After last week's murders at Virginia Tech, Mayor Deke Copenhaver wrote about his very deep and personal connection to Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. His grandmother, Fern, raised his father, three other sons and a daughter in Blacksburg as a single mother during the Great Depression after his grandfather died of pneumonia. All the boys graduated from Tech, and his Uncle Jack stayed in Blacksburg, where he became a professor and took care of his mother for many years.

"I spent a great deal of time up there growing up, and it was one of my favorite places in the world," he said. "Malisa and I spent the night in Blacksburg with Uncle Jack the night before we were engaged and he was the first family member to see her ring. In 1996, they named the sheep center at Virginia Tech after Jack, as he was one of the most highly regarded livestock professionals in the United States. He was also one of the smartest and most humble men I ever knew. My Uncle Barnes and Aunt Neal still live in Blacksburg.

"In saying all of this, I want to let you know that it is truly saddening to me that this could happen in a place that I, and so many others, thought to be such a quiet and peaceful place in a world that has become much too fast paced.

"My heart goes out to Ryan Clark's family as I know that we, as a community, share in their pain. By all accounts, he was simply a fine young man and I wish I could have known him.

"Somehow, this once again puts into perspective to me the fact that so many things that we argue about locally are so trivial and that we should renew our efforts to come together as a community as we should all be reminded, in the face of senseless tragedy, to count our many blessings."

THE MAYOR'S RABBIT TALE: "I'll share with you one of the fondest memories of my youth from Blacksburg. There was a huge field right across the street from my grandmother and uncle's house that Lisa, my sister, and I used to play in.

"Uncle Jack had the best sense of humor, and he was always very convincing in telling us tall tales and such. The field was full of rabbits and Jack used to give us salt shakers and tell us that if we could put salt on a rabbit's tail, then we could catch him. In the adult world, I guess that makes common sense (if you're that close, you can grab him). However, Lisa and I both thought that the salt would somehow knock that rabbit out so that we could bring him home! Needless to say, neither of us ever caught a rabbit!"

BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO: While Richmond County students were preparing for the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests this week, school officials are preparing for yet another retirement party for former Superintendent Charles Larke, which isn't sitting well with some teachers who are being hit up to donate money and food.

In addition to a farewell reception in October, Dr. Larke's friends threw a big party at the Augusta Marriott last month to honor him.

This latest farewell celebration, sponsored by the Richmond County Principal's Association, central office staff and other interested employees, will be Tuesday at John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet High School from 5 to 7 p.m.

Eleven schools are being asked to bring enough Italian meatballs (two large bags from Sam's), chicken wings (300), open-faced sandwiches (pimento cheese and chicken salad), vegetable tray with dip, cheese and crackers tray and potato chips with onion dip.

"Also, don't forget to appoint someone at your school to collect the voluntary monetary donations," Tujuana Bush, the principal of Southside Elementary, stated in an e-mail to several people.

We have a question. Who's running the school system?

A SAN FRANCISCO TREAT (NOT RICE-A-RONI): While students were studying, five school board members and two administrators were attending the week-long National School Boards Association conference in San Francisco.

Interim Superintendent James Thompson, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Missoura Ashe, board members Marion Barnes, Eloise Curtis, Barbara Pulliam, Jack Padgett and Venus Cain attended the conference, which cost taxpayers $17,442, and that's not counting meals.

HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE AN IN-HOUSE LEGAL BATTLE: The city's new general counsel has angered the very commissioners who insisted on having an in-house lawyer who would kow-tow to them by confiscating the hard drive from staff attorney Vanessa Flournoy's computer and insisting she be fired.

According to what Eugene Jessup found, Ms. Flournoy had been doing outside legal work on her city equipment since 2003.

Then, lo and behold, Ms. Flournoy's secretary, Meschery Powell, accused Mr. Jessup and city Attorney Stephen Shepard of having created a hostile work environment and of violating her civil rights, according to a letter Mr. Jessup delivered to Sheriff Ronnie Strength about a week ago asking him to investigate what he found on Ms. Flournoy's computer.

Mr. Jessup contends Ms. Flournoy, who applied for the general counsel job, is really the complainant.

He says, in the letter that fell into City Ink's hands from fax-land, that Ms. Flournoy is determined to punish them for having confronted her with the evidence she was running a real-estate closing business on city equipment.

Furthermore, he says Ms. Powell's "ludicrous sexual harassment complaint" is nothing more than a "blatantly transparent, tortious and malicious abuse of process," designed to damage his and Mr. Shepard's names and get him fired.

WHY SOME PEOPLE NEVER GO ON VACATION: When City Administrator Fred Russell left town last week to volunteer his time to work with the Tour de Georgia bicycle races, Commissioner Calvin Holland went to the information technology department and asked Assistant Director Gary Hewett to give him the hard drive from Mr. Russell's computer.

Mr. Hewett called Mr. Russell, who hit the ceiling and ordered Mr. Hewett not to touch his computer. Then he started calling the other commissioners, from whom I gleaned this choice bit of gossip.

Mr. Russell said if six commissioners want to vote to look at his hard drive, they're more than welcome, but for one commissioner to direct an employee to do such a thing is a violation of city ordinance.

Anyway, there's nothing on it, he said. "It took me 10 years to learn how to do e-mail."

ONE OLD GOAT IS AS GOOD AS ANOTHER: I woke up one day last week thinking, of all things, about the Goatman and wondering if any of you remember him. He was a bearded character who used to travel the highways and byways of south Georgia on his way to and from Florida.

The firewhistle going off in town or the road scraper coming down the road paled in comparison to shouts of, "The Goatman's coming!"

He was a grizzled, bearded old man who went south to Florida every year in his wagon, accompanied by a herd of hard-headed companions. Wherever he went, he drew a crowd, and if I'm not mistaken, he would allow you to take a picture of him and his herd for a fee. I can't remember how much. He used to come down U.S. Highway 41, and he also went along U.S. 129 in Nashville, Ga., because Ernie's daddy, a photographer who recorded all the historic events of the time in Berrien County, took still and moving pictures of the Goatman.

I called Ernie to reminisce about the Goatman, and he told me that somebody has produced a DVD compiled from various photos and remembrances about the Goatman and that it is advertised on the Ludlow Porch radio show, which shows what a novelty it was for someone to travel around with a herd of goats.

But, you know, I got to thinking, it wasn't really so different from all those people in cars and campers heading to Florida every winter with one old goat, except that the Goatman probably had a lot more fun.

City Ink thanks Staff Writer Greg Gelpi for his contribution to this week's column.

Reach Sylvia Cooper at (706) 823-3228 or sylvia.cooper@augustachronicle.com.