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Monday, September 29, 1997

Sheriff Hathaway offers Halloween safety tips

"Soon our streets will be scattered with little ghosts, goblins and witches trick-or-treating on Halloween," Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway said. "To ensure this is a happy and safe Halloween, parents should remember these tips."

• When possible, parents should accompany children when they go trick-or-treating. Parents can stay back at a "respectably inconspicuous" distance and still keep an eye on the children. Parents can wear a costume, too, and be "just another trick-or-treater."
• Limit trick-or-treating to the immediate neighborhood.
• Teach children to use sidewalks whenever possible. If there are no sidewalks, walk on the left side of the street facing traffic. When crossing a street, do so in groups and be sure to look both ways before crossing.
• When designing costumes, face paint is preferable to masks; it will not obstruct vision. If worn, masks should have adequate holes for proper respiration and clear vision. Trick-or-treaters should wear some sort of reflective clothing or reflective strips on their costumes.
• If they will be out after dark, children should carry flashlights or glowsticks to make them more visible to passing motorists.
• Young children should travel in pairs or in groups at all times when trick-or-treating and never venture down dark, empty side streets. If parents don't go with their children, they should plan the route with their children and stress that the children must follow the route.
• Children should never go to a dark, unlighted house. An illuminated front door light is the universal signal that "this house welcomes trick-or-treaters." Children should always walk together to the front door of participating houses and never run across the yard.
• Parents should instruct their trick-or-treaters to save all their candy until they return home. Parents should then closely inspect all candy and throw away all unwrapped or suspicious-looking goodies.
• If a child does get sick, immediately call a physician or the hospital emergency room. Try to determine what the child ate, where it came from and save all wrappers.
• Remember that jack-o-lanterns and electrical decorations can be fire hazards. Keep them out of reach of small children and away from flammable materials such as draperies, furniture and paper decorations.

"Halloween is an enjoyable time in Caddo Parish," Sheriff Hathaway concluded. "By remembering these simple tips, it can be a safe one as well."

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