Here’s what some prominent Inland Northwest residents give to trick-or-treaters
For many people, Halloween candy is personal.
You buy your favorite – or you buy your least favorite, so you aren’t tempted to eat it.
You give away full-size bars to delight and surprise the kids. Or you go the candy alternative route, for philosophical reasons.
Here’s what a sampling of local notables plan to have on hand for trick-or-treaters tonight:
Sam Adams, KHQ and SWX sportscaster
I treat others like I’d like to be treated: Kit Kats, 3 Musketeers and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are the cornerstone of a happy and balanced Halloween. Go elsewhere for tooth brushes, candy corn and raisins.
David Condon, mayor of Spokane
Well, we were going to give out Snickers and Milky Ways but we already ate all of those. Then I thought in tribute to my dad, a dentist, I would hand out apples and toothbrushes, but we don’t want to be “that house” in the neighborhood. So it looks like it’s going to be organic gummy bears from Costco.
Doug Clark, The Spokesman-Review columnist
We’re handing out Clark bars. I bought 100 juniors and a full box of regular-size bars for the cute and sincere little kids. The Clark bar, like me, is an unsung treasure. It’s been made ever since 1917, which, by the way, is also about the time of the flu epidemic that killed half the population. Trust me. Once you try a Clark bar, you’ll never eat a Butterfinger again.
Dr. Kim Thorburn, former health officer, Spokane Regional Health District
She’d prefer to pass out a toothbrush and toothpaste, and she and her husband used to give trick-or-treaters apples. But they stopped that practice several years ago. “I’ve never found a happy trick-or-treater when I handed an apple to them,” she said. So they pass out candy now. “There are times when I don’t have to be a public health practitioner,” she said. “Halloween is one of them.”
Jay Inslee, governor of Washington
Inslee and his wife, Trudi, will be dressed as Ghostbusters while handing out Washington chocolates and apples at the governor’s mansion on the Capitol Campus. State business organizations, not taxpayers, pay for the treats and the decorations.
Dan Gookin, Coeur d’Alene city councilman
(He gives out full-size Snickers bars). I like hearing the kids say, ‘Look, Mom, it’s a big candy bar!’ when they’re walking away. I live on a street that doesn’t get a lot of trick-or-treaters. So, if the kids make the effort, I think they should be rewarded.
Jess Walter, author
Veal Piccata and Junk Bonds
Dave Black, CEO, NAI Black
When I am home for Halloween, I usually buy the assorted bag of candy bars and hand those out. I have beer for the adults. Ha Ha.
Sharma Shields, author
I’m the obnoxious mom who avoids too much sugar, so it’s popcorn and spider erasers for “treats” at my house.
Shelley Redinger, superintendent, Spokane Public Schools
For younger children, Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks in Berry Patch flavor. Older children will get traditional treats, like mini Snickers, Milky Ways, Butterfingers, etc.
Tommy Lloyd, assistant coach, Gonzaga men’s basketball
Almond Joy, Hot Tamales
Kirk Schulz, president of Washington State University
For their first Halloween in Pullman, Schulz and his wife, Noel Schulz, will hand out a standard assortment of chocolate candies at the president’s mansion. Their office staff will get a more personalized treat: chocolate-covered cherry mice, with Hershey’s Kisses for heads and almond slivers for ears. Noel Schulz said she’s made them every holiday season for the past 10 years.
Travis Dickinson, executive chef at Clover
He usually picks up some assorted candies to hand out. Since the neighbors are mostly students at Gonzaga University, “we really don’t get much trick-or-treat traffic,” he said. This time of year, however, he usually keeps a big bag of candy corn in his car – just for him. “I am a sucker for candy corn,” Dickinson said. His wife ridicules him for it. So do his friends. “They just don’t get it, I guess. Some people just are not sophisticated enough to understand the subtle nuances and depth of flavor in good old candy corn.”
Antony Chiang, president, Providence Health Foundation
We are giving out two little Pokémon figurines to each kiddo, better for health and oral health of course! Not to mention loving Pokémon Go.
Nancy Hill, director, SCRAPS
I go for the big bags at Costco. Their bags include an assortment such as M&Ms and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. You can’t go wrong with that.
Bud Nameck, radio host on KXLY 920 AM and sports announcer
I’m partial to Smarties, so I have to make sure that we have some to give away. If there are any left over I get them! We buy a couple of bags of assorted candy to hand out. Most of the kids in our neighborhood are older now, so we don’t get as much traffic.
