Halloween's looking safe, spooky, sweet

STAFFORD ― With Halloween just around the corner, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office is doing its part to make certain the holiday of sweets is also safe.

Extra deputies will patrol Stafford neighborhoods on Halloween night, and the sheriff’s office will x-ray candy and treats from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. that night.

The x-ray process can detect pins, needles and metallic objects, but not poisonous substances, wood or other non-metallic objects, according to a sheriff’s office press release.

“We will have a visible presence in our community on Halloween,” said Stafford Sheriff Charles Jett. “This is a fun and exciting time of the year for our younger citizens and we want to ensure they have an enjoyable but safe evening.”

The sheriff’s office offers the following Halloween safety tips:

• Bring treats home before eating them so parents can inspect them.
• Have your name and address attached to your costume.
• Wear identification bracelets.
• Use flashlights.
• Walk through your neighborhood with others and do not stray from your group.
• Stay in your own neighborhood and trick-or-treat only at homes that have porch lights on.
• Never take shortcuts through back yards, alleys or parks.
• Never enter the home of a stranger or accept rides from strangers.
• Try to wear costumes made of white or light colored materials. If your costume is dark, attach reflector tape on the costume to increase nighttime visibility.
• Young children should always be accompanied by an adult.
• Look in all directions before crossing a street and obey all traffic signals. Cross streets at the corners.
• Carry trick-or-treat bags that have strong straps or handles. This allows you to carry the bag with one hand leaving the other hand free.

So far this month, area residents have already enjoyed area events celebrating Halloween. They include a 25th annual ghost walk of downtown Fredericksburg held last weekend, a Halloween open house at Rikki’s Refuge animal refuge in Orange, Family Spooktacular Night at Art from the Heart in Stafford and pumpkin carving at Colonial Williamsburg and locally. Ongoing fun is happening at Belvedere Plantation in Fredericksburg on weekends, where there are pumpkins galore and lots of fall activities, features and fun.

Still to come, area residents may enjoy many upcoming Halloween-related events including:

• Hartwood Winery’s Harvest: 10/31, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., hartwoodwinery.com
• Riverside Dinner Theater’s Count Dracula Show/Contest: 10:15 p.m., rsdinnertheater.com
• Ghost Tours: 10/31, ghostsoffredericksburg.com, historicdumfries.com
• Haunted Hill, 10/29-10/31, 10400 Edenton Road, Spotsylvania (children under 12 not recommended), haunted hill.com.
• Cox Farms: 10/31, trick-or-treating, coxfarms.com

Tracy Bell is managing editor of the Stafford County Sun. Reach her at tbell@staffordcountysun.com.