Five Things to Know Today: October 18

1. Weather: Say bye-bye to the sun again for awhile. The National Weather Service forecast for our area says today will be cloudy with a high near 68 degrees.

2. In Case You Missed It: What's going on at

3. What Say You? And wouldn't you like to We have great readers who would love to know what you have to say whether it's about your garden, Halloween, the upcoming election, knitting, your dog or anything else you can think of! Contact me: mariella.savidge@patch.com.

4. Coming Up: Where is this week?

5. Today in History: On this day in 1867, the U.S. formally took possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiasticly expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson.