ROME TOWNSHIP — Only about an hour after she was crowned Lawrence County Fair Queeen Chelsey Keathley had traded in her ball gown for jeans and shirt as she began her duties for the week.

First on her agenda was helping out at the Sweet Tooth Auction that brings together Lawrence Countians love of sugary delights and their desire to help out youth.

All proceeds from the auction go back to the 4-H.

Handling the auctioneer duties Monday night was Bob Sells who showed off his gift of wheedling, cajoling and charming the audience into reaching deep into their pockets for a good cause.

“We’ve got a lot of good sweet stuff up here,” Sells told the audience. And when the bidding didn’t go as high as Sells thought it might, he encouraged with a “Boys, it’s a little better than that.”

Cookies, cakes, cobblers, pies and floral arrangements graced the arena as the bakers showed off their wares.

Among the unusual baked goods was a blueberry upside down cake.

While this is not a big election year, there was still a little bit of politics present as a Republican contingency of Jason Stephens, county commissioner, Ray Dutey, county auditor, and Sharon Gossett Hager, county recorder, bought as a bloc versus Mike Patterson, the clerk of courts voice and fellow Democrat Stephen Burcham, county treasurer.

Stephens and Burcham will face off in 2010 for the post of county auditor.