The Office Cat
Busted bank sign won't be fixed
Denise Johnson, who works at Essex Manufacturing Co.

here in Washington-Wilkes, told me an interesting story this week. Most Wilkes Countians don't know that Essex's main business and sales office is in New York City. Through the two offices, Denise has contact with Leo Levine in the New York office. The New Yorker keeps up with Washington-Wilkes and the high school Tigers by reading The News-Reporter online. He was in Washington-Wilkes several years ago when the Tiger Marching Band was selling W-W Tiger rugs as a fund-raiser. To help the students, Leo bought one of the rugs. (I have one that I bought from my granddaughter.) Last week he told Denise that he has his W-W Tiger rug framed and hanging just outside his office door, which is in the

Empire State Building! .. . . "Pretty neat for a small school," Denise says.

The always-popular Rotary Pancake Supper is Friday night, October 20, 5:30-7:30 p.m. You'll have just enough time to eat before attending the last regularly scheduled home game of the football Tigers. The Tigers will be beating Putnam County after defeating Oglethorpe County by a whopping score last Friday night. . . . The famous

County Cooking Supper at Fishing Creek Baptist Church is Saturday, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.

Kimi Bufford is in basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Her dad, Ken Bufford, (Sherree is her Mom) says she is doing quite well, has a very positive attitude and is doing wonderfully well in almost every way except one. Always friendly Kimi is having trouble learning NOT to smile while in formation. She says she can't get her "military face" to work sometimes and just breaks out into a smile. Then she gets "hollered at" by the training instructors. She is a 2006 graduate of Washington- Wilkes Comprehensive High School.

Lawrence Hyde, who divides his time between Washington-Wilkes and Savannah, brought me a copy of the Savannah Morning News. There is an article in the paper about the Dugas Family that came to Wilkes County after fleeing from Paris during the French Revolution. The family first settled in Santo Domingo but had to leave the island during a rebellion of slaves. The Dugas house is located at the intersection of Poplar Drive and East Robert Toombs Avenue and is owned by Rosalie Haynes. Famous physician Louis Alexander Dugas was born in the house in 1806. Readers may know the house as "Pleasant Shade," former home of George and Dorothy Wright Normandy.

The Marching Tiger Band competed in the 24th Annual Super Bowl of Sound in Carrollton Saturday, October 7. The band received an Excellent rating and placed second in Class A competition. The

majorettes placed first in their category with an overall rating of Superior. The percussion unit placed second; the colorguard, third; and Michael Wylie, the drum major, placed third and received Excellent ratings. The band will be participating in its final festival of the year Saturday in South Gwinnett County. . . . Lindley Hall, one of the four majorettes, injured her knee during the Carrollton performance and will be having surgery soon.

This week marks the first time that The News-Reporter has had inserts in the paper for Home Depot - the new one in Greensboro. We're glad to get the inserts but can't help but wish that we had a little of that growth that is occurring in Greene County.

The time, temperature and message board at the main office of the Farmers and Merchants Bank was struck by lightning several weeks ago. If anyone is wondering why it hasn't been repaired, it's because it is not going to be repaired - it's going to be replaced - at least the message part. Within the next 30 days, the bank is expecting the new sign to arrive and it will be bigger (two lines high instead of just one) and capable of much more!

Bobbie Ann and Joe Griffin have sold the loan part of their Wilkes Loan and Insurance Corporation to Clem Slaton, and have kept the insurance part. Joe started the business 41 years ago, shortly after leaving employment at Washington Loan & Banking Co. They were pleased to be able to turn the business over to a Wilkes County man instead of someone from outof town.

I like October's bright blue (and crisp) weather.

The Celebrity Waiters collected $2,795.00 in tips at the Celebrity Waiters Dinner last week. All of this money goes to the Wills Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, sponsors of the event, to be used for the Auxiliary's many projects to benefit the hospital. . . . It was a good night with Master of Ceremonies

Mike Horgan keeping things moving and awarding many door prizes along with Bobbie Ann Griffin. Entertainment was by Lizzie Long and her friends, Little Roy Lewis, Al McCall, Will Gay, Jimmy Justice, and a little boy whose name I have not been able to get. They really kept things moving. Dr. Stan Coe provided dinner music on the piano.

The First United Methodist Church is sponsoring a Sunday Dinner and Auction on Sunday, October 22, at the Washington- Wilkes Comprehensive High School Cafeteria. The dinner and auction will benefit the church's fund-raising for a new fellowship hall. Some of the auction items are a day of decorating a home by Shay at Petal Pushers Christmas; dinner for four in the country; professional cleaning service; one-week stay at a St. Augustine condo, and many more interesting services. Call the church office at 706-678- 7116 for details and tickets. . . . The

Fall Bazaar sponsored by the church brought in $10,163 for the fellowship hall building fund.

The statistics are in on the Washington Wilkes Relay for Life held several weeks ago. The relay benefits the American Cancer Society. Wilkes County raised a total of $35,499.72! The top fund-raising team was Little River United Methodist Charge, $3,040.70 for first place; Church of the Mediator, $2,709.45, second; and Regions Bank, $2,103.00, third. First Baptist Church won the all night award. . . . Best Campsite awards went to the Senior Center, first; Washington Police Department, second; and Little River United Methodist Charge, third. Rookie teams of the year were Glit Microtron and the Church of the Mediator. . . . The Little River United Methodist Charge won the spirit award.

An article on the front page of Sunday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution titled "Dolly's Truth" is about the solving of the mystery surrounding the death of Washington- Wilkes' Dolly Hearn in 1990. The man who took Dolly's life in 1990 and his wife's life 14 years later confessed to the murders several weeks ago. The article continues inside the newspaper with a whole page of pictures and text.

Estimates on attendance at the

Rayle Ramble last Saturday are from 2500 to 3000 people. The same numbers are estimated for

Mule Day on Saturday. The cold weather and wind kept attendance down at the Friday night program.

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