Be careful out there on Halloween
Halloween is here!
Time to go crazy with all of the wonderful costumes - I did a little research and it appears Balloon Boy, the Gosselins, Bernie Madoff, Michael Jackson and characters from "Where the Wild Things Are," will be among the top sellers this time around.
Please be mindful of certain people who want to use Halloween as an opportunity to hurt others - if you see any funny stuff going on, please ring your local police department.
And parents, please be sure to monitor your kids.
In Algonquin and Pingree Grove, trick or treating hours last from 3 to 7 p.m. on Halloween.
Kids should travel in groups or go with a parent, wear something that lights up, visit well-lit houses, always go to the front door and don't approach strange vehicles for any reason.
Parents, please watch out for traffic, inspect candy before your child eats it and if you can't join your child, make sure you know his or her trick-or-treating route.
Please turn on your porch light, if you're handing out treats.
In Lake in the Hills, the police department will be holding its sixth annual safe trick-or-treat night for kids.
From 3 to 6 p.m. on Halloween, there's a miniature town located within the Safety Educational Center at 1109 Crystal Lake Road.
Kids should go in through the fenced area and say hi to the friendly monsters and other creatures who will be handing out treats at each of the little buildings.
For more information, call the police department at (847) 658-5676.
In the air tonight: Another cool Halloween option for kids involves Pump it Up in Crystal Lake, which is holding its second annual scary jump nights.
Kids will get to bounce around and play in fully decorated inflatables that include flying ghosts, bats, smoky bubbles and witches. As a parting gift, each jumper will receive a goody bag, a glow-in-the-dark necklace and a jump reward.
The final session is Friday from 7 to 8 p.m.
Tickets are $9 a child with advanced purchases online and $10 at the door - there is no charge for parents.
Pump it Up is located at 1085 Pingree Road.
For more information, visit www.scaryjump.com.
Haunting Halloween houses: The results are in for Lake in the Hills' Halloween House contest, in which judges selected the cheeriest and scariest houses in the village - 16 houses were entered into the contest.
The winner of the scariest house was the Wrolson family, 340 Annandale Drive.
Among other details, they've got a skeleton playing an accordion and a bloody corpse that appears to be rotting in a coffin. Nice!
Judges decided that the cheeriest house belongs to the Gizel family at 220 Cool Stone Bend.
They've got a lovely fall motif, featuring hay, a scarecrow and pumpkins.
The winners will receive gift certificates to a local eatery.
If you'd like to see these designs up close, but without leaving the comfort of your home, visit www.lith.org.
Happy Halloween, everyone. Be careful out there.
• Lenore Adkins covers Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Pingree Grove and McHenry County College. You can reach her by sending an e-mail to ladkins@dailyherald.com or by ringing her at (847) 608-2725.