Museum honors Belgium victims; state welcome center to have Columbus focus

It was an interesting moment Wednesday at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, with the world-class facility paying its somber respects to those killed and wounded the day before in the Brussels, Belgium, terrorist attacks.

All of the state flags were at half-staff, as well as the super large American flag near parade field where Infantry and Armor soldiers regularly graduate from training to active-duty units, some that have served in the global war on terrorism, and likely will in the future.

A museum employee said the flags would likely be at half-staff through Saturday. As he said that, the hot sun beaming down suddenly was punctuated by a long, refreshing, cool burst of wind. The snap of the flags was prominent. The employee, glancing up, pondered: “I wonder where that came from.”

From the heavens, perhaps?

WELCOME CENTER: The Georgia Visitor Information Center on Williams Road has been closed since December to give it a much-needed upgrade that will serve as a friendlier and warmer welcome to those traveling through the city or perhaps stopping here for a multiday visit.

“The VIC is scheduled to open late spring (Department of Transportation) doesn’t want to provide an exact date,” Brittney Gray, director of the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s tourism division said via email. Tourism officials have previously mentioned late May as a tentative timeline for the center’s reopening.

When it does debut, it likely will have more of a Columbus focus than before. The Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau staff, prior to the center’s closure, had gone in and made the local display of attractions and historic sites more prominent. And that will presumably be the case with the new-and-improved welcome facility.

“What we did before it closed is we had gone in and rebranded it Columbus, so when visitors came in they knew they had arrived in our destination,” said Peter Bowden, president and chief executive officer of the CVB. “ We would like to come back and do the same thing. But they’ve talked about moving walls and things like that. So we’ll take our team in there and take a look and see how we can reposition and brand it with Columbus as a focus.”

NEW AUTO REPAIR CHAIN?: Those needing vehicle repair or maintenance may have noticed a new name in Columbus — Tire Engineers. It’s not really new, however. It’s simply the rebranding of the existing Epperly Tire and Auto stores by Birmingham, Ala.-based Express Oil Change & Tire Engineers.

That company bought local businessman David Epperly’s four area stores in late 2014 and have been operating them under the Epperly name since. But the name change ultimately was inevitable, with the Express Oil and Tire Engineers monikers spread out over 200 locations in 14 states.

“We want customers to know that although we are giving the locations a new look and the Tire Engineers name, they will still receive the same great service from the same great team they’ve always had,” Ricky Brooks, CEO of Express Oil Change & Tire Engineers, said in a statement.

The Tire Engineers locations are at 2041 Auburn Ave., 1642 Whittlesey Road, and 7608 Schomburg Road in Columbus, and at 5370 River Chase Drive in Phenix City.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Museum honors Belgium victims; state welcome center to have Columbus focus."