DEMOPOLIS-The location has changed, but the promise of entertainment and prizes remains the same for the second annual Marengo Idol contest. The contest, which will take place this Saturday Aug. 6 at 5 p.m., will now be held at Demopolis High School. The contest was originally slated for Demopolis Middle School.

Wayne Kirk, who has overseen the first two Marengo Idol contests, said the decision to move came because of the hot August conditions.

“We decided to make the move because of air conditioning,” Kirk said. “But it will definitely be at Demopolis High School. We have talked to Mr. Espy and he was really helpful to us.”

Kirk said there would be a special meeting tonight where contestants will be given a rundown of the program.

“We will have a mandatory meeting Wednesday night at 7 p.m. with all the contestants,” Kirk said. “We have had several meetings where we put our plant together and Wednesday night is where we put it all on the table.”

As for the planning process, Kirk said things have been moving along very well.

“Things have been going smoothly,” Kirk said. “Now we are just ready to get going on Saturday.”

This years contest will also have a special treat with two celebrity judges scheduled to attend. WAKA TV 8 morning and noon anchor and reporter Ashley Paige and David Baxley, a morning and noon meteorologist will both serve on the panel to determine this year’s Marengo Idol.

Paige joined CBS 8 in the fall of 2003 and currently anchors for CBS 8 This Morning and CBS 8 News at Noon. Ashley graduated from The University of Alabama where she was a “Bama Belle” football recruit and a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She was a reporter for two years at WDEF in Chattanooga (CBS) and interned at Birmingham stations ABC 33/40, Fox 6 as well as WRBL in Columbus, Ga.

Outside of work Paige’s passion is performing. She has performed on several television shows as well as events throughout the Southeast.

Baxley joined the First Alert Weather Team in Dec. 2004.He has previously worked as a meteorologist at television stations in Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and Wichita Falls, Texas. He also worked as a newscast producer in Birmingham and Huntsville. David, who is from Childersburg, graduated as Valedictorian of Childersburg High School. He earned his degree in Geosciences with an emphasis on broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University in 1999. He is now completing graduate studies in journalism from the University of Mississippi. Baxley is a member of the National Weather Association and the American Meteorological Society.

Like last year, the winner of this years contest will be sponsored by the Marengo County Idol Association to attend an audition for the next American Idol contest.

Tickets are still available at Reggie’s Boutique and Pizza Hut. They are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. For more information please call Wayne Kirk at 334-289-2423, J.B. Warren at 334-289-2092, Virginia Norman at 334-289-9310, Aggie Perry at 334-289-5603 or Martha Shirley at 205-652-3615.