FARMER-PROPOSAL
MOOSOMIN, Sask. (AP) - Canadian farmer Jeff Skulmoski has something more than grain growing in his fields. He's got love there, too. Skulmoski has already harvested his canola crop. So, he used his tractor to carve out a proposal in the soil. It took Skulmoski five hours to write the words "Jeannie Will You Marry Me?" Each letter was nearly 200 long. A friend with a plane took the couple over the field so she could see the marriage message in the dirt. Jenny Thompson says she was so surprised she couldn't speak. It took some prompting from her boyfriend before she managed "Yes!" The couple now plans an April wedding.

FANTASY FEST
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) - And the big 2008 winner is -- the Sarah Palin mask. The real Palin, Barack Obama and John McCain won't be partying in Key West this weekend. But their look-alikes will be having a great time at Florida's Fantasy Fest. As many as 60,000 people are expected for tomorrow's Fantasy Fest parade. This year's theme is Pirates, Pundits and Political Party Animals. Parade coordinator Judi Bradford says she's looking forward to the "bipartisan bimbos," "delegates in drag" and "hockey moms flaunting lipstick." One local boutique reports Sarah Palin masks are outselling the other political hopefuls five-to-one.

MCCAIN-PIZZA FLAP
WARREN, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan pizzeria owner is showing some pepperoni-and-mushroom remorse. Salvatore's Pizza in a Detroit suburb is ending a promotion offering free mini pizzas to people who bring in John McCain campaign signs. Owner Diana Franzoni says she never expected people would try to cash-in stolen signs for a free pizza. She also says she's been getting threatening phone calls. Franzoni tells local papers (Detroit News and Detroit Free Press) she began the free pizza offer after hearing McCain was ending active campaigning in Michigan. She adds she's given away about 300 of the mini-McCain pizzas.

ABSTINENCE CONTEST
ATLANTA (AP) - Imagine -- ten-grand for doing nothing. A lot of couples can't, either. So far, there are no takers for a contest that would pay $10,000 to an engaged couple as long as they don't do "it" before marriage. The deadline for the Marriage for a Lifetime contest is Oct. 31st. Organizer Phillippia Faust admits it's tough these days to find a couple practicing abstinence. Along with the cash, the winners would get free flowers, invitations and other wedding treats. Faust runs an Atlanta-based, nonprofit marriage prep and education program called MATURE.

POOPER SCOOPER TICKETS
NEW YORK (AP) - Big Apple dog owners could be in deep do-do -- if they don't pick-up after Rover. The fine for leaving a doggie pile is more than doubling to $250. The penalty had been just 100 bucks, but the increase took effect yesterday. New York's first pooper scooper law was passed back in 1978 and has become a model for the rest of the country. The New York Sanitation Department reports pooper scooper violations are up by about 30 percent this year.

LONGEST DREADS
MIAMI (AP) - Asha Mandela hopes to capture a new world's record -- and by more than a hair. The South Florida woman started growing her hair 20 years ago and now has locks longer than she is tall. Her dreadlocks measure 8-feet, 9-inches. She's submitted her paperwork to the Guinness people for the new record category, World's Longest Dreadlocks. Mandela says it takes a whole bottle each of shampoo and conditioner when she washes her hair. She adds it can take a whole day to fully dry.

by Jamie Friar

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)