The latest effort to raise money for the 2012 Relay for Life has added humor to daily conversations in Rockmart restaurants and businesses.

Questions include:

“Have you seen it?”

Or, “What is the reason? Is there something we have missed?”

There is a logical answer to these inquiries, according Charity Williams, Relay co-chair.

The purple commode, which for several days had a prominent place of honor in front of Rockmart Florist & Gifts, Elm Street, is part of a countywide contest, “Dollars for Dears.”

The idea is that the “Dear” with the least amount of money will wear a dress for the day on May 11, 2012.

Therefore, Chris Culver is “Flushing out Cancer” with the purple toilet, which could be placed at various selected sites. He also has “Keep Chris Out of a Dress” t-shirts for sale.

Dwight Stout, AVP, First National Bank of Polk County, Duane Alexander, Deputy Sheriff, Polk County Sheriffs Office, Jason Ward, Polk County Commissioner, Riley Evans, Rockmart Florist, and Daniel Ellis, Station 6 Fish Creek Volunteer Fire Dept are also involved in the “Dollars for Dears” competition.

To date, 31 teams have signed up for Relay. Each will be working to help reach the $85,000 goal. A total of $3,400 has been raised.

More volunteers are needed. Visit the Polk County Relay For Life website at www.relayforlife.org/polkga to join or form a team or to make donations online.

Team members and captains include: Floyd HomeCare of Cedartown, Captain Kim Maxwell; For Our Families, Captain Jane Waldrop; Happy Campers - Wright Family, Captain Nancy Wright;

Happy Feet, Zaneta Arnold; High Hopes, Christie Gay; Lorene’s Angels, Lorene Parker; Meggitt, Aneita Clark; Merle Norman Rockmart, Debbie Forsyth;

Mitchell Chiropractic, Melinda Campbell; North-side Elementary School, Christy Litesey; Polk Medical Center, Lindsay Smith;

Redmond Blue Crew, Dondra Crawford, Rock-mart Church, Donna Copeland; Rockmart Dance Academy, Christina Massey; Rockmart High School, Matthew Johnson;

Split Ends, Jodi Dover; Team Compassion, Tara Payne; The Chop Shop, Trish Parish; Westside Elementary School, Jes-sica Baines; Youngs Grove Elementary School, Heather Ball.

The 2012 Relay for Life will be held on Friday, May 11, at the Nathan Dean Sports Complex in Rockmart.

Teams will decorate sites according to this year’s theme, “Camping For A Cure.”

A special celebratory dinner will be held at 5 p.m. in the Rockmart First Baptist Church prior to Relay activities.

Following the dinner, all Survivors will join in a police / fire department escorted parade to the sports complex.

There, they will lead off the 2012 Relay For Life by taking the first lap around the track at 7 p.m.

The next lap will be in honor of all Caretakers, followed by the Teams’ Parade lap.

Thereafter, walking will begin to send the message that cancer can take a hike.

“At Relay For Life we celebrate loved ones who have won their battle against cancer, remember those who are no longer with us, and fight back against this disease that touches so many,” Williams said.