News About Town:  Monday, the Matthews Police and Matthews Fire Department hosted their annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive at Stumptown Park. Nearly forty units of blood were donated during the six-hour event. Two bloodmobiles were onsite throughout the day; donors were given a special donor’s tee shirt and a VeloPop. The friendly competition ended with, according to social media, the Police ahead, taking home the title belt.

News Around Town: There’s one person in Matthews who likes Halloween more than Norah, and that’s Bob. (Everybody else take a number and get in line.) Need a little escape from the daily grind? Follow along with Bob’s spooky antics with the Instagram tag #bobshalloweenland. Make sure you follow Vincent Van Bones, too. Vincent is Matthews only Insta-famous skeleton with a penchant for pumpkin spice. Dem bones, dem bones, dem caffeinated bones.

One Good Thing: If you love to decorate gourds, this is your season to shine. Find a pumpkin and make it pretty, then take it to the Parks & Recreation Event Office (196-B South Trade Street, behind the Free Clinic in Stumptown Park) and enter the 2nd annual Halloween Pumpkin Contest. At this point we usually say something like, “Do your best, but don’t worry, it’s the effort that counts…” except it’s Halloween, and scary things like judgement happen. Just your pumpkin will be judged, though, and if you do a great job and win, you’ll get a gift card to a local Matthews business! Pumpkin drop-off times are October 25th from 9 am-6 pm, or October 26th from 10 am-4 pm. Judging will take place Saturday October 26th when the public will have the opportunity to vote at the Not-So-Spooky Halloween event.

Don’t Forget: Saturday, November 2, join the Matthews Appearance and Tree Advisory Committee at Squirrel Lake Park from 8-noon to pull invasive weeds and give the native flora a fighting chance. The event is open to all ages and is an excellent activity for families, schools, scout troops, and anybody else who likes the outdoors! Bring some gloves, a bottle of water (refills available at the park water fountain), and any tools you want to use. Questions? Contact Debbie at fostdebbie@gmail.com.

Bonus Bite: We’ve got two pairs of tickets to the Haunted Trail! Want to win? Comment on our Facebook post with your favorite Halloween costume idea. Bonus points if you include pics.