By Ron VandenBoom
Wayne Chagnon's pitching arm was close, but failed to hit the mark as National Humbug Day took on Scrooge-like qualities during the Holiday Village Cookie Toss Tuesday.
Chagnon was one of 15 contestants who attempted to toss an Oreo cookie into a six-inch bowl of milk from a distance of 20 feet.
The cookie had to remain in the bowl of milk for Chagnon to have won his choice of a Crestliner boat supplied by Western Trailer Sails in Havre or $10,000 in cash from the Havre Holiday Village Shopping Center.
"It almost stayed in just barely skipping out the back of the bowl," said Tiffany Korb, property manager at the Holiday Village.
Korb added that a few other of the contestants managed to hit the bowl with their cookies, but only Chagnon managed to hit the milk inside the bowl registering the nearest miss of the event.
Chagnon did walk away with a consolation prize of a $50 gift certificate from the Holiday Village Shopping Center and another $50 gift certificate from Western Trailer Sales.
All other contestants received a free package of Oreo cookies from Gary and Leo's IGA.
The cookie toss was the culmination of a contest that began in the middle of November. Visitors to the Holiday Village would sign up for a weekly drawing. Three names were chosen each week for the opportunity to participate in the final contest.
Three men and 12 women, the oldest participant being 91 years old, won weekly drawings to be eligible for the Tuesday event.
Weekly winners had their names again placed in a box for a drawing that determined the order of their toss.
This is the second year the Holiday Village has hosted a big-money contest. Last year's event required visitors to match their social security numbers to the numbers placed on a car near the fountain. The numbers were changed daily.
Korb said there would be another contest devised next year, probably not the same one, that will again give lucky contestants a chance to win.
