European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 2, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 stars and stripes monday april 2 2007 theres not much to do in the Winter there he up North they put Money on when the ice will break by John Curran the associated press West Danville it at Joes Pond they put a 65pound cinder Block on the ice and tie it to an old fashioned alarm clock on the deck of Homer Pitts cot Tage 200 feet away when the Block Falls through the string tugs on the clock and stops it a Dollar buys you a Chance to guess the exact Date and time it happens but you will have plenty of Competition More than 10000 entries Are expected this year for a potential Jackpot of perhaps 55000 from Scho Odic Lake Maine to Nenana Alaska and some Chilly Points in Between it is ice out season with folks wagering on when Frozen Ponds lakes and Riv ers will melt born of Cabin fever the guess ing games Are cherished rites of Spring that attract contestants far from the Frozen shores in part be cause of the Advent of the web after a Long cold Winter where youve had quite a few feet of Snow on the ground you get to the Point where its enough you want to look Forward to Spring said Anne Swenson publisher of the Ely Minn Echo newspaper which runs a free contest on Shagawat Lake ifs silly you need some silliness at this time of year some places track ice out dates As a matter of local interest with no contest or guessing involved others hold betting pools in which official observers deter mine when the water is officially ice free the contests that end with snowmobiles or other objects taking a plunge generate the most interest the Granddaddy of them All is the Nenana ice classic held in Alaska people pay to guess when a wooden tripod on the ice covered Tanana River will take the plunge last year the 5270500 Jackpot was split by eight people who correctly predicted May 2 at pm Money int always the lure in the Ely Minn ice out Early win ners got a package of polish Sau Sage now they compete for a s100 gift certificate to a resort hotel artist orders pouring in for chocolate Jesus the associated press new anatomically Correct Choc Olate sculpture of Jesus Christ infuriated catholics and even led to threats but the artist says of fers to buy or exhibit the piece have been pour ing in artist Cosimo Cavallaro said saturday that be cause of some people who Are fanatics and the threats he received he had stored the sculpture in a refrigerated truck in an undisclosed Loca Tion a Manhattan gallery on Friday called off a planned exhibit of the 6foot sculpture called my Sweet lord amid a deluge of com plaints from catholics including Cardinal Edward Egan Many were outraged that the gallery planned to display the sculpture during holy week the exhibit was to have run from monday through easter sunday inside manhattans Roger Smith hotel a 65pound cinder Block sits on the Frozen surface of the water of Joes Pond in West Danville it on thursday when it Falls through the ice a rope pulls the plug on a clock stopping it a donation gets you a Chance to guess the Date and time when it happens As Spectator sports go if s not exactly riveting but in 1988 the first year the contest was held 421 tickets were sold last year 8386 tickets were sold to people in 41 states and two foreign coun tries the ice went out april 16 at pm the earliest Ever the contest does not violate Vermont Laws against gambling because it is run by a nonprofit Community organization half the proceeds go to the Winner the other half go toward the local fourth of july fireworks show one year a baby who was yet to be born won his parents entered the contest on his behalf and correctly picked the Date and time of the ice out my Sweet lord a chocolate statue by artist Cosimo Cavallaro of a naked Jesus hangs at Ranieri sculpture casting studio thursday in new York Texas storms Black out Power for thousands the associated press Dallas thunderstorms hammered parts of Texas Satur Day blacking out thousands of customers and spinning out Torna does the same group of storms sent a twister through a Small town West of Waco late Friday and caused flooding that forced some 40 people from their Homes the violent weather had largely eased by saturday afternoon and the bulk of the storms had moved into Louisiana and Arkansas one Tornado hit Lavaca county Between Houston and san Anto Nio destroying a Mobile Home and sending its four residents to a Hospital said sheriffs dispatcher Gina Dvorka a Hospital spokes woman said the residents were in stable condition other Mobile Homes and outbuildings in the area were damaged Dvorka said about 66000 Centerpoint Energy customers lost Power in the Houston area Texas new Mexico Power an electricity distributor for several retailers reported scattered outages throughout the Gulf coast Region with the biggest briefly affecting 18000 customers in Alvin Southeast of Houston late Friday tornadoes hit two communities near Waco and in la Vaca county and straight line wind or a Tornado Tore through a residential area of Wylie  Trust since extensive v subscription tour he Menown newspaper a week at this Price you cant afford not to take advantage of having your Hometown newspaper stripes delivers anywhere in Europe to residents living in base housing German Italy Turkey Spain Benelux and United kingdom and on the where available per week no additional ill Hafl charges apply us iiv6l 6u cosign up Sendan email to toll free numbers 08001011270 Germany 0800780265 08000858827 us Belgium f Netherlands Best copy