Columnists - All

If you're thinking ahead about how to keep the kids busy this winter, consider what a group of area youngsters did recently. Five students at Young Chefs Academy in O'Fallon won Third Place in the Group Category of the 19th Annual Gingerbread Walk in Belleville. During two baking sessions, Morgan Barnum, Anna Flath, Alex Mueth, Neal Shekar and Tiffani Volkman created -- with direction from instructor Dina Volkman -- "Young Chefs Express," a train made entirely of edible ingredients.-

A new Title Max office has opened at the former Riess Automotive Center at 1718 N. Illinois St. in Swansea.

Q. I have tried to grow pumpkins for the last three years and I have never grown a pumpkin yet. Something happens to the stem somewhere along the line and the vine suddenly wilts or the leaves get some kind of disease. Also are there different kinds of pumpkins such as for use in pies and making jack-o-lanterns? How much space does it require for those mini-pumpkins? Is it the same as regular pumpkins?

Q. We told my brother earlier this summer that we would come to his house for Christmas. He and his wife have been asking us to come for the last two years. It's a long driving trip, though, and we just received a puppy from one of my other brothers for our youngest daughter. What a predicament we have with what to do about taking this puppy with us.

Whover said "Life is a game" never played Monopoly with my sister.

As Thanksgiving week begins, let me pause and say "thank you" for:

Q. My father passed away last month. He was taking a wide assortment of medications, and now we have a cupboard full of them. Are there any groups that accept them? It seems a shame to throw them all away, considering how much they cost and all the people who could benefit.

Despite the tough economy, traditional gold coins have appeared once again this year in the metro-east Salvation Army kettles.