Grand Prize Winners Announced

More than 1,500 votes were cast in Star News Group’s second Spooktacular Halloween Photo Contest, and the winners were clear.

For the second year in a row, Hannah Whitcomb, 8, of Spring Lake, won the children’s category, with 48 percent of the vote.

Hannah’s innovative gnome costume captured 132 of the 275 votes cast in the children’s category. The photo of Hannah dressed in her costume, submitted by Hannah’s mother, Kerry Whitcomb, earned Hannah a $50 gift certificate to Quinderella’s Toys, in Manasquan.

A dynamic duo took the adult category. Kimberly Clayton, 20, and Alex Otchy, 20, both Manasquan residents and students at Virginia Tech, dressed as the popular Transformers characters Bumble Bee and Optimus Prime for Halloween this year.

Finally, Chelsea, a tough little Yorkshire terrier from Point Pleasant Beach who dressed as “Jaws” for Halloween, took the pet category, with 51 percent of the vote, or 275 of the 538 votes cast in that category.

Chelsea’s proud owner, Sam Palumbo, submitted the winning photo, which earned Chelsea a $25 gift certificate to B.C. Woof, in Manasquan.