Hey y’all! I’m so excited for Halloween this weekend! And to make the spookiest of days even spookier, there is a full moon on Halloween!

It’s not our Halloween issue without the announcement of the winners of our Halloween contest!

Congratulations to the following winners of our Howling Halloween Contest!
– Sierra Walter
– Karlee Brouse
– Aria Fleichmann
– Patrick Metzger
– Bryson Weigel
– Raelyn Rexford
– Meela Brewer
– Reese Werner
– Olivia Kaelin
– Sarah Hodrick

Your prizes can be picked up in our office at 280 Kane St. South Williamsport, Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

In case you are curious — the final total was 128 Halloween Friends and Fiends. There were 65 in the October 14th edition and 63 in the October 21st edition.

We want to offer our sincerest thanks to everyone who entered! Because of all of your counting, we will be donating $500 to the SPCA! Seriously, y’all are amazing! I received a ton of entries in this year’s contest! And as always, thank you to Jimmy for always giving a little extra in these contests! The puppers and kitties appreciate it!

One Last Bit of Halloween

There will be people out celebrating Halloween this weekend so please be careful. Between Uber and Lyft there is no reason not to have a safe ride home, so please be careful out there!

Don’t forget to be extra cautious if you are out and about Saturday. Kids get excited and stop paying attention, so you need to be their eyes and ears.

Everyone wants their Halloween festivities to be fun, but it is important that trick-or-treaters and their chaperones prioritize safety as well.

The child welfare organization Safe Kids says that twice as many child pedestrians are killed while walking on Halloween compared to other days of the year. In addition, the National Safety Council states that darting out or running into the road accounts for about 70 percent of pedestrian deaths or injuries among children between the ages of five and nine and about 47 percent of incidents for kids between the ages of 10 and 14.

Halloween is one of the most anticipated times of the year for children, but there are some scary statistics on child safety. Here are some tips to keep your kids safe.
– Decorate costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers, and if possible, choose light colors.
– Choose face paint and makeup instead of masks, which can obstruct a child’s vision.
– Have kids carry glow sticks or flashlights to see and be seen by drivers.
– Always walk on sidewalks or paths.
– Teach children to make eye contact with drivers before crossing the street.
– Make sure children only cross the street at corners and look left, right, left before crossing.
– Put electronic devices down and keep heads up and walk, don’t run across the street. This goes for adults as well.
– Children under 12 should trick or treat with an adult.

Also, don’t forget that the Crosscutters are having a drive-thru trick or treat on Halloween from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. They will have over 20 stops! Be sure to go by, see Boomer and Rashan and do some trick or treating without having to leave the car!

Final Thoughts

I’m not much for politics in my column, but — whew! — we have quite the election on the horizon. It just may prove to be one of the most interesting, and possibly volatile, elections most of us have ever seen. All that I want to say about it, is go vote. Make your voice heard. This year, more than ever, every vote counts. So, please go vote. Remember that any mail in ballots must be postmarked by Election Day. Jimmy is covering more details on his page, and please see the ad on page XX for some advice and tips from Lycoming County Voter Services. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m. Anyone in line at 8 p.m. will still be able to vote.