The Herald-News • Sunday, October 25, 2015
|GETTING STARTED
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Police: Halloween safety more a concern Trick-or-treating hours for area municipalities
By BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@shawmedia.com All Hallow’s Eve doesn’t mean any more All-Points Bulletins than the average night. Joliet police and Morris police say the holiday has a negligible effect on criminal activity, so the officers’ focus is on children safety in the early evening hours. “Every year we do get a few reports of decorations taken or damaged, but it’s probably the same amount as the Christmas season,” Morris Chief Brent Dite said. “And those are really the only times a lot of people have decorations outside.” Joliet Deputy Chief Ed Gregory said trick-or-treating hours are mostly “little guys [out] with their parents” so traffic is a bigger concern. The busiest area is the Central zone, which includes the St. Pat’s neighborhood, the Cathedral Area, Reedwood, Broadway, Joliet and McDonough streets, and Second Avenue and Richards Street. “There’s over 1,000 kids in the Western Avenue corridor, so we have officers and Police Explorers helping with traffic there,” Gregory said. Neighborhood policing officers, additional supervisors and probationary officers also will be visible in different neighborhoods, and patrol officers will help if they aren’t responding to calls. “The biggest thing is for
Bolingbrook: 4 to 7 p.m. Braidwood: 4 to 7 p.m. Channahon: 4 to 7 p.m. Crest Hill: 4 to 7 p.m. Elwood: 3 to 6 p.m. Frankfort: 3 to 7 p.m. Homer Glen: 3 to 7 p.m. Joliet: 4 to 7 p.m. Lockport: 4 to 7 p.m. Manhattan: 3 to 7 p.m. Minooka: 4 to 7 p.m. Mokena: 1 to 5 p.m. New Lenox: 3 to 7 p.m. Plainfield: 4 to 7 p.m. Rockdale: 4 to 7 p.m. Romeoville: 4 to 7 p.m. Shorewood: 5 to 7 p.m. Wilmington: 4 to 7 p.m Shaw Media file photo
Annette Koncar (left) hands out candy in front of Kula’s Jewelry and Loans in downtown Joliet at a previous Halloween to preschoolers Samantha Aguilera (witch) and Katie Colome (gypsy). Joliet police and Morris police say the holiday has a negligible effect on criminal activity, so the officers’ focus is on children safety in the early evening hours.
Other trick-or-treat safety tips Walk on sidewalks – not through yards or in the street Carry a flashlight Wear safe shoes If candy appears to be open, throw it away Trick-or-treat in groups with an adult present drivers to be aware the kids are out and watch their speed. While the kids are running from house to house and crossing the street, a lot are wearing costumes that might not be as visible and [keep
them] from seeing everything,” Gregory said. Dite said Morris police won’t change any staffing assignments other than asking officers to come in ahead or stay after the 7 p.m. shift
change. Morris trick-or-treating hours are from 4 to 7 p.m. Free trick-or-treat bags are available at the police station. Dite said parents who are not going with older children still should know their planned route and remind them not to eat candy until they can inspect it, and not to enter a stranger’s house. Trick-or-treaters also shouldn’t stop at dark houses, Dite said. “Officers do look at [homes of] sex offenders to make sure anyone who’s not supposed to
Grundy County Braceville: 4 to 7 p.m. Carbon Hill: 4 to 7 p.m. Coal City: 2 to 6 p.m. Diamond: 2 to 6 p.m. East Brooklyn: 4 to 6 p.m. Gardner: 4 to 6 p.m. Kinsman: 5 to 6 p.m. Mazon: 3 to 6 p.m. Morris: 4 to 7 p.m. South Wilmington: 4 to 6 p.m. Unincorporated areas: 3 to 6 p.m.
All are for Oct. 31 unless otherwise noted.
have contact with children is in compliance. It’s something our patrol officers keep an eye on,” Dite said.
Local police, emergency services honor WTC beam By VIKAAS SHANKER vshanker@shawmedia.com NEW LENOX – A steel beam from one of the walls of the World Trade Center met several area fire departments early Friday morning as it traveled west on Interstate 80 through Will and Grundy counties. On at least three different overpasses, local fire departments honored the beam as it traveled on its journey from John F. Kennedy Airport in New York to its destination in Fort Collins, Colorado.
New Lenox Fire Protection District Lt. Brian Applegate’s station truck helped hold a large U.S. flag on the Cedar Road overpass as the beam’s procession passed by, honking and sounding sirens. “It’s good for us to be able to show our support,” Applegate said. “Remembering 9/11, as a fireman, it brings back a lot of reasons of why we do the job.” The flag was propped up by ladders from two fire trucks. Firefighters saluted as the flag drew near and passed at exactly 7 a.m. East of New Lenox, Frank-
More online Visit this article at TheHerald-News.com to view a video of the World Trade Center beam traveling through the area on Interstate 80. fort and Mokena police, fire and emergency services also set up a flag at the LaGrange Road overpass. Joliet also had firefighters pay tribute to the
beam as it passed through town. Although they couldn’t get the flag up in time before the beam passed because of location tracking issues, firefighters and police officials turned on their lights and saluted. “It’s a show of support for all that perished,” Mokena Police Chief Steve Vaccaro said. “But it also symbolizes that we’re recognizing all our first responders.” The beam was granted to the Poudre Fire Authority in Fort Collins through the Terry Farrell Firefighters Fund,
an organization that runs on donations and fundraisers and provides relief to firefighters and families facing hardship. It was named in honor of Terry Farrell, a New York firefighter who lost his life on 9/11. The fund also distributes donated firefighting equipment to departments. The beam was expected to be in Lincoln, Nebraska, by the end of the day Friday, then arrive at Fort Collins on Saturday afternoon. It can be tracked at www.poudre-fire. org/what-s-new/wtc-artifact-journey.