Official Crashes into Two Buildings

If you've followed our news, you've by now heard about the Monroe County politician who - allegedly drunk - crashed into two buildings on consecutive nights over the weekend.

I heard about it Sunday from friends. They were joking about the bad drivers in Monroe County. I laughed too because I'm from Monroe County and wondered what kind of person crashes into buildings twice in 48 hours?

It turns out the driver is Brian Tallent. Brian is an old friend of mine. I've known him since I was a young boy growing up in Madisonville.

The first time I met him, we were competitors on a baseball diamond. He pitched for the Madisonville Braves and I pitched for the Cubs in the old Dixie Youth Baseball League. My team won that day.

In high school, we competed for the same position on our football team and he won.

He was a terrific prep athlete. Not big, but tough and a fierce competitor. In his senior year, in one game he caught two touchdown passes and intercepted three others, leading to a victory.

I hadn't kept up with Brian since those day, except casually. He stayed in Madisonville, married and had a child. He also got into politics and did well.

I think the last time I saw him was a few years ago at his mother's funeral. And even though he'd gone through a divorce by then, he appeared to be doing well.

This weekend's news suggests otherwise. If there is any good news from his weekend crashes, it's that no one was killed.

He's charged with DUI, so he still has a right to his day in court, but if he's guilty of driving under the influence, he's got a serious problem.

I hope he gets help.