GIVING THANKS
Who are you most thankful for?
As the holiday season nears, we want to give special thanks for special people. Our "Giving Thanks" online gallery will celebrate people who you are most thankful for. Tell us how that special person has made a difference in your life and submit that with a photo of the person by clicking here. Keep stories to 100 words or less.


COFFEE MUGS
Love your mug? Tells us why
Coffee drinkers have two passions: their coffee and the mug from which they drink it. Share a photo of your favorite mug and tells us the story behind it by clicking here. Please include your full name and town of residence, and brief description of why you love your mug and how you got it. We will publish them in our online gallery.

• Photos: Favorite coffee mugs

• Five-goal second period fuels Hawks' rout of Flames
• Silent Bears ready to put up
• 3 strikes and you're out: Time to get it right at ND
• Sabres storm past Chargers
• Larkin humbled in opening game under Lott

Classroom's furry friend gets around
Flyer, the classroom mascot of Miss Brianne Ebervein's fifth-graders at Liberty Elementary School in Carpentersville, has traveled to the Caribbean and to see the Cubs. Last week, he shadowed Community Unit School District 300 Superintendent Kenneth Arndt for a day.



• Is your car prepared for winter?
• Social networks can help academics: study
• ASTRO-GRAPH
• Pet pictures for holiday can be a snap
• Gina bringing new band to Ballydoyle
• Streamwood clown joins 'the greatest show'

Rain may put pumpkin pie in peril, Nestle says
The holidays may not be so sweet this year. Nestle — which sells nearly all the canned pumpkin in the U.S. — says poor weather hurt its harvest, creating a potential shortage of its Libby's pumpkin pie products through the holidays.



• State of Hampshire: The good, the bad & the ugly
• Best day to buy a car? Black Friday
• Make a holiday job a permanent one
• Injured uninsured more likely to die in ER
• Bison Gear's training program success featured on show

Holiday happenings
It's a wonderful time to be in Elgin. On Dec. 5, the Hemmens Cultural Center will kick off the holiday season with the family-friendly show, "It's a Wonderful Life: Live From WVL Radio Theatre." It will be performed on stage at The Hemmens at 3 and 7 p.m.



• Local kids, touring actors get a thrill from 'Wizard'
• Five things to do
• 'Nutcracker' dancers get a taste of touring
• NCC enters the land of 'Seussical'
• Culture Calendar
• Night Life
• Furniture finds in Lockport
• Art and museum calendar
• Family Calendar