James Murphy, retired Spokane County Superior Court judge
I hand out whatever chocolate bars that I am craving as I go on my Halloween buying spree. The only problem with buying your favorite chocolate bars is that I usually have to buy the bags or boxes of them twice as I tend to eat all of the first purchase before Halloween comes.
Karen Stratton, Spokane city councilwoman
Fun-size chocolate bars. Not the cheap stuff.
Tom Sherry, KREM meteorologist
We actually hand out FULL size candy bars. We started doing this years ago because we weren’t seeing enough trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood. So we are essentially bribing the kids to come back year after year. We love kids, and we like Halloween. So we have 120 Snickers, M&Ms, Milky Ways and Hershey Bars. If that runs out then it’s back to regular Halloween candy. And now that I recently stopped doing the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. news, I will be home by 7:30 p.m. to see some of the kids. In the past, unless Halloween was on a weekend, I missed out. But that is over.
Mark Werner, Spokane Valley police chief
He lives far out in the country and has no neighbors, so not even his grandkids want to come over for Halloween. “No one else lives there; no trick-or-treaters ever show up. I wouldn’t know what to do if anyone showed up,” Werner said, laughing.
Don Nachbaur, Spokane Chiefs coach
The coach and former National Hockey League player said he’s rarely home on Halloween, but this year is different. Nachbaur is a fan of the holiday. “We are probably more generous (with candy) than we need to be. But I like to stand inside the door and check out all of the costumes. It’s all in fun.”
Amber Waldref, Spokane city councilwoman
While Waldref will skip the Spokane City Council meeting to go trick-or-treating with her two daughters and other family members, her husband, Tom Flanagan, will stay at their Logan neighborhood home and hand out a variety of different candies. One of the two children has food allergies, Waldref said, so she and her husband make sure to have a selection that includes Skittles or Starburst or other candy without nuts, chocolate or dairy. “We try to make sure we have everybody covered,” she said.
Deb DiBernardo, owner of Roast House Coffee
Her husband, Jim, buys four or five boxes of full-size candy bars for trick-or-treaters. “He loves the reactions from the kids, but even more so from the parents,” she said. “Me? I give away small bags of our Winter Brew coffee to the parents.”
David McCampbell, executive chef, Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center
McCampbell colors jack-o’-lantern faces on mandarin oranges. He admits that “maybe it’s a little nerdy,” but says “they’re healthy and fun.”
The Rev. Happy Watkins, New Hope Baptist Church
His church in Spokane’s East Central neighborhood was scheduled to hold a trunk-or-treat celebration on Saturday. On Halloween, he and his wife pass out Costco-purchased full-size candy bars at their home.
Craig Meidl, Spokane police chief
His family doesn’t always participate in Halloween, but when they do, they usually give full-size candy bars.
Steve Widmyer, Coeur d’Alene mayor
We always hand out assorted candy bars, which my wife buys three times more than we need, and I tend to eat more than I hand out.
Pamela Haley, Spokane Valley city councilwoman
I will be eating, um, handing out Kit Kat Bars.
Mike McElroy, head chef, Casper Fry
He always gives out the same thing – and one of his favorite candies: single-serving, full-size Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. “That way, if no one shows up, it won’t go to waste.”
Ben Stuckart, Spokane city councilman
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. I stash them in my house throughout the year. If there’s any left over, I eat them.
Keith Osso, KXLY sportscaster
You would ask this year. First year we aren’t doing full-size candy bars. Not enough kids go to our neighborhood, so the last two years I’ve been stuck with cases of leftover, full-size candy bars … and I ate them … not good for the figure. We still have more candy than we will ever use, wide variety, but yes, Reese’s Pieces are the best.
Caleb Collier, Spokane Valley City councilman
I have to admit we give out our own favorite candy bars: Twix for myself and Crunch bars for my wife, because we hope there may be a few left over for us.
Ozzie Knezovich, Spokane County sheriff
All things chocolate.
Peggy Doering, executive director of Valleyfest
In my shopping basket went Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Peanut Butter Butterfinger and 100 Grand.
Bart Logue, Spokane police ombudsman
We generally go for a large variety. Lots of different chocolate bars, licorice, and my kids really like the Laffy Taffys, so that is in the mix as well. Twizzlers licorice tends to be my favorite.
Chris Standiford, deputy director of athletics at Gonzaga University
His family gives out 100 Grand candy bars and SweeTarts on Halloween.
Ken Yuhasz, artist
Our neighborhood’s population of trick-or-treaters has declined so much over the last five years or so that we only provide a couple bags of the usual suspects: small Snickers, Hershey’s, etc. Since there are so few kids, we do tend to be generous with our treats.