BODE—The fourth annual pumpkin carving event took place on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Twin Rivers Elementary. Students and staff, along with their families, gathered together to turn pumpkins into masterpieces. The participants enjoyed a meal while carving and listening to seasonal Halloween music. A special thank you goes to Ms. Robinson for the delicious pumpkin dessert. This event was possible due to many volunteers. The students picked the pumpkins from the Twin Rivers pumpkin patch.

KOSSUTH COUNTY—Lots of Halloween events are planned in the Kossuth County area beginning on Saturday, Oct. 29. There may be other events planned but here is a list of area activities compiled by the Kossuth County Advance.

By Natalie Kleier

AHS Journalism

ALGONA—On Thursday, October 13, Thomas Valles spoke at the Ed & Betty Wilcox Performing Arts Center. Raised in McFarland, Calif., Valles was the number one runner for McFarland High School’s 1987 cross-country California Interscholastic Federation State Championship-winning team.

Picture left to right: Rebecca Rolling, Leona Welter, Denise Group (Corwith Librarian), Diana Pearson, Sharon Gourley, Diane Nall, Paula Chambers and Cecelia Mullins. Submitted photo

September third grade heroes are from left: Mara Rice, Coragan Brandt, Trake Zinnel, Ryan Simpson and Blaine Rapstine.

October third grade heroes are from left: Katie Ennen, Jocelyn Moser, Kori Hilsabeck, Haley Wichtendahl-Gaillard, Elijah Larsen and Paizlee Essary.

September fourth grade heroes from left: Johnathan Heginger, Grace Miller, Charlotte Reynolds, Emery Weichert and Rayden Moeller.

BURT—The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office is honored to announce Jordan Jahnke of Burt as the October 1440 Citizen of the Month. Jahnke is employed by the City of Burt and has served as fire chief for the Burt Fire Department for the past five years. He has played a key role in securing new equipment and training opportunities for the department.

SACRAMENTO, CALIF—Blue Diamond Growers President and CEO Mark Jansen of Loomis, Calif., will step down from the role he has held with the agricultural cooperative and global consumer packaged goods leader since September 2010.

Yvonne Awe (left) and her daughter-in-law, Michelle Coleman, both of Fenton, had booths at the Senior Harvest Vendor and Craft Show at the Algona Senior Center on Saturday, October 22. Awe’s booth featured her sola wood flower arrangements. Coleman’s booth featured her resin creations. Kim Wegener photo

Coffee and Chat at the Fenton Library is a great place to visit with your neighbors and then check out some books to snuggle up with at home. Lori Peterson, library director, encourages anyone to join the chats on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9 to 10 a.m. Submitted photo

This month's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) session at the Fenton Library for homeschool students combined a Halloween theme with the physics of bridge building. They watched a video about spiders and the incredible tensile strength of their webs and then created their own “spiderweb” decks that would support as much weight as possible.

Staff at Algona Manor created this scarecrow at the corner of State and Jones streets in Algona. This is the last scarecrow to be featured this year in the Kossuth County Advance. The annual October scarecrow event is sponsored by the Algona Area Chamber of Commerce. Kim Wegener photo

By Kim Wegener

Features Writer

ALGONA— Bishop Garrigan High School Drama Department will present the musical The Wizard of Oz on Friday, November 4 and Saturday, November 5 at 7 p.m. in the Friedmann Auditorium at BGHS. There is no reserved seating. There will be bleachers and floor seats available. Tickets can be purchased at the door.

ALGONA—Candidates were invited to a forum at the Tietz Entrepreneurial Center at Iowa Lakes Community College on Tuesday, Oct. 11 by the Algona AAUW Chapter to answer questions. AAUW member Julie Murphy acted as moderator.

Candidates present were District 3 Supervisor Donnie Loss (D) and Joshua Waechter, (R). For District 1 Supervisor Galen Casey (D) and Carter Nath (R). For State Representative District 9 Joe Tillman (D) and District 10 John Wills (R).

From Algona High School, Lainey Venteicher, daughter of Brett and Rachel Venteicher. Pictured from left are: Rachel, Lainey, Noel McLaughlin  (high school guidance counselor) and John Kern. Submitted photos

From Algona Middle School, Alejandro Gonzalez Gutierrez, son of Ivian Gonzalez Gutierrez. Pictured from left: Chris Doerning (8th grade Social Studies teacher), Nelsida Gutierrez (grandmother), Alejandro and John Kern (Kiwanis President).

Thursday, Oct 27

Ham balls, carrots, cauliflower, fruit, dessert

11 a.m. – Exercise

12 p.m. – Kiwanis

1 p.m. – Cribbage

Friday,  Oct 28

Baked chicken parmesan with spaghetti, green beans, fruit, breadstick

10 a.m. – Bingo

Monday,  Oct 31

Bones and eyeball soup, bugs

on a stick, spider eggs, worms in dirt

10 a.m. – Bingo

4-5:30 Trick or treat for the kids