Shelley welcomes Santa to town

SHELLEY – Several hundred people showed up to participate in the annual chili cook-off, see Santa Claus and watch the lighting of the Christmas lights at Dawn Lloyd Park last Friday night, November 26th.

Last Friday, several hundred people took advantage of the unusually warm weather to attend Shelley’s annual chili cook-off at the city park. Nine people enter the contest with chili recipes ranging from sweet to spicy.

The winners of the contest were Bubba Rickers for sweetest chili, Jackie Hansen for the spiciest dish, and Steve Keon for best overall chili.

“You never know how chili is going to turn out.  It all depends on how the peppers react when you put them in,†Bubba Ricker, a regular contestant at the event, said.  “I like chili that has a different type of taste with a spicy kick to it.â€

After the cook-off, Santa Claus and Miss Russet arrived at the park on the back of a fire engine.  Santa was greeted by a throng of children, each eager to sit on his lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

While Santa and Miss Russet attended to the children, the crowd counted down and cheered the Christmas lighting of the city park by Shelley public work officials.

“The guys did a really good job at putting up Christmas lights this year,†Shelley Public Works Director Justin Johnson said.  “Some of the trees in the park are getting too big to decorate with lights. However, we need to get more lights in the coming years to cover some of the bigger trees.â€

Relatively warm weather benefited the event. Temperatures ranged from 39 to 45 degrees during the event.