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FROM STAFF REPORTS / Editorial

Amid the COVID-19 outbreak comes the most fitting holiday—Halloween. But with it also comes the concern of what to do this year.

Do we trick or treat, go to the pumpkin patch or attend our church’s fall event? Like everything else during this pandemic, there is no right answer.

But, if we’ve learned anything during this pandemic, people are going to do what they want to do.

And if it’s done safely, then who are we to keep anyone from having a good time this Halloween? If we can go to school, play sports, go to work, go to the grocery store and do other activities in a safe manner, there is no reason we can’t get through Halloween in similar fashion.

In a recent poll conducted by us here at the Reporter, 83 percent of parents said they were planning to allow their children to trick or treat this year.

And while some may not agree or think that is the responsible thing to do this year, you also have the choice not to do so.

Children have been going to school, most back to five days a week now, and would likely be safer trick-or-treating than in school halls and classrooms if done correctly.

And several parents and neighborhoods have already shared plans for more community events that will make it as safe as possible.

Different ideas include pre-packaged bags of treats and community-wide events that will help children from walking door-to-door to reach into a bucket and grab random candy that others have touched before them. And if there is traditional trick-or-treating, many houses are planning to give the candy rather than let kids take the candy, which is normally the case on a normal year as well.

Just like with anything else right now, it won’t be normal. But with a mask, a little sanitizer and some creative minds, there is no reason this Halloween shouldn’t be as spooky as usual and maybe even spookier.