The men and woman of the brigade, after a training stop in Mississippi, will be deploying to Afghanistan in May.

Please make arrangements to come out and show your full support for these brave men and women who will be going into harm's way to protect you and your families against the ever-present threat of terrorist activities.

We also remind you that the families left behind by our gallant protectors will also need our love, prayers and support.

To that end we will be requesting that any group that would like to be involved in offering that support to these families attend a meeting - to be set sometime soon - to organize groups of all kinds to form a network of support. Please read the paper and CovNews.com for updates about the meeting.

In the meantime, we have started a blog via CovNews.com, where you or your family can go to put your messages of support online so that when our troops are in the doldrums they can see that here in Newton County, we care about them and their families.

If you would like to leave a message and don't know how, please call Managing Editor Jennifer T. Long or our web master Tyler Smith at (770) 787-6397; they will be glad to walk you through the procedure.

See you Friday at 2 p.m. on the square - be sure to bring your flags and your whole family. Have your cheering voice ready.