erie: A washed up popular singer dies suddenly as he struggles to make a comeback. A heart attack is suggested in both cases. It turned out Presley's death was from a drug overdose. The jury is still out on the real cause of Jackson's demise.

I never liked Michael Jackson's music and I thought him freakish. I didn't necessarily condemn his weird lifestyle as much as I pitied him. From his days as a child star it seems he was always having to perform for someone. I read that he was a manipulator but I think he was manipulated by a lot of people too. He should have been a billionaire but he ended up owing $400 million or so.

Like Elvis, he'll probably be worth much more now that he is dead. His music will become more iconic with time. I wonder who will benefit from his music in the years to come. What a sad life.

It was a shame that Farrah Fawcett had the bad luck of dying the same day as Jackson. Her death would have been big news but she took a distant backseat to Jackson. Her death got pushed to the back page of the newspapers (the Mobile Press Register had Jackson on the front page and Fawcett on Page 1D) and the TV news show crowded her out for nauseating pieces on Jackson.

Fawcett was the perky lead in the TV show Charlie's Angels back in the 1970s and there aren't many middle aged men who don't fondly remember her hot swimsuit poster. Wow!

****

How about Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina who ran off to see his Argentina girlfriend last week, leaving the state without a chief executive and lying about his whereabouts. He told his staff and others he was mountain hiking to clear his head.

I thought then he might have been hiking but not by himself.

He came clean of his whereabouts only after a reporter for the state capital daily newspaper, The State, caught up with him in the Atlanta airport coming home. Newspapers can be a pain but he probably would have never 'fessed up if a reporter hadn't tagged him in the airport.

I don't fault the man for the affair. Heck, our elected leaders are human too with human failings as we see repeatedly. What I do fault him for is leaving his state unattended without anyone knowing his whereabouts and for arranging for a previous industrial seeking trip to Argentina so he could see his girlfriend. He has said he will reimburse the state—now that he has been caught.

I also fault him for being a big hypocrite.

Sandford was one of those who was much to shrill in proclaiming morals and family values. When someone sings too loud in the choir, watch out.

Sanford said he isn't resigning but I expect he will eventually. The citizens of his state will rightfully demand his head.

Jim Cox is editor and publisher of The Clarke County Democrat.