One of the worst-for-my-waistline events is Wednesday when The News and Sentinel again holds the finals in its annual Cookbook contest.
More than 400 recipes were submitted by nearly 50 entrants for the annual edition that will appear in The News and Sentinel and Marietta A.M. the Sunday before Thanksgiving, which is a change from last year and returns it to its traditional publication day.
Judges narrowed that number of recipes down to the finalists in each of the categories - appetizers, soups, salads, breads, main dishes, side dishes and desserts - for the cook-off on Wednesday.
Oddly enough, there never is a lack of newspaper staffers volunteering to take part in the tasting party.
While the judges will be doing the final selections, I'll be doing dishes (as usual), which is my way of earning my place at sampling the goodies. Looking at the lists of recipes being judged for first place in each category and the overall grand prize of a $500 gift card from Foodland, I'm going to have a great deal of trouble keeping my blood glucose under control and my waistline from expanding.
***
The News and Sentinel for the second year is saluting our nation's veterans with an Honoring Our Veterans section to be published on Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
We are asking readers to send us by Nov. 1 a photo of the veteran and information about the veterans and their service so we can include it in the special section.
We know this area has a proud history of military service and we want to include in the section as many veterans from all time periods of our nation's history.
Send the photograph, information on the veteran, a contact person's name and telephone number by Nov. 1 to Honoring Our Veterans, Parkersburg News and Sentinel, 519 Juliana St., Parkersburg, WV, 26101, or place it on the virtual newsroom at www.newsandsentienl.com or send via email to editorial@newsandsentinel with Honoring Our Veterans in the subject line.
***
For all of our coupon-clipping, money-saving readers, The News and Sentinel will be sponsoring an Extreme Coupon Class with nationally acclaimed couponing expert Andria Alexander of Simply Frugal Living, as seen on Pittsburgh Today Live.
The one-time event will be at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 in the Parkersburg South High School Auditorium.
The high-energy informative class will include what kind of a shopper are you, cutting grocery costs with coupons, all the facts on coupons, motivation and time factors, methods of coupon organizing, stores and polices, and resources to help you succeed.
Light refreshments, goody bags and door prizes will be given. Tickets for the event are $10 in advance from The News and Sentinel office or $12 at the door.
***
The General Election is fast approaching, with early voting in West Virginia starting Wednesday.
Obviously, the election is of vital importance to our nation, state and local area, with candidates and issues vying for our support. But before we cast our ballot, we need to be as informed as possible about the candidates and the issues, which is why The News and Sentinel has articles on the local races and issues in today's edition.
But, as the newspaper has in past years, The News and Sentinel again is partnering with the League of Women Voters of Wood County to present a question-and-answer series of stories, written in the candidates' own words, in our Tuesday edition.
The candidate responses have not be edited and will be published unfiltered, providing their views as they have been submitted.
The League does a vital service in formulating the questions and gathering the candidates' answers and then formatting it for use in the newspaper on the day before early voting begins.
Through the years, the newspaper has enjoyed a great working relationship with the nonpartisan League of Women Voters, and we hope you take the time to read the results of the League's effort to keep voters informed.
***
While The News and Sentinel intends to publish as many politically related letters to the editor as we can between now and the Sunday before the election, writers need to remember all letters must contain the name, address and telephone number of the writer for verification purposes, letters longer than 400 words will not be published, form letters will not be published, multiple signature letters will not be published and text attachments will not be published.
All letters pertaining to the November election must be RECEIVED by The News and Sentinel by Wednesday, Oct. 24. Letters received after that date will not be published.
Contact Jim Smith at jsmith@newsandsentinel.com
