Halloween curfew to be enforced in city

‘Curfew is moved up on this one night for obvious reasons,’ said McMinnville Police Major Bryan Denton. ‘Years ago, we had quite a bit of trouble on Halloween evenings with bands of people roaming neighborhoods, throwing eggs, rolling yards and causing property damage. Since we went to the earlier curfew, mischief, while not gone completely, has dropped off sharply.’

Any person under the age of 18 who is caught in public after curfew can be taken into custody and charged in juvenile court. Violators are most often given public service work and placed on probation.

There are a few exceptions to the curfew rule, those being if the youth is accompanied by a parent or guardian, is at a school or church-sponsored event, or is going to or coming from work. The curfew is enforced just in the city limits of McMinnville.

In addition to reminding parents and their children about curfew, police also want motorists to use caution when driving in residential neighborhoods since trick-or-treaters will be going door to door tonight.

‘We ask motorists to slow down a little because sometimes children can get excited, especially while trick-or-treating, and run out into the street,’ Denton said. ‘And we also ask parents to keep a close watch on their children while they are trick-or-treating. We would also like them to carry a flashlight and have their child wear something with a reflective strip so they can be more visible to motorists.’

Those comments were echoed by a representative at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.

‘Far and away the worst injuries we see are children struck by cars during Halloween trick-or-treating,’ says Valerie Whatley, M.D., an emergency physician in the Pediatric Emergency Department at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Whatley says while most of the accidents she has seen involve children older than 10 who are without parental supervision at the time, accidents can happen at any age.

Police also want parents to carefully inspect all candy before allowing their children to consume it.

‘We haven’t had any problems about candy tampering that I can recall, but it’s always best to be cautious,’ Denton said. ‘If you do suspect tainted candy, you need to contact us immediately.’

Halloween tips

‘ Have a costume that fits your child properly and is not too long. Your princess may look cute in her flowing gown, but she could trip over her costume and fall.

‘ Have a costume with no sharp or pointed parts. Toy swords and knives not only look real, but they can also hurt if a child happens to fall on the sharp edge.

‘ Have a costume that does not obstruct a child’s vision. Popular, realistic-looking masks can make it hard for younger children to maneuver safely at night. Consider drawing a gruesome grin on their face with non-toxic face paint.