About that incident yesterday

A LOT of people wondered why I did not chase after the police and deputies as they sped to the scene yesterday just south of Cordele. A lot of people wondered why I have not reported more than the few lines on the newspaper's Facebook page.

I splain.

1) It was Thursday. The paper comes out Tuesday night.

In other words, I could:

a) rush to the scene and gather information from hectic officers who did not have time to talk to me. That is, if I could get that close, which I couldn't. While all the information I gathered would come from reliable sources, those sources would not have ALL the information nor all the CORRECT information right then. Not accusing anyone of lying, nope. Am saying in a rush no one has all the facts.

b) wait until things calmed down. Then I could talk to the sheriff, the PD and get what actually happened, who it happened to and what is being done about. I'd get it correct and have the full and CORRECT story in next week's newspaper.

2) I stayed out of the way. Really. They did not need me up there possibly getting in the way. I've covered a load of crime stories in my life. Every. Single. Time. the correct story came after everything calmed down and people had time to gather their thoughts.

3) I'm not interested in spreading rumors. I understand a certain broadcast medium in a nearby town is all about jacking the story and reporting whatever they think is the truth and factual. In 25 years, I've seen that outfit get 1 and precisely one story 100 percent factually correct. Every other story where I had all the details and they did too, they got facts wrong. Yeah, it is my opinion they lie.

You'll note that other infotainment outlet in a nearby town has put out a different story every time their immaculately crafted fiction is updated. I do make mistakes. Mine are honest and I correct them. Those folks cannot be bothered to get it right or correct what they do.

4) You wanna see pictures of dead people at an accident scene and people bleeding from gunshot wounds, go look somewhere else. I'm not going to feed the vulture in you. I do not like covering bad news anyway. I much prefer stories about the wrestling team headed to state today and tomorrow (GO REBELS!), students of the month at TCES, the west side water tank and pump and letting people who stand up in front of the City Council have their say in the paper.

The only time that other place will come to town is if we pay 'em thousands of dollars (ask why they have NEVER made a net contribution to the Fire Ant Festival) or someone is bleeding. I'm here for the good and the bad. Ask 'em why they won't cover the good stuff here unless they can get someone to pay for it.

5) I was already working on stuff.

6) People look to me to get the story right, to tell what happened and tell you the truth. That means waiting until the dust settles so everyone can see clearly.

7) I am not going to sling rumors on FB. In fact, when I see people slinging rumors there, I delete them from my friends list.

You may not like or understand this, but I am committed to getting the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you want lies, I do believe that outfit to the west and plenty of people on FB can accommodate you.