A crew of men from the Rayle Electric Membership Corporation (REMC) left Wilkes County at 11 a.m. Tuesday, February 3, to go to Mayfield, Ky., to help with the restoration of power in that area following the severe winter storms there last week. They didn't arrive in Mayfield until after midnight and report that when they went through Nashville, Tennessee, the temperature was seven degrees and it was snowing. In Mayfield it was 13 degrees. Can you imagine climbing a power pole in that kind of weather? These men were Boyce Hall, Greg Armour, Keith Dawson, John Moon, Richard Duke, Chris Cutsell from Oglethorpe County, and Austin Curley,. Lincolnton. The report that I got is that Kentucky doesn't have any "rightof way" crews like Georgia does, so our crew had to clean debris from the right-of-ways before they could put the poles and wires back up. There are about 540 electric workers in addition to the linemen. The REMC crew is working 16-hour days, and as of Monday there were still about 14,000 consumers still without power. Their plans are to return to Wilkes County next Tuesday, February 17, after two weeks in Kentucky.

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Randy Randall, Executive Director of Alumni and Community Relations for Presbyterian College, and Mayor of Clinton, S.C., was the speaker for the John Duggan Memorial Scholarship Dinner at the Woman's Club Monday night. Randy and John were participants in the athletic program at Washington- Wilkes High School, and in the music program at the First Baptist Church during their school years in the 1960s and early 1970s. Randy is the son of Jo and Buzzy Randall; and John is the son of Mary Johnson Duggan and the late Dr. Dan Duggan.

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You will miss the Social News in this week's News-Reporter. Susan Pope, who writes the news, has been ill and not able to gather the news. Be sure to bring her your news for next week by 5 p.m. Monday.

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According to Groundhog Beau in the Atlanta area, we will be having an early spring. The little rodent didn't see his shadow when he came out of his mansion on Groundhog Day February 2 at the River Game Ranch in Lilburn. . . . With Springtime comes tornadoes and severe thunderstorms. The National Weather Service (NWS) has developed a program called "Skywarn" to help us all be better prepared for severe storms. Trained volunteers serve as storm spotters, passing on vital "ground truth" information to forecasters during times of severe weather. . . . Washington Fire Chief

Alan Poss, who is also director of the Washington-Wilkes Emergency Management Agency (EMA), has scheduled a Storm Spotter Class for March 5 to help Wilkes Countians prepare to become a Skywarn spotter. The fist class will be held at 7 p.m. at the Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School Cafeteria. Anyone interest can attend this training. To volunteer, call 706- 678-7113.

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Abby Smith, a freshman at Nathanael Greene Academy has been named a winner of All Region Honors for the 2008 softball season at her school. Abby is the daughter of Cissy and Scott Smith.

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Gas prices on Highway 78 through Washington have remained consistent for the last few weeks. Prices range from $1.79 per gallon on the west side to $1.89 on the east side.

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Edythe McCall visited her daughter, Lisa McCall Florence, and her family in Madison during the weekend. Sunday morning, Edythe and Lisa attended morning worship services at the Madison Presbyterian Church where Peyson Moss is accompanist for the music program. Peyson served as pianist for the Washington First Baptist Church before going to the Presbyterian Church last fall.

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Washington-Wilkes Comprehensive High School has a new athletic director and coach. His name is Lee Hutto and he is a former assistant coach of the W-WCHS Tigers, coming to Washington in 1997. He left here to coach elsewhere and comes back to Washington from coaching at Warren County High School. His wife, Hollie, was associated with Mercer Harris Photography when they were here in 1997. They have a son whose name is Patterson.

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Congratulations to Christina Albertson on being named Wilkes County STAR Student. She is the daughter of Daphne and Steve Albertson. Christina chose Debbie McLeod as her STAR Teacher. This is the third time that Debbie has had that honor.

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I experienced another sign of spring Monday night. A big fat almost full moon was shining in my bedroom window; "our frogs" were singing a merry tune in the pond just outside the window; and there was no heat on in the house. . . . I'm really not convinced that this is early spring. The weather has been crazy for a long time.

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A display of artifacts found at the Kettle Creek Battleground by archaeologist Dan Elliott and his crew during the recent excava- tion of the site is on display at the Washington Historic Museum. Mr. Elliott and Army Historians Steven Rausch and Walt Andre will lead discussions on their findings at the battleground. Meet at the War Hill monument Friday afternoon at 3:00. . . . Many more activities are planned for the Revolutionary Days celebration. See extensive coverage elsewhere in this paper.

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Filming for the movie, "Get Low," is scheduled to begin in neighboring Crawfordville during this month. The "Extras Casting Associate,"

Michael Thompson, has been busy signing up extras in downtown Crawfordville. He's looking for "extras 55 years old and older, thin, and willing to cut their hair. The pay is $100 a day." .. . . I don't know if they are still signing up extras. Some of the streets in Crawfordville will be covered in dirt to look more appropriate for the film.

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The Washington-Wilkes Band will hold try-outs for the color guard and majorette units of the band for next year February 20-26.

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Wilkes County School students will have a three-day holiday next week. Students will have Monday, February 16, Presidents Day, off, as well as Tuesday and Wednesday, February 17 and 18. But teachers will have a professional learning day Tuesday, and an in Service day Wednesday.