Tips for safe Halloween in Rolling Meadows
Trick-or-treating takes place from 3 to 8 p.m. today, Oct. 31, in Rolling Meadows, and there are a number of holiday happenings around town.
Meadows Baptist Church has a new activity this year: a Halloween "Trunk or Treat."
City residents are invited to bring their children to the parking lot from 6 to 8:30 p.m., where about 50 church members will be providing treats from their open trunks.
"We just want it to be a safe place for families to take their kids on a night when they're going to be out anyway," says Pastor D.B. Antrim. "Kids can walk around the parking lot and go trunk-to-trunk instead of door-to-door."
There will be free drawings for sports tickets and an iPod. "We hope it will be a yearly thing," he added.
The church is at 2401 Kirchoff Road. For more details, call (847) 255-8764.
Safety first, of course: Stop by the police station on Kirchoff Road where police will be giving out a limited supply of glow sticks. They also will have disposal bins in the front parking lot where children can toss unwrapped or suspicious candy. The Police Neighborhood Resource Center, 2272 Algonquin Parkway, also is offering glow sticks for free.
Police have a Web page of Halloween safety tips on the Web at ci.rolling-meadows.il.us/rmpd/halloween.htm. Besides the standard "never enter a stranger's home" and "watch both ways when crossing the street," this one caught my eye:
"Treating your children to a spooky Halloween dinner will make them less likely to eat the candy they collect before you have a chance to check it for them."
It's a nice thought. But, I ask, can anything really stop kids from raiding their Halloween bag before they get home?
For all those wrappers: Starting Monday you can start putting your garbage and recycling out on the street as early as 3 p.m. With clocks being set back an hour this weekend, it'll be getting dark well before 6 p.m.
• Colleen Thomas welcomes your news about community events and people. Call (847) 427-4591, or e-mail her at cthomas@dailyherald.com.