The Chatter Box
By Deborah Bennett

Jenkins County was very fortunate to have missed all the bad weather of Saturday night. Many of our neighbors were not so lucky. Burke County, Wrens, Louisville, Allendale and Aiken were among the hardest hit areas. News broadcasts of the downtown Atlanta area that was hit by a rare tornado last week were also amazing to watch.

I happen to think that we live in the "garden spot" of the world. Aside from the summer heat, drought and humidity, we have far less weather worries than many parts of the country. We don't live in Tornado Alley; cold weather normally passes through quickly; and severe storms such as Saturday's are an exception rather than the rule.

Mother Nature is normally good to us. I guess she just had to "stomp her foot" a little Saturday night to get our attention. It worked!

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The second annual Barbecue Cook-off will be held Saturday, April 5, in conjunction with the Jenkins County Recreation Department's "Opening Day" activities. Teams are needed for the competition with monetary prizes being awarded to first, second and third place winners. A special $100 prize will be awarded to the "best sausage" entry. For more information, check the "Datebook" in this edition or contact the Millen-Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce or Jenkins County Farm Bureau. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Patriotic fireworks celebration to take place in July.

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Happy birthday to: Tramaine Wilson, Chris Lee, Baker Jenkins, Rachael Johnson, Joshua Bazemore, Bonnie Becton, Mark Keller, Paul E. Herrington, Debbie Johnson, Steve Hodges, Janice Cheney, Joe Griffin, Beth Collins, Amber Adams, Emily Sammons, Lindsey Bennett and Bernard Thompson.

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Celebrating wedding anniversaries are: Mr. and Mrs. Johnny Becton Sr. and Mr. and Mrs. Phil Rhodes.

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Military Active Duty List: Lance Cpl. Lee Ogden, U.S. Marines, Radio and Communications, Bahria, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric B. Kelsey, U.S. Navy, NSA Bahrain; PV2 Ashley Clifton, U.S. Army, Yongsan, Korea; Airman First Class Charles F. Woods, Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta, GA; Capt. Andrew P. Thomas, U.S. Marines, F.A.S.T. Company, Yorktown, VA; Stuart Burrus, U.S. Air Force, Bossier AFB, Bossier, LA; SPC 4 Travis D. Motes, 1st Calvary Division, T. Hood, Texas; Capt. Donald Slade Burke, Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Gilbert C. Sheppard III, 48th Brigade, 118th Field Artillery, Iraq; Petty Officer 3rd Class Jamie A. Yager, U.S. Navy, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Petty Chief Officer Andy D. Crosby, U.S. Navy, Elroy Destroyer, Norfolk, Va.; Stephanie Crosby, R.N., U.S. Navy, Lafayette Destroyer; Jimmy Cooper, U.S. Army National Guard, 878th Engineering Battalion Augusta, Persian Gulf ; 1st Lt. J.R. Taylor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Iraq; SPC. Daniel Stuart, 18th MEDCOM, 121 General Hospital, Seoul, Korea; Jeffrey Sweat, U.S. Navy, USS Kauffman, MM3 59/EDivision, A-Gang, Norfolk, Va.; Cpl. Larry Lamont Clark, U.S. Marine Corp, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Bagdad, Iraq; Khan Young, U.S. Navy, U.S.S. Kitty Hawk, Persian Gulf; Robert Milton Jr., E-3, U.S. Army, Ft. Stewart, Hinesville, Ga., Mission Kuwait; Arnold R. Mosley, 2nd Lt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas; and Debra A. Mosley, Tech. Sgt., U.S. Air Force, Randolph AFB, Texas.