web1_TTL122615MoheganSun3.jpg

PA high court strikes down casino payments to host communities

web1_drmario.jpg

Northeastern Pennsylvania patients sought for Alzheimer’s study

<p>&#8220;Make sure all the dirt is off the pumpkin,&#8221; Gina Malsky said, starting with the most basic tips for her audience of 2- to 4-year-olds at Work of Art Preschool in Exeter.</p><p>She had a hefty plump pumpkin on hand, suitable for the traditional carving that was planned, and her second tip was &#8220;Put something underneath it, something you&#8217;ll be able to fold up and carry away.&#8221;</p><p>That piece of plastic or newspaper would be used to carry away the insides of the pumpkin, after they&#8217;re scooped out, perhaps with a spoon.</p><p>The actual carving would be done with a knife, visiting art instructor Kelly Gibbons said, and that should be left to a grown-up.</p><p>At 25, visiting artist April Cross from the Verve Vertu Studio in the Back Mountain, certainly qualified as a grown-up.</p><p>She had designed a cat face, with eyes and mouth, nose, ears and narrow whiskers &#8212; sketching it in advance on a piece of paper, which she taped to the pumpkin to use as a stencil.</p><p>For larger features such as the big round eyes, the artist used a big knife. For more delicate features, such as the whiskers, she used a smaller one.</p><p>Every step of the way was a teaching moment for the children, as they identified shapes and speculated about what had been inside the pumpkin &#8212; seeds.</p><p>They&#8217;ll be good for roasting and eating, Malsky said, with a little butter and salt.</p><p>And perhaps, she added, some of the raw seeds will be planted outside, to see what might grow.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Guest art instructor Kelly Gibbons, left, shows the children the pumpkin seeds clinging to the inside of the pumpkin lid just before guest artist April Cross demonstrates the carving of a pumpkin at Work of Art Preschool in Exeter. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Guest art instructor Kelly Gibbons, left, shows the children the pumpkin seeds clinging to the inside of the pumpkin lid just before guest artist April Cross demonstrates the carving of a pumpkin at Work of Art Preschool in Exeter. </caption0><photoCredit0>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Oh, the anticipation! Alice Coleman, 4, and other students cover their eyes, waiting for their teachers to say it&#8217;s OK to look at the finished product &#8212; a jack-o&#8217;-lantern with a light inside. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Oh, the anticipation! Alice Coleman, 4, and other students cover their eyes, waiting for their teachers to say it&#8217;s OK to look at the finished product &#8212; a jack-o&#8217;-lantern with a light inside. </caption1><photoCredit1>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Students at Work of Art Preschool, in Exeter, watch with rapt attention as a guest artist carves a pumpkin. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Students at Work of Art Preschool, in Exeter, watch with rapt attention as a guest artist carves a pumpkin. </caption2><photoCredit2>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving5.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Guest artist April Cross, from the Verve Vertu Studio in the Back Mountain, tapes to the pumpkin a sketch of a cat face that she designed. Following that design, she carved a pumpkin for the children at Work of Art Preschool in Exeter. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving5.jpg</photo3><caption3>Guest artist April Cross, from the Verve Vertu Studio in the Back Mountain, tapes to the pumpkin a sketch of a cat face that she designed. Following that design, she carved a pumpkin for the children at Work of Art Preschool in Exeter. </caption3><photoCredit3>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Students from the Work of Art preschool in Exeter watch guest artists Kelly Gibbons and April Cross carve out a pumpkin, in time for Halloween. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL100216carving4.jpg</photo4><caption4>Students from the Work of Art preschool in Exeter watch guest artists Kelly Gibbons and April Cross carve out a pumpkin, in time for Halloween. </caption4><photoCredit4>Sean McKeag | Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p><strong>By Mary Therese Biebel</strong></p><p>mbiebel@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Preschoolers watch a jack-o’-lantern take form