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NEWS
Corn mazes open in Tri-State
Four-year-old Lauren Casto leads the way through the Cornfield Maize at The Maize at Cooper Farms, LLC, Route 3, Box A156 in Milton 5-10 p.m. Fridays; 1-10 p.m. Saturdays; 1-5 p.m. Sundays, through Nov. 2; Monday-Thursday by reservation only. Take Interstate 64 to Milton Exit, Route 60 West to Milton Middle School. Parking is behind the school. Call 304-743-0548 or visit www.cornfieldmaze.com.
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PROCTORVILLE, Ohio -- A plot of land behind a church in Proctorville, Ohio, is baffling people by day and frightening them by night.
The First Baptist Church of Proctorville has cut a maze through a corn field and opened it to the public. The maze was created to help fund a Family Life Center for the church.
"We planted this corn here last spring," said church member Greg Crabtree. "Everybody told us corn wouldn't grow here, the soil was bad. But God wanted it to grow, so it did."
The corn maze is open from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays. There is also a haunted trail open from 8:30 to 11 p.m.
It is one of at least two corn mazes in the Tri-State. Another is located in Milton and it offers a winding trail along six acres near Milton Middle School. At the Cornfield Maize at The Maize at Cooper Farms, people are given a list of 10 trivia questions in eight general trivia topics, which range from sports and music to trivia geared for church and Scout groups. The questions guide you through the maze. A correct answer steers you in the right direction, a wrong answer may get you to whip out your cell phone and call for help.
In Proctorville, adventurers gather in the church gymnasium until they are separated into groups and given a hay ride to the entrance of the trail. Guides lead the way through the corn maze and into the woods.
The maze offered plenty of thrills for those who visited Saturday night.
"The scariest part is when this girl that looks like the Joker from Batman jumps out," said 13-year-old Shayna Garrett. "She had paint all over and she was just so scary looking."
After returning from the trail Chad McComas, 12, said he was not scared at all. Then a few kids from his group reminded him he was "kind of scared" by the gunshots from a man on an embankment.
"I was probably more scared the first time I went through," McComas said. "But the second time I went it wasn't scary -- as much."
"I thought it was really cool," said 13-year-old J.B. Brammer. "I was really scared by the man with the chain saw and the parts in the woods."
The maze takes about 20 minutes to complete from hay ride to finish. Those who attempted the maze in Milton took an average of 68 minutes.
Crabtree said the Proctorville maze has only been open for two weeks and they have probably already seen 1,500 kids come through the maze.
"We are very happy with the results so far," Crabtree said. "It's been a real success and I think the kids really enjoyed it.'
Jeff Bragg said he originally wanted to make an educational corn maze for the students of Fairfield East and West Elementary.
"I just wanted to give them a chance to have a fun day without having to traveling very far," Bragg said.
The church held a series of questions related to the Bible for their Bible study groups and family nights, but Bragg said he wanted to make sure he kept church and state separated.
"We had the teachers send us some questions we could ask the kids from their class work," Bragg said "If they didn't pay attention in class they got lost in the corn maze. The teachers loved it."
The Corn Maze and Scary Trail are open every Saturday in October. The corn maze is open from 6:30 to 8 p.m. and the scary trail is open from 8:30 to 11 p.m. every Saturday in October.
Concessions and restrooms are available on site. For more details, visit www.fbcproctorville.com or call 740-886-6905. First Baptist Church of Proctorville, Ohio 411, Proctorville. $5 per person.
The Milton maze is open until Nov. 2. It is located on Route 3 and is open 5 to 10 p.m. Fridays; 1 to 10 p.m. Saturdays; 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday through Nov. 2. Call 304-743-0548 or visit www.cornfieldmaze.com for more information. A Haunted Maze will be available Oct. 24, 25, 31 and Nov. 1. To create the spooky maze, the maze will close before dusk and reopen after dark.
