BY JOHN KRAHNERT III

Staff Writer

A West Pine Middle School teacher smooched a goat Friday for a good cause.

Becky Oldham, a seventh-grade math teacher, was the big "winner" of a fundraising effort that forced her to plant a big wet one on "Twiggy," a goat owned by Michael Dunn.

Twenty teachers volunteered to put their names on jars, which students could fill up with money. The teacher with the most money in his or her jar at the end had the distinct honor of kissing the goat.

"We decided this would be an easy fundraiser to do," said Tiffany Wynn, a seventh-grade science teacher and adviser to the school's student government organization.

The student government is raising money for an outdoor picnic area. The contest raised $1,366.

Oldham was a good sport about all of it. Romantic music played, and she put on a little show for the kids to make it more interesting.

She wore a bathrobe and feather boas and put on makeup as she walked up the stage.

The students hooted and hollered throughout the event.

The goat, on the other hand, didn't seem that into Oldham.

The fundraiser took place at the end of a schoolwide pep rally for winter sports. The entire school was packed into its gymnasium.

Dunn's goats have been used in the past for other amorous fundraisers.

Student government president Alex Snyder, an eighth grader, organized the event.

Contact John Krahnert III at (910) 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com.