Saturday is the time for the 4-H Clovers & Company Benefit at the Rock Eagle 4-H Center, featuring Clovers Alumna and Grammy-Winner Hillary Lindsey. In last week's column I stated that several Wilkes County 4-H'ers had been members of the prestigious Clovers & Company performing group, but that the only one I could recall at that time was Kevin Madden. I knew I would hear from friends or family of other members, and I did. Others have included Zoonie Gresham, Paige Eason, and Matt McGee. On the benefit program with Hillary Saturday will be Michael Edwards, the current Wilkes County member of Clovers. . . . Also on the program will be humorist Darrell Huckaby, one of my favorite columnists in the Athens Banner-Herald.

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For the benefit of you News-Reporter readers who buy your News- Reporter each week on Wednesday afternoon either at The News- Reporter office or one of the boxes around town: don't forget that Joe Barnett's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" will be airing on the Food Network Wednesday, March 18, 9 p.m. The network is available in Washington on Comcast Channel 31.

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We've had rain, haven't we! A good slow, steady rain from noon on Saturday, day and night through at least 5 p.m. Monday (when this is written). Norris says that in town we got 1.4 inches for a total of 2.5 for the month. . . . Sonny Johnson in the Tyrone area reports 1.806 inches for the same period. . . . Azaleas are blooming, dogwoods and redbuds are popping open, and oak hydrangeas are beginning to show lots of signs of life. If we don't have "killing cold", this could be a truly beautiful year for the Tour of Homes on April 3, 4, and 5. It's going to be a "marathon" weekend, and some very tired Washington-Wilkes people come five o'clock Sunday.

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Jeffery Roth kept his young listeners spellbound last week as he talked to the students in the first, second, and third grades at Washington- Wilkes Primary School. Jeffery is employed with Junior Motor Sports owned by famous racecar driver

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeffery works with the #5 car which Earnhardt drives and works the pit stop with the 88 Nationwide car. He is a front tire carrier which includes handling the front tire replacement when the car comes in to the pit stops. He wore his pit crew uniform and had the undivided attention of all the boys and most of the girls. Carolyn Gammon, who is a substitute teacher at the school, says at recess she saw some of the little boys pretending they were changing tires and giving gas at the pit stop. Jeffery is the son of Sonya and Darrell Roth and is married to Alyssa Stewart of Rayle, daughter of Tim and Gail Stewart.

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Carol Sout her< Townsend accompanied members of the First Baptist Church Acteens, a missions organization for teenage girls, to a conference at Epworth-By-The-Sea on St. Simons Island during the weekend. As usual they met someone with Washington- Wilkes connections. When Penny Papp, who was also attending the conference, found that they were from Washington-Wilkes she asked if they knew Kim Nunn. Tara said she didn't know her, but Carol knew that she is Kim Nunn Bearse (Mrs. Kyle). Penny was Kim's roommate at North Georgia College in Dahlonega and had visited Kim in Washington-Wilkes while they were students. . . . The Acteens on the trip were Carly Cosby, Rebecca Davis, Abby Foster, Calli Nickels, and Leslie Souther.

. A note from Jacquelyn Nash Al-Azawi of Duluth, formerly of Washington, tells about Washington Wilkes' famous barbecue. Jacquelyn loves Washington-Wilkes and promotes its beauty and history anywhere she can. She has a Tour of Homes brochure posted on her bulletin board at DeKalb Technical College in Atlanta. She recently brought her daughter's fiance', Will Kelman, to see her cousins' private museums. These were Kerry McAvoy's Vintage Car Village and Billy Walker's All Things Considered. Will asked to have "real Southern barbecue" for lunch because he had never tasted any. Being in the Rayle vicinity, they went to Poss-um Cafe. The visitors included Jacquelyn's husband, Dr. Abdulla Al-Azawi; friends, Dr. and Mrs. Naman and Margaret Abdule Latif of Lilburn; and aunt and uncle, Dell and Howard James from Tyrone. The last time Margaret came to Washington- Wilkes, she bought barbecue from

Randall Denard at Washington Food Market. They were all complimentary of the beautiful and well-kept old homes here.

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In an e-mail message from Judy Burke, she tells about her German Shepherd that was terrified of storms and could hear them coming hours before she could. He tore down screen doors and clawed the back door beyond repair trying to get into the house. When she was home she would let Duke come in and he wanted to sit in her lap. "Duke weighed in at around 145 pounds," she said, "at least 20 pounds more than I did." When Washington passed a leash law, the late Dr. Turner Bryson said that he wanted to be there when someone tried to leash Duke. . . . Judy also reminds everyone that there IS a leash law and says, "People who let their dogs run loose should be ashamed." The leash law is for the protection of the dogs as well as people.

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E-mail from Anna Norman Heaton in Alabama says, "I miss you guys and still faithfully read The News-Reporter .I can't wait to hear its ring each week when it hits my blackberry." . . . Anna is one of our on-line subscribers.

. While we're on dogs: Donna

Bailey and Patricia Bailey had a birthday party for their special dogs last week. Donna has a Toy Poodle named Barkley, and Patricia has a Miniature Toy Poodle named

Tracker. They say the party was lots of fun with party hats, cake and ice cream enjoyed by all.

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