It’ll be &uot;Happy Hauntings with Junior Miss&uot; come Saturday, September 14, as the Camellia City Junior Women’s Club (CCJWC) presents the 2003 Butler County's Junior Miss Scholarship Program.

Seventeen high school seniors from across the county will be vying for the title of Junior Miss and thousands of dollars in scholarship money.

There will be a couple of departures from tradition for this year’s event.

Instead of their typical ‘home’ at the Ritz Theatre downtown, this year’s contestants will be center stage at Greenville High School’s spacious new auditorium.

"We are very excited about the location change…we feel that with 17 contestants, more than we’ve ever had, the crowd will be very large.

Last year we had a sell-out crowd at the Ritz with only 12 contestants.

The school has such a huge stage and a beautiful auditorium, it will be a great place for our program," notes the CCJWC’s Carol Lee. This will be the seventh year the Women’s Club has sponsored the local event.

The event is also slated to start earlier this year, at 6:30 p.m., to better accommodate the large pool of contestants.

The seniors competing for Butler County’s Junior Miss for 2003 are Brittany Jones, Crystal Waters, Lydia McCullough, Hope Gibson, Elizabeth Chastain, Danielle Adama, Fleming James, Jessica Sexton, Amy Miller, Lacey Jordan, Emmaline Walters, Alice Norman, Cassandra McMillan, Sheena Pouncey, Brittney Ingalls, Shae Hartman and Kristen Sasser.

Each of the 17 contestants taking the stage at GHS Saturday night will be scored by a panel of five evaluators based on the following criteria: judge’s interview, 25 percent; talent, 25 percent; scholastics, 20 percent; fitness, 15

percent and poise, 15 percent.

Founded in 1957, America’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program is the oldest and largest program of its type for high school seniors in the entire nation.

Alabama’s 2002 Junior Miss, Laura Lynn Lester, was the Junior Miss from neighboring Crenshaw County.

Her classmate and friend, Lauren Williams, was selected Butler Countys Junior Miss for 2002.

Williams, a McKenzie native, is currently enrolled at the University of West Alabama where she has been selected for the schools cheerleading squad.

Tickets for Saturday nights big event are $5 per person.

For more information, contact Carol Lee at 382-3251.