PARAGOULD, Ark. – Many communities are changing their Halloween observances due to rain and thunderstorms being in the forecast Wednesday night, but not Paragould.
A post on Facebook by the Paragould Police Department said that, despite other cities moving their observances to Tuesday night, Paragould would remain the same. The post from Chief Todd Stovall said the City Council would need to meet to change the date. The next scheduled meeting will not be soon enough, the post said.
Most on the post indicated their displeasure with the decision. After about 20 minutes, the post only had 25 reactions – but 89 shares. Yet, the most liked comment had more likes/loves than the main post, itself.
In that post, Casandra Bateman wrote, “ You can be of assistance by changing the date. That way our children can go trick or treating without being cold and wet. It is cold and flu season. Plus many parents have spent a lot of money on costumes and such to make a memorable experience for their little ones.”
Chief Stovall and the PPD can’t change the date and his post was correct in that a scheduled meeting will not take place in time.
But one option for the mayor could be to call a special meeting of the city council. A two-hour notification to the press would legally need to be made. This is a relatively quick and simple process. With the threat of thunderstorms looming for trick-or-treaters, it could be a popular decision if public sentiment in the comments holds true.
Our mayor told me that the city can’t make that call because it is not a state holiday. She said that it was up to the community. She called all the churches and they all decided to change ours to Tuesday.
paragould dumb af lol