The Republicans are coming! The Republicans are coming!

You won't hear that from Paul Revere, but Chattahoochee Chatter swears it's true: A swarm of Grand Old Party regulars will invade Columbus on Friday and Saturday for this year's Georgia GOP State Convention at the Columbus Civic Center.

The festivities include events Friday and Saturday at the Trade Center.

Folks around downtown can expect to see lots of campaign signs, buttons and banners, and anticipate some extra security for party dignitaries such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal.

Gingrich likely be the only big star at this year's shindig, as presumptive nominee Mitt Romney is not expected to appear.

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Command Sgt. Maj. Chris Hardy, command sergeant major for the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, said Wednesday he is about three weeks away from retiring.

Since 2010, he has served under former post commander Maj. Gen. Michael Ferriter and current commander Maj. Gen. Robert Brown, who also is leaving in June for his new assignment to command I Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Brown, commander of the Maneuver Center of Excellence since November 2010, will get a third star as he's promoted to lieutenant general. Hardy will leave the Army with 26 years of service. He first thought of retiring after serving as the 75th Ranger Regiment command sergeant major, but Ferriter asked him to hold the same position for the Maneuver Center of Excellence.

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Some people just keep going the extra mile.

Recently at the Mildred L. Terry Public Library, director Silvia Bunn took an interest in an 18-year-old who said he was not in school because he had become "fed up."

Bunn called St. Luke's B.R.I.D.G.E. program, which helps at-risk young adults get their Graduate Equivalency Degree, and got the date for the next class. She then registered the young man for a library card and to vote. He was shown how to use the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries online resources Learning Express Library and Universal Class to practice for the GED.

May he put his knowledge to good use in appreciation of Bunn's effort.

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City leaders face the wrath of an angry biker gang.

Cyclists still are not pleased with Columbus' Fall Line Trace crossing at Buck Ice and Coal or its route from 10th Avenue to the river.

"As you are well aware, there is no appropriate connectivity around Buck Ice and Coal nor from 10th Avenue to the 14th Street bridge," Jim Pound wrote in a May 14 letter to the mayor and council. "I was told by the planning director that there is no plan to do anything to address the issue at Buck Ice and Coal

until the Talbotton Road widening is completed in five to seven years!"

Deputy City Manager David Arrington said disgruntled cyclists will have to wait on that, because administrators see no point in making trail upgrades that then have to be upgraded all over again after the road work.

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There's got to be a bathroom here somewhere.

Keep that in mind the next time you've got to go.

Columbus police say Brandon D. Jenkins, 25, didn't look long enough for one Sunday.

An officer saw him urinating on the wall of a Front Avenue parking garage about 3 a.m., in public view.

Police said Jenkins was cited for disorderly while intoxicated, meaning he wasn't arrested, but must in court answer for his alleged unregulated watering.