MOSES LAKE - Samaritan Healthcare will have an X-ray machine set up in the lobby tonight from 6 to 8 p.m. to check Halloween candy, a tradition at the hospital for the last 20 years.

Trick-or-treaters dump their candy on a tray, and it's run through the X-ray machine for all to see. Technicians take precautions to ensure no one is exposed to radiation, said Connie Opheikens, the hospital district's community relations coordinator.

Halloween candy is precious to those kids, and they ask a lot of questions before the candy goes through that machine. The candy won't melt in the X-ray machine, Opheikens said, and it won't taste different when the X-ray is done.

There have been a few kids over the years who were skeptical of the whole enterprise; Opheikens recalled one little girl who was not about to let go of her candy bag. "She hugged that bag to her chest and said, 'Mine,'" she said.

Most kids have been more receptive once they were assured their candy was safe, she said. They ask questions, they show off their costumes, and in general it's a good time for everyone.

Opheikens said the good time is part of the plan. "Our hope is to make the hospital a less scary place if they (children) have to come here," she said.