Subdivisions to set trick-or-treat hours

Communities were never required to follow the commissioners' resolution.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- For the second consecutive year, there will be no official countywide trick-or-treat hours in Mahoning County.
County commissioners have decided to allow subdivisions to set their own hours.
"They know what works best for their own areas," said Commissioner Vicki Allen Sherlock.
In the past, commissioners passed an annual resolution establishing the date and time for trick-or-treat, with local communities expected to follow.
But when several communities began opting to set their own hours, commissioners decided last year to abandon a countywide resolution.
"It's not like we could make it mandatory that they do the same as we did," Sherlock said. "It was always just a suggestion that we made. It was up to them whether they followed along."
What makes difference: Sherlock said communities that have higher populations and sidewalks, where children can walk safely, generally prefer to have trick-or-treat at night, while more rural communities tend to set theirs during daylight.
For example, Boardman Township has traditionally held trick-or-treat during early evening hours on Halloween, said Trustee John Cox.
"For us, it just avoids confusion," Cox said. "But it's one of those situations where you can never really please everybody."
Walter Duzzny, executive director of the county Emergency Management Agency, recommended that commissioners likewise endorse Oct. 31 as the countywide day for the annual candy hunt but understands why the panel decided otherwise.
Duzzny said some communities favor trick-or-treat Oct. 31 for the sake of sticking to tradition, but others now prefer the Saturday before Halloween. Some prefer daytime, some prefer evening, he said.
bjackson@vindy.com