On New Year's Day, we take a final look back at some of the people who were in the news in 2004 -- and what's happened to them since.

CANDY MILLS and JEFF DRISCOLL
Married at the mall, en masse

THEN: On Valentine's Day, Mills and Driscoll were one of 39 couples who got married or renewed their vows during a mass wedding at Valley View Mall. The event was officiated by the Great and Wonderful Rev. Bonezini, a radio disc jockey who received his marital authority over the Internet. An Elvis impersonator, slot machines and dozens of gawking shoppers made for a ... well ... a memorable ceremony.

NOW: As their first anniversary approaches, the newlyweds are "doing great," Driscoll said. Every time they visit the mall, they're reminded of their wedding day. And after the ceremony, Mills and Driscoll learned they had won a drawing for a free trip to Las Vegas. Driscoll said they plan to take the trip soon to celebrate their anniversary. Just the two of them this time, presumably.

BOONES MILL SPRINGSHINE

Boones Mill town manager/police chief Lynn Frith's proposal to bottle the town's spring water and sell it.

THEN: In July, the Boones Mill Town Council endorsed a proposal by Frith to study whether selling bottled spring water would be a good source of extra income for the town. Frith said "no comment" when asked whether the name "Springshine" had anything to do with Franklin County's infamous association with moonshine.

NOW: A serious study of the bottled water plan won't get under way until the town resolves some expensive water system issues. The town is in the process of applying for a $1 million federal grant to fund installment of water filtration and a sewage treatment plant. If he had a choice, Frith said, he'd love to move ahead with the bottled water plan right away. "I think it does have a great potential."

TERI MABERY

A Thaxton mother who started a telephone card project so overseas military personnel could call home on Mother's Day.

THEN: In two weeks, Mabery collected calling cards totaling 20,313 minutes and mailed them to troops in Iraq, where her son, Spc. Matt Graham, was stationed.

NOW: Mabery is still sending packages to Graham, who was home for almost two weeks in November. Many of his National Guard unit friends still have minutes on their calling cards, Graham told Mabery. She was delighted that Graham wanted to mow the lawn when he got home. "I just want to feel the grass under my feet," he told his mom.

BYRON MACK
Salem hip-hop performer and producer

THEN: Byron Mack and Casey "Jones" Jaffa recorded an album as Mack Jones in Mack's Salem apartment. The two played a number of out-of-town shows, but had trouble finding local gigs.

NOW: Jaffa continues to perform with Mack. Mack released a solo album as Poseidon MC in early summer and has since played a series of local shows at Howlers, the Green Dolphin and other places. He also makes enough money to do this full time. The sequel to his Poseidon MC album, "Day Three: Poetic Mischief," is due in January, along with another Mack Jones record scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2005.

PATRICK MARY,
GINTY AND SEAN
PATRICK HURLEY

Franciscan friars who hitchhiked through Roanoke en route to Nicaragua in hopes of building a friary on a coffee plantation there.

THEN: The friars were picked up by two women, who asked to be called "Quarterpounder" and "Blondie," after standing on the northbound entrance ramp to Interstate 581 at Orange Avenue for 3 1/2 hours.

NOW: All six of the friars from the Mother of the Good Shepherd Friary in Emmitsburg, Md., who were hitchhiking in pairs, made it to Nicaragua safely in about three weeks.

THE BRACKMAN CUP
The trophy created to celebrate the great football rivalry between Covington High School and Alleghany High School.

THEN: The coveted cup was stolen during a vandalism spree at Alleghany High School in July, but the culprits soon squealed and revealed the location: a murky pond a few miles from the high school. When divers recovered it, it was waterlogged.

NOW: The student vandals have been punished and the cup has been refurbished with a new wooden base and brass plates. After a 27-0 win by AHS in September, the cup remains in their trophy case. Will Covington ever see the cup again? Said AHS principal Kenny Higgins, "Who knows? I hope not while I'm here."

TONY AND ALISA PRICE
Family that said they lost $80,000 through investments with Thomas Warren, a self-proclaimed financial pastor who is charged federally in connection with allegations that he cheated more than 140 investors around the United States out of their money.

THEN: Tony Price was in bad medical shape, the family lost their Roanoke County home, went on public assistance and had to file for bankruptcy.

NOW: Tony Price went back to work as a truck driver, and the family is off public assistance. They recently entered back into an agreement in which they are renting the house they used to own with the option to buy it. They're still living paycheck to paycheck, Tony Price said, but "we're getting there."

ARIEL ALONSO AND JONATHAN CONRAD
Franklin County alchemists whose elaborate collection of beakers and flasks was mistaken for a methamphetamine lab by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

THEN: After Franklin County deputies responded to a call at their home and saw Alonso and Conrad's lab, they called in the DEA. The duo was arrested on charges of manufacturing methamphetamine. The charges were later dropped because of lack of evidence.

NOW: Alonso died of lung cancer at Springtree Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Roanoke. After moving to North Carolina and working briefly as a waiter, Conrad returned home to Missouri where he is waiting to see if he qualifies for disability because of degenerative back problems. Neither he nor Alonso received any compensation from the federal government for the destruction of their lab, Conrad said.

TOMMY GUILL
Former lieutenant and 30-year veteran of the Botetourt County Sheriff's Office.

THEN: He lost not only the election when he ran against his boss, incumbent Sheriff Ronnie Sprinkle in November 2003, but also his job later in January when Sprinkle reorganized the department. Guill's request to work 90 days until he qualified for retirement was denied. Guill and Randall Fletcher, who supported him in the race, were the only two deputies to get pink slips as Sprinkle started his second term.

