Lincoln Tribune

---

• North Brook Community Center Receives Funds
• Halloween
• UPDATE 2 — Mortar shells hit Yemeni Air Force Base, destroying two fighter jets
• Pennsylvania Man Gets Into Halloween in a Big Way
• UPDATE 1 — Reports: Large explosion, fire at Sana’a International Airport

North Brook Community Center Receives Funds Posted: 31 Oct 2011 02:15 AM PDT Lucille Johnson, Treasurer, and Rev. Dale Pederson, Assistant Treasurer of the West Lincoln Community Association present a contribution to Lincoln County Parks and Recreation Director, Erma Deen Hoyle. STAFF REPORTS | LINCOLN TRIBUNE VALE, NC – The West Lincoln Community Association recently made a generous contribution to support the North Brook Community Center in Vale. This recently renovated building is available to rent for showers, family reunions, birthday parties, receptions, and other functions. The building is also used by community groups such as: 4-H club, Girl and Boy Scout Troops, and political organizations. The facility includes a separate kitchen including an oven, refrigerator and sink for meal preparation. Groups of up to 60 people can be comfortably seated. There is a rental fee of $50 along with a $50 refundable key deposit.  Reservations for the use of the building are handled through the Recreation Department at (704) 748-1518.

Halloween Posted: 31 Oct 2011 01:58 AM PDT Profile America — Monday, October 31st. Beware — it’s Halloween, or more properly, all Hallow’s Eve, the day before the feast of all saints. According to Celtic tradition, it’s a time when witches, ghosts and other unsavory characters walk the earth for a day. For years, Halloween was eagerly awaited by youngsters, who would dress up in whatever was handy and make the rounds of the neighborhood, begging for candy with the empty threat “trick or treat!” Now, more formal parties are being held and grown-ups are just as apt to wear a costume as children. Fads come and go, the but the jack-o’-lantern, made from a real pumpkin, remains popular. U.S. farmers grow more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins a year. Illinois is by far the leading producer, followed by California, New York and Ohio. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau online at <www.census.gov>. Sources: Chase’s Calendar of Events 2011, p. 538 U.S. Census Bureau, Facts for Features, CB11-FF.20 http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/cb11-ff20.html

UPDATE 2 — Mortar shells hit Yemeni Air Force Base, destroying two fighter jets Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:34 PM PDT SANA'A (BNO NEWS) -- A series of large explosions hit an Air Force base in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a on late Sunday evening, the government said, destroying two aircraft and shutting down the nearby civilian airport. The Defense Ministry said several mortar shells had hit the al-Daylami Air Force base which shares its runway with Sana'a International Airport. The explosions destroyed at least two fighter jets, a small ammunition storage and a fire could be seen on the runway. There were no immediate reports of casualties from the attack, which was apparently launched by opposition tribesmen, but the fires forced authorities to shut down the civilian airport until further notice. Incoming flights were diverted to an airport in the seaport city of Aden. Yemen is one of a handful of countries across North Africa and the Middle East where large numbers of civilians have risen up this year to call for greater democracy and freedoms. But violence in the country has continued to escalate after President Saleh threatened with civil war after refusing, for a third time, to sign the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative for power transition on May 22. The uprising against President Saleh has claimed at least 1,500 lives since February. (Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Pennsylvania Man Gets Into Halloween in a Big Way Posted: 30 Oct 2011 06:01 PM PDT Once a year, on the holiday known as "Halloween", American parents tell their kids it's okay to take candy from strangers; as they go from door to door in costume in the traditional practice called "Trick or Treat."  And once a year, one big guy, who is a kid at heart, goes in for another Halloween tradition, on  a scale that is hard to believe. .   American kids play dress-up for candy once each year.  But Joel Keefer serves up his own Halloween tradition.   "Buying giant pumpkins, putting them on our porch, carving them and lighting them up with as much light as we can fit inside for Halloween for the kids," he said. He says kids of all ages tell him they remember Halloween pumpkins at the Keefer house.  And it always draws a crowd.  "My neighbors want us to subsidize their candy purchases because we get so many kids to see the pumpkin that they also go to their houses," he said. For nearly 2 decades, Keefer has carved giant pumpkins for neighborhood kids.  His first pumpkin weighed more than 200 kilograms (450lbs).  This year's gourd is more than three times as big, tipping the scales at 637.3 kilograms (1,405 lb). "I look for the one that has the prettiest face; that gives me the biggest canvas to paint something on," he said. Keefer loves this time of year, but leaves the growing to the experts. "I don't have the time or the commitment to do that.  That's done by very dedicated farmers and pumpkin growers in Canfield, Ohio," he said. So he drives nearly 240 kilometers (150 miles) to Ohio and back, and then it takes 7 guys, a dump truck AND a forklift to get the monstrosity on his porch.  All of this comes at considerable cost. "When you're doing stuff for charity or for the fun of it… money doesn't matter.  If you thought with your wallet, some things wouldn't be possible.  If you're going to try to stay on a confined budget, you would never end up with a pumpkin like this… because they're not cheap," he said. But it's more than just fun for the neighborhood.  It's also about giving back.  Keefer plans on asking adults who pose for photos to make donations this year -- for a charity that provides warm coats for children and the homeless. "And my company, Keelan Brothers Tree Services, is going to match whatever we collect," he said. It takes a team of carvers and gutters, but the whole community jumps in, literally. "It's fun.  It's like being a little kid again, just getting in the pumpkin and being all slimed-up.  It's great," said neighbor Dana Riggs. "The incredible part is: we get people from all over the city that come back every year from 30, 40, 50 miles away to see what we have this year," said Keefer. And what they have this year is, great fun and a good cause for the community.   A Halloween tradition that has become larger than the holiday itself because of a big man with a big heart, and a big pumpkin.

UPDATE 1 — Reports: Large explosion, fire at Sana’a International Airport Posted: 30 Oct 2011 11:33 AM PDT SANA'A (BNO NEWS) -- A large explosion rocked the international airport in the Yemeni capital of Sana'a on late Sunday evening, Al Jazeera and local media reported. A large fire could be seen on the runway. The Al-Masdar newspaper cited an airline source as saying that the cause of the incident was a shell which landed on the runway, forcing incoming flights to be diverted to an airport in the seaport city of Aden. Other details were not immediately available. Sana'a International Airport shares its runway with a large military base. (Copyright 2011 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

You are subscribed to email updates from The Lincoln Tribune To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610