Don't forget to pick up baby pictures
The much-needed rain finally came! It started shortly after noon on Saturday and continued until after midnight -- and wasn't it nice. I love to hear the rain on my tin roof and went upstairs to do some things I needed to get done so that I could hear it. I was hoping that it would continue until

went to bed, but I stayed up too late and the rain had stopped by my bedtime. I think more is predicted for Thursday.

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Norris poured out 2.1 inches that had accumulated in his rain gauge by Sunday morning, and says we had had just .05 of an inch for the month for the first 14 days of the month. Our deficitfor the year is 14 inches. Other sources that I checked also measured around two inches on Saturday.

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Do you remember when newspapers, radios, and televisions used to do a countdown of how many shopping days until Christmas? Those shopping days didn't include Sundays. Now the publicists have just gone to reporting how many days left until Christmas because Sundays are also shopping days. By the time this paper is "on the streets" Wednesday night, there will be fivedays until Christmas. I hope you're ready. I am.

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Many churches will be having special Christmas services Sunday and Christmas Eve. The ones that I know about include: First Baptist will have a special Sunday morning service and will have its usual Christmas Eve Candlelight observance of The Lord's Supper. The program will begin at 6 p.m. . . .

First United Methodist will have

Candlelight Communion Service at 6 p.m. on Christmas Eve. . . . The

Presbyterian Church will have a service of Candles and Carols on Christmas Eve at 7 p.m. . . . The Episcopal Church of the Mediator will have a Service of Carols at 10:30 p.m. before the service at 11:00 p.m. . . . Ebenezer Baptist at Aonia will have a Christmas Candlelight Lord's Supper observance with groups or individuals invited to go to the church Sunday from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. to receive the supper. . . . The children and young people of Sardis Baptist Church will present a Christmas play Sunday evening at 7:00. . . . Phillips Mill's Christmas program by the children of the church and the adult choir will be Sunday morning at 11:00. . . . Gibson's Grove will have a special Christmas program Sunday afternoon at 3:00. . . . Pathway Community Church will have "A Family Christmas" celebration Sunday at 6 p.m. Dr. Stan Coe and family will present a program of Christmas music followed by congregational singing led by Ronnie Lindsey and friends.

Parents of babies featured on our

Christmas babies pages this week need to pick up their photo packages from Mercer Harris Photography no later than today or tomorrow if you want them for Christmas. The officewill be closed after that.

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The Washington Little Theater Company is in the midst of its Early Bird membership campaign for the 2008 season. Anyone who joins before January 1 will receive one free admission on his/her membership card. See the advertisement in this week's News-Reporter to findout how to be an Early Bird.

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Tom and Gail Duggan were hosts at their home for members of the First Baptist Senior Choir and their families following the choir's presentation of "Season of Wonders" Sunday evening. While enjoying the beauty of the house, some of us discovered Tom's collection of old bottles. And what a collection it is! I know he must have more that a thousand old bottles stacked three feet high and a couple of feet deep over the kitchen cabinets. He told us about his special collection of Chero Cola bottles. Tom says that there was a Chero-Cola plant in Washington in the early part of the 1900s. It was located on Liberty Street just west of the old Wilkes Mill and Feed Co., and just before the large Pet Milk plant (about where Blackburn's Automotive is now.) Chero was in competition with Coca-Cola which made trouble for Chero, then sueing them, and eventually causing Chero to go out of business. (That was news to me!) The Chero bottles are many different colors and when the light shines through them they are truly beautiful. . . . Tom has lots more different kinds of bottles -- and that will make a good story for 2008.

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I sincerely appreciate all the help I have had from readers of this column during the past year. You have been good to call or contact me with interesting items, and each one was appreciated. I hope you will continue to supply me with information, because it makes a much more interesting column. I will especially need your help in the coming weeks because January is a very slow month in many ways. Call and tell me what you did during Christmas or something interesting you received as a gift -- or "tell on" your neighbor and I'll check it out. The phone number is still 706-678-2636. I hope each one of you has a happy time and that you take time to remember that we are celebrating the birthday of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

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The Washington Fitness Center on Court Street will be moving to the building which recently housed

Dave's TV on the east side of The Square.

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We have one last set of deadlines and we will be through with changing deadlines until next summer. We will be printing the December 27 issue of The News-Reporter this Friday, December 21. All classified and legal advertisements and society news was due Wednesday, December 19. Deadline for all other news and retail advertising is Thursday, December 20, at 12 noon. We will be closed December 23-28; open December 31. . . . Deadlines for the January 3 issue are Monday, December 31, when all classified and legal advertisements, society, other news and retail advertising are due. We will be closed on Tuesday, January 1.

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