WHAT REALLY HAPPENED on Flight 297? And what mistakes did AirTran Airways make on that flight? Security consultant Brent Brown of Mableton - who was a passenger on the flight in question - will be answering those questions as guest speaker at Monday's noon meeting of The Madison Forum at the Rib Ranch on Canton Road in east Cobb.

As most readers know, that Nov. 17 flight from Atlanta to Houston was disrupted before takeoff by a dozen or so Middle Eastern passengers who refused to cooperate with instructions from the flight attendants, which led its pilots to return to the gate at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Two of the 12 were escorted off the plane. But when the others were allowed to remain, most of the rest of the plane's passengers attempted to deplane.

After the other 10 Middle Easterners were removed from the plane, a new set of pilots was brought aboard for the flight - but refused to take off until the luggage of the 12 questionable passengers was removed and searched.

AirTran officials have attacked the veracity of those criticizing their actions that day and have attempted to paint the occurrence as a customer-service glitch. Though Brown, president and CEO of Chesley-Brown Companies Inc., now doubts the dozen passengers in question were terrorists, he contends AirTran badly mishandled the incident and says it was the most tense flight he's ever taken.

Cost of Monday's buffet-style lunch at the Rib Ranch is $10, according to Madison President Michael Opitz. The lunch will start at 11:30 a.m. with the meeting at noon.

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NEW GEORGIA STATE SUPREME COURT Justice David Nahmias will be the keynote speaker at Thursday's lunch meeting of the Marietta Kiwanis Club at the Marietta Conference Center on Powder Springs Street.

It is believed to be Nahmias' first speaking engagement in Cobb since his appointment this summer by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

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SICK BAY: Jean Alice Tumlin, wife of Marietta Mayor-elect Steve "Thunder" Tumlin, underwent emergency gall bladder surgery Thursday at WellStar Kennestone Hospital and is expected to remain there through next week. ... Meanwhile, husband Thunder and the new city council are slated to be sworn in on the evening of Jan. 4.

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LAME-DUCK Mayor Bill Dunaway will make one of his final official appearances at today's dedication of the wall of honor at Brown Park in Marietta that includes benches, sculptures and a 32-ton granite memorial listing the names the known burials in the adjacent Confederate Cemetery.

The mayor's star turn will hark back to his days as a University of Georgia cheerleader, when he led football fans in the traditional "Charge" cheer accompanied by blasts from his horn. At today's 2 p.m. event, the mayor will play "Taps," "Dixie," "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "When Johnny Comes Marching Home," on his coronet.

He'll close his official mayoral speaking functions after eight years by serving as the commencement speaker at Kennesaw State University at 2 p.m. Tuesday.

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THE MARIETTA FARMER'S MARKET planned for this morning has been postponed for one week due to today's expected inclement weather. ***
SOME OF COBB’S BEST-KNOWN elected officials, as well as more than a few “characters,” showed up for Wednesday morning’s annual “YMCA Morning Crowd Christmas Party” at Panera Bread on Roswell Road. It’s sponsored each year by the “Jenacova Disorganized Crime Family,” which is headed by former Cadillac salesman Don “The Godfather” Jenacova as its “boss,” with retired Atlanta FBI agent Oliver Halle as “underboss.”

“The purpose was to once again show the softer, gentler side of the ‘family’ during the holiday season,” Halle said. “We also invited some of our local political officials to provide them an opportunity to celebrate the holiday season with us.”

Halle began his FBI career in the 1970s investigating the doings of the Columbo Family in NYC. Other members of the family are “Frankie Words” Ward, Mike “Fixcista” Grier, “Dollar Bill” Lockhart, “Fascist Phil” McCollough, “Johnny Rugs” Abraham, “Dancing Dave” Raudabaugh and “Sammy the Sword” Galbraith.

Other attendees among the 69 on hand included Cobb Commission Chairman Sam Olens, Cobb Superior Court Judges Jim Bodiford, Mary Staley and Tain Kell; State Court Solicitor Barry Morgan and Judges Joan Bloom and T.O. Sturdivant; Eastern District Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott; Cobb school board Chairman Dr. John Abraham; state Rep. Don Parsons (R-east Cobb); and Cobb Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Lynda Coker.

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FORMER GOV. ROY BARNES of Marietta, who’s running for next year’s Democratic gubernatorial nomination, has a high-profile “Holiday Fundraiser” slated Monday at Twelve Atlantic Station in Atlanta from 6:30-8 p.m. Hosts are lame duck Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, former Mayor Andy Young and his wife Carolyn, and Post Properties founder John Williams and wife Nancy. The minimum contribution is $250 per person.

Others listed on the invitation include Michael and Donna Coles (namesake of Kennesaw State University’s Michael J. Coles School of Business); former U.S. Rep. Buddy Darden of Marietta; Bertis Downs, longtime lawyer/manager for mega-rock group REM of Athens; prominent criminal defense lawyer Ed Garland of Atlanta; Bishop Eddie Long of 30,000-member New Birth Missionary Baptist Church of Lithonia; builder Stephen Macauley; Bob Matthews of C.W. Matthews Contracting Co., of Marietta; Marietta businessman Winston “Strick” Strickland; and former state Court of Appeals Judge and gubernatorial candidate Norman Underwood.

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CONGRATULATIONS to Michelle Luckett and fellow Sprayberry High School alum Eric Bartel, who were married Friday afternoon. Ms. Luckett is assistant to Cobb Schools Superintendent Fred Sanderson and director of community relations for Cobb schools, while Bartel is IT director for the Marcus Foundation in Atlanta.

LOCAL WRITERS Joe Kirby and Damien A. Guarnieri, authors of the just-published “Marietta Revisited: Then & Now,” will host a book signing from 7:30-9 p.m. on Saturday evening in west Cobb. The event will take place at The Daily Grind Coffee House and Cafe at 3960 Mary Eliza Trace facing Due West Road. For more information, contact Kirby at (770) 428-9411 ext. 229, or The Daily Grind at (770) 422-9480. For more, go to www.CobbHistoryBooks.com

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IT WAS NATIONAL NEWS when a Southern Airways Jet crashed along Dallas Highway (Ga. 120) in the New Hope community less than a mile from Cobb County during a severe storm April 4, 1977, killing 63 of the 85 aboard and another nine on the ground.

The crash was back in the news on Friday when the media reported that Mary Cummer, the widow of one of those aboard, had died and left $2.5 million to several Huntsville, Ala., charities. The bulk of her estate grew from the six-figure cash settlement she received from Southern after the crash, the media reported. Mrs. Cummer died in 2008 at age 89 on the 31st anniversary of the crash.

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POLITICAL PATTER: U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) will hold a telephone “House Call” with seniors from Georgia’s 11th Congressional District on Monday from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Dial toll-free 1-(888)-886-6603 and enter “13863#” between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.