Uniform hours would end trick-or-treat abuse

Uniform hours would end trick-or-treat abuse
EDITOR:
I would like to suggest that in the future, trick-or-treat hours be set by the county commissioners on a countywide basis. This would eliminate the confusion over hours, days, and greed by certain children and/or their parents.
I live in a neighborhood just a couple of blocks from Meridian Road and we normally have between 25 and 30 children on Halloween. This year we had almost 50. This was due to the fact that Austintown had their trick-or-treat hours on Sunday, and Youngstown's were on Monday.
I counted a total of two vans, three SUVs, and two cars bring groups of children into our area from Austintown or other areas outside of our neighborhood. This practice not only teaches children that greed is good, but is also unfair to the children who honestly live in a given neighborhood. When we buy treats for the expected number of children and then have a 50 percent increase, it is easy to run out of treats before we run out of children.
Another alternative to countywide hours would be for the schools to give out color-coded wrist bands similar to those used for rides at fairs and festivals -- yellow for Youngstown, blue for Boardman, etc. For children too young for school, the parents could pick up the wrist-bands and their local elementary school with proof of residency. That way everyone would know that the children coming to their door were legitimately from their area. I hope something can be done about this problem before Halloween comes around again next year.
SHERYL ECKERT
Youngstown
You can have a ball at a Steelhounds game
EDITOR:
Friday night I attended my first professional hockey game. Saturday morning, I woke up and could not contain my excitement. I come from a big family (eight children) and have called each of them to tell them to go support the Steelhounds. I also called friends and reviewed rules of the game for better understanding of Friday night's exciting match.
My friend and I both purchased season tickets to support this new and exciting project. As a young professional, and now Children's Museum director, who moved back to the area to make a difference, the excitement of Friday night's crowd was music to my ears. It was a sign that things could really turn around in our Valley and that the future is bright. I have tried to turn a deaf ear to the negative comments regarding the Convocation Center.
I have also heard many say that Valley residents, who have always been die hard baseball and football fans, will never get into hockey. In my opinion, Friday night proved them all wrong. Over 5,000 fans attended the opening game and I heard several people saying that they got into the game and had a great time. I also heard people saying that they could not wait to come back.
If you have not attended a Steelhounds game, please go. Take your family or your friends for a fun evening. Then, after you have had a great time, tell everyone you know. The only way to ensure the success of the Steelhounds and the Youngstown Convocation Center is if we all support it by attending events and spreading the word. I am now a die-hard Steelhounds fan. To the team, to Herb Washington, and to the hard working staff of both the Steelhounds and the Convocation Center, I would like to extend my congratulations on a wonderful opening event.
LIZ NOHRA
Youngstown