Last week, the Richmond County Sheriff's Office was still interviewing people who might know something about the David Fry bribery case. Mayor Deke Copenhaver was writing poetry about the wonders of Augusta. The SCLC was demonstrating against what they say is the persecution of Commissioner Betty Beard . And I was beginning to smell a scapegoat by the name of Fred.

I'm speaking of City Administrator Fred Russell , who's sure to be grilled for dillydallying around way too long before returning $20,000 of a $25,000 donation a developer sent to the city to be used for the charities of Commissioner Betty Beard's choice.

One of those charities turned out to be city employee Atosha Harden's gastric bypass surgery, one of the best-kept secrets in Marble Palace history until two weeks ago when somebody spilled the beans.

Then, before you could say "Jack Sprat could eat no fat," the sheriff and the FBI launched an investigation we'll call "Operation Bypass." But if Mrs. Beard is indicted, I for one, think the other Augusta commissioners who discussed the operation in a legal meeting before it took place and never said a word about it should be indicted for not reporting a crime.

Mrs. Beard and her supporters contend she's being targeted because she refused to vote for the stalled TEE Center and to take attention away from Mr. Fry, who allegedly tried to bribe Commissioners Alvin Mason and Corey Johnson to vote for the center. Mrs. Beard's supporters also strongly suggest the sheriff is looking the other way when it comes to Commissioners Don Grantham's and Jerry Brigham's responses when told of the bribe.

THEY'RE MAD AS HELL AND AIN'T GONNA' TAKE IT ANYMORE. So there we were behind the Marble Palace last week, listening to the Rev. Alexander Smith , a Southern Christian Leadership Conference board member in a purple suit, say that he and the others there wanted to know who started the investigation and why.

"Why was Commissioner Beard targeted? " he asked.

Towering above us all was Lady Justice with a badly damaged left arm holding the scales of justice.

Make of that what you will.

OPERATION BYPASS COULD BYPASS THE LOCALS. At the protest, the Rev. K.B. Martin , the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, read a proclamation calling for the sheriff's office to step out of the investigations and let the FBI handle them. In the unlikely event that were to happen, newly appointed U.S. Attorney Ed Tarver would decide whether to pursue the cases.

AUGUSTA'S COLD CASE FILE. Since Operation Bypass had its roots in a 5-year-old donation, there are some other donations even older than that the sheriff could look into.

For example, Lobsters On Leashes.

In 1999, when Operations Management International was lobbying city officials in an effort to get the contract to manage the sewer treatment plant, OMI and its parent company, CH2MHILL, played host to a dinner at Morton's restaurant in Atlanta during which, according to one guest, "the lobsters were so big they should have been on leashes."

Then there was a trip to the beach then-Mayor Bob Young planned to take. He was all set to let OMI pay $678.40 for his ticket to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for the U.S. Conference of Mayors until it became what people now call "an issue."

Mr. Young said that there was no conflict of interest involved with the trip and that he saw nothing improper. But when that didn't fly, neither did he.

Oh, well, that's just chicken feed. Next week, I'll tell you more.

Last Best Hope For Some. One of the best things to happen in Augusta in years is the Augusta Judicial Circuit's drug court, a coordinated effort of the whole kit and kaboodle of judiciary, law enforcement, counseling and treatment communities.

Not only is the court saving taxpayers at least $1 million a year by keeping addicts out of jail and, hopefully, gainfully employed. It is giving the 56 participants personal, intense care, structure and discipline to help them get off and stay off drugs.

The heart and soul of the court is Superior Court Judge Jim Blanchard , who encourages the weak, uplifts the uncertain, rewards the achievers, disciplines the wayward and encourages them all. There is no way in this short space to tell you all about the court and its wonderful staff, but we plan to revisit it regularly to check on the progress of Dwayne, a 36-year-old father of three and former methamphetamine addict. Judge Blanchard sent Dwayne back to jail for a few days last week to smoke things over. Dwayne had a little relapse with marijuana.

And as Judge Blanchard tells many of those in court, "We're pulling for you. We want you to succeed."

VERY BAAAD! Speaking of goats, last week I was the goat when more than half of City Ink got mangled and lost before being posted online, so I'm sure readers were confused.

To make matters worse, I got the names of city attorney Chiquita Johnson and Meschery Powell mixed up and had Ms. Powell refusing to pay Ms. Johnson $3,000 in back pay, which, of course, was backward. She was her own attorney, and won the case, too, by the way.