BMV, Wacky callers, and "Free Jim!"

Barring an 11th-hour court filing, the Fairlawn License Bureau will be temporarily shut down beginning tomorrow (Wednesday). The announcement follows a Columbus judge's ruling that supports the state's decision to terminate Deputy Registrar Susan Suso and seize her franchise. The agency came under fire following last month's Channel 3 News investigation that found drivers' personal information in the dumpster instead of shredded or secured. I'm not sure how long the office will be shut down, but state leaders want to ensure the office has new leadership and an effective system in place to secure personal information.

There's nothing more entertaining than answering the phones in a TV newsroom. Yesterday a woman called begging me not to hang up and to please help her. As I was calming her down, my first thought was that she was on the run from a killer or in need of immediate medical assistance. She then began by saying, "I'm not crazy." I said, "O-kayyyyyyyy." Then she said, "I really, really, really need the phone number for 19 Action News." Trying to keep my composure, I told her, "you realize this is Channel 3, right?" "Yes. But I can't find their number anywhere and they just ran a story about my relatives and it's not true! And I need to call them right now to give them a piece of my mind and get them to fix that damn story!" "Hold on ma'am .. here' s the number."

About an hour ago I heard scratching at the front door of our newsroom. Sounded like a giant cat trying to claw his way in. I headed for the door and found an elderly gentleman who was attempting to tape a letter over our glass doors on Main Street. I opened the door to ask him what he was doing and he told me that he wanted us to see his letter petitioning for the release of former-Congressman James Traficant from prison. I asked him why he didn't just knock and hand it to me in person .. and he said, "well, I thought if it was out here you'd take it more seriously." Not sure how to respond, I simply smiled, took his note and wished him a good day. He responded by yelling "Free Jim!" three times and telling me to give the independent party a chance.

Next time I hear scratching, I'm letting the interns get the door.