No. A woman called and said she heard a rumor about Mr. Jelly Belly getting his clock cleaned Saturday during the Holiday Parade. She said the red mascot, shaped oddly enough like a jelly bean, was attacked by a group of kids near Sixth Street. She also said the group stole all his free samples.

This didn't happen. Mr. Jelly Belly rode in a convertible. Several people in Mr. Jelly Belly's entourage walked with the car and distributed samples.

No one stole his chef's hat. That's the question we should have asked - why does a jelly bean mascot wear a chef's hat?

Joy Basco, manager of the Visitor's Center and Retail Store at the Pleasant Prairie Jelly Belly facility, said she chatted with the team upon its return from the parade.

"I asked them how the parade went when they came back and they didn't say anything about it," Basco said.

Does Wisconsin have any poisonous snakes? What kind and where do they live?

Among the roughly 21 species of snakes that call Wisconsin home, there are two that are venomous - the timber rattlesnake and the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Both snakes live in the southwestern part of the state.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, timber rattlesnakes live among the rugged open bluffs of southwestern and western Wisconsin. The snakes eat a variety of rodents. Timber rattlesnakes can typically be found in bluff prairies and oak woodlands in relatively remote areas. They prefer rocky outcrops and open grassy areas with southerly exposures in the spring and fall.

During the summer, they inhabit deciduous forests and open valleys. Rock fissures and crevices provide communal dens for the winter.

This species has experienced heavy human persecution, the primary cause for its listing as a protected wild animal. The massasauga is Wisconsin's most endangered reptile. Massasauga means "great river mouth" in Chippewa, so named because it is usually found in river bottom forests and nearby fields. Massasaugas are characteristic of mesic prairies and lowland places, such as along rivers, lakes and marshes.

Wisconsin falls into the center of the massasauga's range, which runs from central New York and southern Ontario to Iowa and Missouri. Historically, massasaugas were found across the southern half of Wisconsin. The draining and dredging of many wetland areas has resulted in much of their habitat being lost. Old records indicate that thousands of massasaugas were killed back in the late 1800s as the city of Milwaukee expanded.

Until 1975, there was a bounty on rattlesnakes. People were paid up to $5 a tail to kill "pest" species in Wisconsin. In 1975, the bounty was lifted and the massasauga was placed on the Wisconsin Endangered and Threatened Species List.

What are cereal companies talking about when they say "part of a balanced breakfast?"

A balanced breakfast features at least three of the following food groups:

* Dairy: milk, cheese and yogurt.

* Protein: beans, peanut butter and eggs.

* Fruit: bananas, oranges and berries.

* Vegetables: broccoli, carrots and celery.

* Grains: toast, tortilla, bagel and cereal.

A balanced breakfast includes proteins, carbohydrates and a small amount of fat. Carbohydrates should come from whole grain sources, such as oatmeal, wheat bread and cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving. Good sources of protein are eggs, beans or turkey sausage.

The "balance" of these three should tilt toward carbohydrates, with fiber providing 60 percent of the calories, and protein and fat pitching in 20 percent each. The USDA Food Pyramid takes into account age, sex and physical activity.

Check it out for more details at the home page of The Food and Nutrition Information Center at the National Agricultural Library at

http://www.nal.usda.gov/

This is why your mother always bugs you to eat breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to consume less fat and calorie-intensive food during the day. Eating a healthy breakfast also can help you avoid that mid-afternoon lunch coma.

A healthy diet emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, fish and lean meats or vegetarian sources of protein like beans. It's also low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt and added sugars. Bon appetit.

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