Officials Confident in Decision to Postpone Trick-or-Treating

It was a quiet night in and Monday as few trick-or-treaters could be seen on on the streets Halloween night. Both boroughs decided to until Friday as a result of down wires and trees and other safety hazards from Saturday's storm.

While some residents expressed frustration over the postponement on our Facebook page, Kinnelon and Butler officials said Tuesday they are confident in their decisions to move the celebration of the holiday to protect the safety of borough children.

"We didn't make the decision lightly," said Chief Ed Card. "Nobody that was in the town wanted to change the day kids trick-or-treat. We were hoping that the electric department would have all the services restored."

Card made the recommendation to postpone Butler's celebration on Monday after speaking with Chief John Finkle, as the Kinnelon mayor and council also decided to postpone the celebration, and Butler Borough officials. While some Butler residents felt that the decision was made too late Monday, Card said the borough was holding out hope that there would be safer conditions for kids to trick-or-treat under by night.

"I think that this storm, in most instances, was worse than the hurricane. The electric crews are working 24/7 and we still have not restored everybody's power," Card said.

At 10 a.m. Monday, Card said he spoke with officials from Butler Electric who had indicated that despite working for two days to restore power and service homes, there were still several down wires on front lawns. The electric department had placed tape on some of the wires to indicate they were there and not to touch them, but Card said one fear of the police department was that trick-or-treaters would mistake the wires for Halloween decorations.

With the borough only having sidewalks in some places, Card said trick-or-treaters would be forced to walk on lawns or in roadways at times. This was also part of the problem in Kinnelon, Finkle said, as Kinnelon does not have sidewalks.

"With the snow on the ground, there's no place for them to walk and the roads are narrow. Safety is paramount," Finkle said.

Card was also concerned about children trick-or-treating unattended under the dangerous conditions.

"Not every child that trick-or-treats, or I would say the majority do not, have parents that walk with them," he said.

So, the borough sent out messages using the Nixle system, on the public access channel, on the Butler Police Department's Facebook page and through the alert system. Card said the borough was unable to activate a reverse 9-1-1 call because it violated the guidelines for using the system set forth by Morris County.

The also extended the hours of the annual

"Everybody tried to get on the same page with it," Card said. "We understand that this type of storm this early in the year was really not expected."

Kinnelon Council President Jim Freda, who made the decision to postpone the celebration in Kinnelon along with Mayor Bob Collins, said although some parents expressed frustration, he feels that safety needed to come first.

"As of late yesterday I feel that I did, I feel that we did [make the right decision]," he said.

Some joked to Freda asking if the borough was going to postpone Christmas or Easter too.

"Halloween is about the children whereas other holidyas are about religion," he said.

Finkle said trick-or-treater turnout was low in the borough and Card said the same for Butler.

"I think it was because parents really were concerned with all the downed trees. They just weren't going to take a chance with their children's safety," Card said.