Nutley’s mayor has moved trick or treating in that town to Friday because of the storm. With street after street here littered with broken trees and the majority of Verona homes without power, some folks are asking if Verona should do the same.
Halloween is not an official town holiday, so parents are going to have make a decision on trick-or-treating themselves. The Verona Police Department is, however, acknowledging that our streets are not as safe as they usually are. “Parents should know that it’s very dangerous for kids to be out tomorrow and tomorrow night,” said Captain Mitchell Stern on Sunday evening. “There are a great amount of power lines that are still live, and trees that are unsafe that could fall.”
And a great deal for the police to do. According to Captain Stern, from 11 a.m. Saturday through 4 p.m. Sunday, the Verona Police Department responded to 400 calls; normal monthly volume is something around 900 calls. There have been no house fires, but a half a dozen houses have been significantly damaged by falling trees, as have half a dozen cars.
About three-quarters of Verona homes are without power, and could be that way for a while. Businesses, schools and homes along main roads will be turned back on first, simply because of the way the grid has been established in Verona.
So what are you going to do with your kids and Halloween? Take the poll.
[polldaddy poll=5627356]
When I was a kid, if it rained or was too cold, we didnt go out… you dont reschedule Halloween. Its on October 31st. All Hallows even is what halloween stands for. Which starts the celebration of all saints day on November 1st and all Souls day on November 2nd.
While Halloween IS on the 31st (you can’t move a holiday), it would be nice to coordinate moving the celebration of Halloween (trick or treating) to Friday. My kids will be disappointed, but as long as it’s safer and other children will be participating, who cares?
The only problem I see is communication. With most of Verona without power, how do you get the message out? Well, it seems to me that the school phone call/text/email system should come into play, since the parents of most of those trick or treating can be reached that way. But how do you make that happen??
The only other loose end is getting the word out to Verona residents without children…so they don’t eat all their leftover candy tomorrow!
So, MyVeronaNJ — get on the phone and pressure the powers that be to use the school system’s alert service to get the message out! After all, it’s for the safety of the children!
Totally agree with @Rich. And if some people that don’t have kids dont get the word the worst that happens is that their bag of candy sits on the counter until it can be handed out on Friday.
To our town officials – please move Halloween trick or treating to Friday. This can’t be compared to any other weather event – rain, wind, etc… because snow hasn’t happen in October since 1952. It’s sad that it’s not safe for our children to celebrate on the official holiday, but it would be a tragedy if even one child got hurt walking among tree limbs and power lines.
FYI — from PSE&G email alert I just received:
“Halloween Safety: There are many downed wires in parts of our service territory. If parents permit children to trick or treat today, they should exercise extreme caution, supervise the children, and allow them to be out only during daylight hours.”
I am all for child safety. However, moving Halloween on such short notice will be difficult to communicate to all residents, especially those without power. Parents should take this beautiful day and drive around town while noting streets that have power and seem safe (no down lines or trees). Now would be the time to prepare for a safe night of trick or treating.