NOW: Guill is a relief carrier for Carilion Consolidated Lab. He's weighing his options about returning to police work. Fletcher is with the Bedford County Sheriff's Office, according to Guill.

ROANOKE RIVER DIG
Revealing archaeological find along the south side of the river in Southeast Roanoke

THEN: A team of about a dozen people working for a national company uncovered an American Indian settlement this summer in Southeast Roanoke that dates to about 1200. Artifacts unearthed include pieces of pottery, 1,000-year-old animal bones, and spear tips made of quartz. The team has also identified a sizable cooking area about 10 feet underground.

NOW: City Engineer Phil Schirmer said the team later found remains of American Indians, which are now being processed for possible interment elsewhere through the state Department of Historic Resources. Schirmer said there will be another dig on the north side of the river. The archaeological work is being done as part of the Roanoke River flood reduction project.

ARIELLE ROSMARINO
Roanoke County bubble-blower

THEN: Arielle Rosmarino was 12 on July 31 when she competed against five other kids from across the country in the National Dubble Bubble Blowing Competition, held live on NBC's "Weekend Today." She blew the third-biggest bubble - nearly 15 inches wide - and received a $5,000 savings bond and a $1,000 donation for Children's Miracle Network.

NOW: "I just blow bubbles for fun now," said Arielle, an eighth-grader at Glenvar Middle School. "There's really nothing to practice for." Arielle isn't eligible for the next Dubble Bubble competition. She's now 13, and the competition is open only to kids 12 and younger. "It was fun while it lasted," she said.

FLOYD OTTO
Retired pool hustler

THEN: At one time, Floyd Otto was one of the most devastating pool sharks on the East Coast. Relying largely on his bank shot, Otto toured America with renowned hustlers such as Minnesota Fats, Fernando "Bananas" Rodriguez and Sammy Bales, taking suckers for hundreds of dollars. He retired from hustling in the mid-90s and settled down at Smith Mountain Lake, but he still managed a daily drive up to Guys & Dolls Billiard on Williamson Road for a few hours of pool. He also kept spry by running every day.

NOW: Now 92 years old, Otto continues to drive his 1990 Buick Skylark to Guys & Dolls almost daily. Most afternoons he can be found squaring off against foes in one-pocket. A case of shingles slowed down his exercise regimen, but he's back, walking a mile a couple of times a week. Where once he was known by a slew of nicknames, including "Baby Wolf," "Otto-matic" and "The Gray Ghost," these days most Guys & Dolls patrons just call him "Sir."

MANU SPORNY
Blacksburg entrepreneur

THEN: Manu Sporny, who graduated from Virginia Tech with a computer science degree in 2000 and became a new-economy entrepreneur, was seeking $500,000 in venture capital in February for the nationwide launch of his Blacksburg-based digital file distribution service, the Bitmunk Network. Without the money, he said, he'd go out of business in a matter of months.

NOW: The company survived because owners kicked in more of their own money. Sporny thinks he is about two months away from launching the network, which will be an online marketplace for music, books, television, movies and any other kind of artistic work in digital form. Details are available at www.bitmunk.com.

DENNIS PENROD
Became the first American president of the Dynax America Corp., a Japanese auto parts manufacturer, on March 1.

THEN: He's the fourth president - the others were Japanese - of the U.S. headquarters that Dynax Corp. opened in Botetourt County in 1997. He wanted to let the Roanoke Valley "know that Dynax is here" and he would continue the company's growth and profitability.

NOW: Dynax America is continuing to grow, Penrod said. "We just have been very busy. We have increased our capital investment dramatically" and the company still is planning an equipment upgrade that could cost up to $4 million and building expansion. In between, Penrod managed to take time off in August to go fishing in Canada.

JAKE MAHAFFY
Assistant professor of film at Hollins University

THEN: Mahaffy, 29, used an old hand-crank camera and a shoestring budget to make the experimental feature film "War," which was selected to be shown at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Over the course of the year, the young director also showed it at film festivals in Chicago; Pittsburgh; Rhode Island; West Virginia; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Lisbon, Portugal; Calgary, Alberta; and Edinburgh, Scotland.

NOW: He's going back to Sundance for the 2005 festival this month. His recent short, "Motion Studies #3: Gravity," was one of 82 movies picked from more than 3,800 entries to compete in the festival's short film competition. The movie was shot on the Hollins campus with the help of Hollins English professor Pinckney Benedict and graduate student Greg Rogers.

HABITAT BLITZ BUILD
Habitat for Humanity in the Roanoke Valley held its first blitz build in April in Northwest Roanoke

THEN: Six houses were erected in the course of two 12-hour days on April 17 and 18 thanks to the work of close to 600 volunteers. The homeowners - all single parents - received the keys to their houses in July.

NOW: All the homeowners are faring well and they still love their houses. Two of James Sexton's children were on the honor roll at Westside Elementary School recently; Cassandra Carter is a full-time student at Virginia Western Community College studying to become a nurse; Angela Rush is changing jobs and continues to help Habitat; Linda Macy works at Roanoke Area Ministries and passes out Habitat cards to anyone she thinks would qualify; Carol Francisco has all three of her children under one roof (one was with her ex-husband for a while); and Sandy Draper's parents came from the Philippines to visit her in November and plan to stay until April. All of them have also added finishing touches to their homes, such as landscaping and fencing.