I was shopping in Bee Southern on The Square Saturday morning. A little boy about three or four years old was looking around while his mom was shopping. As our paths crossed, he said to me, "Are you old?" And I said, "Yes, I am old." And he said, "Nanna is 71." And I said, "That's nice, isn't it." He thought about that for a few seconds, and with a beautiful smile on his face he gave me a long, slow, "Yeah!" . . . And I thought, "He must have a wonderful and loving grandmother."

.

Cindy Bounds says that Friday, April 10, was a lucky day for her. At the half-joking suggestion of her daughter Bonnie, several months ago, she had sent in a postcard to WJBF Channel 6, for a drawing to win a "George Said It Would" umbrella. (George Myers is chief meteorologist at WJBF). At the conclusion of the Friday afternoon 6 p.m. newscast, Myers announced that Cindy was the day's winner of the umbrella. . . . That evening, Cindy joined friends from the Washington-Wilkes High School Class of 1969 at The Fitzpatrick where they spotted former University of Georgia Football Coach and Athletic Director Vince Dooley. Dooley was dining with a friend on their way back to Athens from The Masters in Augusta. Cindy and Sally

Hendry Bufford couldn't miss the chance for a picture, which Dooley graciously allowed. (Cindy was a majorette with the UGA Redcoat Marching Band when she was a student there and Dooley was the coach.) She says it was definitely her lucky day.

.

Singer and Songwriter Hillary Lindsey was seen in a clip on the Oprah Winfrey Show one day last week when country singer Carrie Underwood was interviewed. In the clip, Hillary was seen in a songwriting session with Carrie.

.

Mike Scarborough says he wants to commend high school students from Wilkes and Oglethorpe counties and Briarwood Academy for their courteous, prompt, and responsible attitude in returning their tuxedoes following the junior-senior proms last week. The tuxedoes were due back at his store on The Square Sunday afternoon for pickup by a truck from Jim's Formal Wear where Mike rents them. He says the percentage of return on time was "phenomenal." Between 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. 98 per cent of them had been returned. He had never had that happen before. He says, "Many times the quality of our local young people goes unrecognized. I just want everyone to know how impressed I am with these students and their parents."

.

Because we are on a different schedule in producing The News- Reporter, you can get an early edition of the paper by 1:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, sometimes by noon. They are available in the box in front of our building and inside at that time and at other locations later in the afternoon.

.

Ben Hill, Wilkes County's famous model of men's clothing, is in the news again. He was featured in the April issue of Vanity Fair magazine and also in the March issue of Gentlemen's Quarterly. In Vanity Fair, he was wearing Tommy Hilfiger outfits. If you look closely, you will frequently see bigger than life size posters of him in stores like Macy's. He's the son of Physical Therapist Bob Hill.

.

Last week, I asked our readers to help supply information for this column, because I was having a tough time. Readers obliged and you will find that this is a more interesting column because they did. Please do call and tell me things you know about. Thanks to all of you who called, came by, or e-mailed.

.

We've had calls asking if we know what the big building between Bi- Lo and Standards Auto is going to house. The property belongs to Barnett Southern which is owned by Ames Barnett. The large lot and building are to provide a place to keep all the company's heavy equipment and a shop for repair work.

.

Allen Burton recently retired from the faculty of the Augusta branch of Georgia Military College. I had heard him say several times that when he retired he was going to get a Beagle. His children and grandchildren gave him one of

Willard Lance's eight-week-old choice Beagles about two weeks ago, and he's been showing him off ever since. Allen is a history buff, so I wasn't surprised when he told me the Beagle's name is Elijah Clarke. (Wonder what they will call him. Lije, maybe?) Allen may be retired from the college, but it will be a long time before he retires from Beagle care and upbringing. It's fun, though.

.

When Barbara Wilkinson of Glennville renewed her subscription to The News-Reporter last week, she included the following note, which many of you will find interesting: "We moved from Washington to Glennville 36 years ago, but we have taken The News-Reporter every year since that time. I taught school in Washington for 10 years at Washington-Wilkes High School and Roger was a rural mail carrier in Crawfordville. I have enjoyed reading about the children I taught and now their children. We get to Washington every time we get a chance and still love the beautiful city." I remember teaching their daughter Vicki piano when they lived here.

.

Laura Purdy, receptionist at The Fitzpatrick Hotel, tells me that the first couple to be married at The Fitzpatrick when it first opened is coming to Washington to spend their fifth anniversary at the hotel. They are Nell Ziehl and Aaron Greenlun from Baltimore, Maryland.

.

Norris Ware on Hill Street has recorded 4.45 so far for the month, and 19.55 inches for the year which makes us ahead. . . . Sonny Johnson at Tyrone says he got 1.179 inches on Monday of last week, and that's all. His total for the year is 21.5 inches which is very good. In fact, I read in the Athens Banner-Herald that the drought is officially broken! But we still need to conserve water.

.

The Mary Willis Library had its annual Tea Party last week where 18 children learned Tea Party etiquette; enjoyed "having tea," and heard two stories -- Sir George and the Dragon and Pony Princesses.. The Tea this year had a princess and knight theme, so following the Tea they designed their own crowns and tiaras. . . . I "looked in" on one of the Teas about 15 years ago, and there were only two little boys participating. There were three boys who attended this year.

.