The next exhibit coming to the Museum will have a portion of it devoted to the 1996 Olympics. The first Olympic Torch Run originated with the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and during the 1996 torch run, the relay came through Thomson and Dearing.

When thinking of this final edition of The McDuffie Mirror, I went to the online archives and found my first column. It was the June 9, 2005, edition, and the headline was "A crash course in McDuffie County.

Dear Editor: Stevi, Elizabeth, and I are quite sorry that your nice paper will soon cease to exist! Having two local papers is certainly better than having only one.

Dear Editor: We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the service you have provided to the citizens of McDuffie County.

The McDuffie Mirror has always been more to me than just a newspaper. In many ways it was like my child. I was there when it was born. I helped nurture it as it quickly grew into its own.

Here's something a lot of people won't believe: There really wasn't a firm plan in place for The McDuffie Mirror when we started in July of 2003. Well, that's not completely true. There was a plan.

The seven-mile drive south on U.S. 421 changes everything. Between Medaryville and Francesville you leave the edge of the once endless swamp and enter the still endless prairie. The towns, once proud rivals, now proudly share a high school.

I haven't been with The Mirror very long. I came in January after being unemployed for five months. In the past, I wrote for a small weekly newspaper in North Augusta. I loved getting to know the people and telling their stories.

My emotions have really been stirring inside since I learned about the eminent death of The McDuffie Mirror.

Rodeo Nights - an annual fundraiser for the Southeastern Firefighters' Burn Foundation - is scheduled for April 20-22 at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. The eighth annual event is sponsored by Joseph M. Still Burn Centers, Inc.

Thomson High School was recently notified that sophomore Ellen Wallace, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Wallace, has been selected to attend the 2012 Governor's Honors Program.

Young Harris College sophomore outdoor leadership major Elizabeth Land, trumpet, of Thomson, will perform at a concert featuring the Young Harris College Concert Band on Tuesday, April 24, at 7 p.m.

A family-owned Ford dealership in Thomson its doors after more than 60 years in business.

A former Harlem High School Junior ROTC teacher accused of having sex with a student was arrested April 11.

"Once I had a bird come in from a race and zoom by me and circle around to come into the loft, and then he flew back by in a big arc with a hawk after him. Pretty amazing birds, that even after flying for 200 miles, they can still outrun a hawk.