Virginia Taylor, 17, of Courtland had a tryout with the Fox network reality show “American Idol” on Wednesday at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.

According to an interview with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Virginia carried a sign reading “Virginia is 4 Singers,” playing off the state slogan “Virginia is for Lovers.”

She sang Kellie Pickler’s “Red High Heels” for her audition, but didn’t make it to the next round.

“They said they liked my song, and they liked the way I sang, but I wasn’t what they were looking for,” Virginia told a reporter with the Journal Sentinel.

But she said the experience was still worthwhile.

“I met some really cool people and, I mean, I can always try out again,” Virginia said.

Sandy and Emily Lippe’s 3½-month courtship has turned into a 50-year marriage.

The Franklin couple on Saturday, July 24, will celebrate their golden anniversary with a family dinner.

Sandy recently shared the story of how he met Emily in the spring of 1960 in Darmstadt, Germany. He was stationed there with a unit of the Air Force intercept radio squadron. Emily lived in Darmstadt with her family; her father was in the Air Force.

Emily, who was 17, liked to hang out at the PX snack bar and bowling alley. One day, on her way to the snack bar, she spotted a new sports car — an Austin Healey Sprite. Emily told her friends she planned to date the guy who owned the car.

A few days later, Sandy drove his Austin Healey to the snack bar for a Coke. He had a problem with the muffler and crawled underneath the car to wire it up.

“She came up and saw my feet sticking out from under the car,” Sandy said.

The pair struck up a conversation and he asked her out.

“I thought she was cute,” Sandy said.

Emily accepted and they took a ride in the German countryside before meeting her parents and going to the movies.

“We just clicked,” Sandy said.

The couple “married” three times.

The first was during a civil ceremony in Germany. Sandy’s parents wanted them to have an American marriage, so they repeated their vows in Union, N.J., where Sandy lived. Later, the couple had a religious ceremony in Union.

The Lippes have lived in Franklin for six years. Sandy is a retired general manager for a wholesale paper distribution company, and his wife is a homemaker. The couple has two daughters.

Some East Pavilion residents had lunch at Overtime Sports & Grill this week.

They included Christine Britton, Kenny Beale, Bernice Ellis, Masoe Bland, Susie Eason, Venitia Smith, Steve Edwards, Carol Lowe, James Taylor and Buddy Lankford.

Nursing home employee Melissa Decker and her husband, Micheal, surprised residents with a visit to introduce their baby, Sloan Marie, who was born on June 19.