Thoughts for Hurricane Katrina

Have been thinking in recent days of Les Kerr's song Pray for New Orleans, which was written long before the hurricane but seems particularly meaningful now. Listen to a snippet here if you have freeRealPlayer software. And you can help the relief effort by donating now to the American Red Cross. Go to their Web site and click the big red "donate" link.

You know it's time to pack up and leave town ...

... when Jim Cantore shows up, Mimi and I observed tonight. Just learned this in his online bio: Mr. Cantore is from Vermont.

Wilkes, Washington county workers head to Katrina

Workers from Washington Electric Membership Cooperative in Sandersville and Rayle EMC in Washington are heading to the hurricane-stricken areas.

Train lovers' mecca in South Georgia

It's not anywhere near us, but there's a good read in this Baltimore Sun piece about Folkston, Ga., where a destination for train-watchers all over the U.S. Train lovers also can come to lovely and tiny Camak, Ga., just a few miles outside Warrenton.

A familiar name in my flashlight

Did something today that it seemed like I hadn't done in years: Bought an Eveready battery. The brand belongs to the Energizer folks. I've always been a fan of the bunny, but it's good to see the cat jumping through the hole in the number 9 again.

Next Quentin Tarantino movie: No samurai swords, only stock cars

The filmmaker did a lap at Bristol Motor Speedway with driver-turned-commentator Wally Dallenbach. Looks like he enjoyed it, though I was disheartened to see he wanted my man Greg Biffle pushed into the wall.

Screaming Devils thrash Jefferson Co.

Screaming Devil quarterback Tommy Seals is among the players featured in The Chronicle's recent story advancing the Warren County football season, which mentions the team's state championships from 1965, '66 and '68. The Chronicle's complete season preview for the team is here. In other area sports news, Burke County beat Lincoln County for the first time in 33 years.

Drowned tots' mom says she's been wrongly accused

Lottie Kain has been released from jail, according to WAGT-TV.

Kiss Winn-Dixie goodbye

The good news: Gonna be a big sale at the Winn-Dixie in Thomson. The bad news: It's a going-out-of business sale.

Talk about crummy timing -- Winn-Dixie gets its name in the title of a major motion picture, turns right around and files for bankruptcy.

Personally, my family did its Thomson shopping at Bi-Lo and Piggy Wiggly. Does anyone out there besides me remember when the Bi-Lo had a plastic cow standing on the roof over the sign? I was a big fan of the cow. Of course, my parents always said that as a toddler I would run up to the television set and kiss the screen whenever the Piggly Wiggly pig came on the screen.

Another blast from the past: I remember when the Winn-Dixie shopping center in Thomson had a Sears store in it. I have many happy memories of going with Mom to Sears to order or pick up some wonderful mail-order goody. Needless to say, that was way before anyone in Warrenton had ever heard of the Internet or Amazon.com.

Here's what's closing in our area: Winn-Dixies in Thomson, Milledgeville, Sandersville, Statesboro and Vidalia, also two in Martinez (4487 Columbia Road and 366 Fury's Ferry Road) and two in Augusta (1763 Gordon Highway and 207 Robert C. Daniel Parkway). See the complete list of nationwide closings here.

Warren County: Yes, we're getting smaller

You might remember a few weeks back that the Census Bureau released its latest estimates for cities across America. Now it's come out with the new county numbers, and they, too, show Warren County is losing people.

There are two ways to look at the new census estimates: by comparing the new estimates with the last Census five years ago, or by comparing the new estimates with the last estimate a year ago. We’ll look at both.

Compared with the 2000 Census
Warren County’s population has shrunk by 1.89%, losing 82 people, down to 6,254. This makes us the 16th fastest-shrinking county in Georgia.
Our neighbors:
McDuffie grew 1.35%, up to 21,517. Rank: 49th fastest-growing county in the state.
Jefferson shrank by 2.22%, down to 16,883, making it the 10th fastest-shrinking county in Georgia.
Hancock County did slightly worse, losing 2.63% of its residents, down to 9,811. Rank: 9th fastest-shrinking county in Georgia.
Taliaferro County rated as the second fastest-shrinking county in Georgia, losing 8.71% of its population since the 2000 Census, for a total of 1,896. Only Chattahoochee County lost more people, the Census Bureau said.
Wilkes County lost 0.97% of its population, down to 10,583.
Washington County lost 0.54% of its residents, down to 21,061.
Glascock County gained 2.93%, up to 2,631.
Emanuel County gained 1.17% of its population, up to 22,093. Must be that new Wal-Mart Supercenter …

Compared with last year’s estimates
Warren County lost 2.08% of its population from 2003 to 2004.
McDuffie County gained 1.35%.
Jefferson, -1.66%.
Taliaferro, -6.4%.
Hancock, -0.95%.
Washington, -0.7%.
Wilkes County, no change from the previous year.
Emanuel, grew by 0.45%.

Want to know more? Check out the Census Bureau's site on how it does its population estimates.

Jebco barrister's bookcase on e-Bay right now

Ever seen those bookcases where each shelf has its own window that tilts up? If you've ever wondered what that's called, it's a barrister's bookcase. Someone in Pittsburgh, Pa., is selling one made by Jebco on e-Bay. Starting bid looks like $133.33. Buyer has to arrange shipping, it says.

Nice obituary of Peter Jennings in the New York Times

Peter was always the favorite for 6:30 viewing at my house. We're a little late in posting this, but better late than never. (You'll need to do free registration at nytimes.com, if you haven't already, to read this one.)

Mother pleads not guilty in child-drowning case

From WAGT-TV's Web site.

Arraignment today for mother of kids who drowned in sewage pond

Lottie Kain will plead not guilty today, the children's father says in today's Augusta Chronicle. An arraignment is when a defendant has their charge formally read to them in court, after which they enter a plea. It's usually the first step in the court system after a person is indicted by a grand jury. Nearly everyone pleads not guilty at their arraignments.