OKEECHOBEE — “We have never had any problems on Halloween,” said Okeechobee City Police Chief Bob Peterson. “The people of Okeechobee know the kids are out trick-or-treating, and, for the most part, they are careful.” He would like to see parents or a responsible person go with the children when they are out trick-or-treating. “Don’t let the kids go out by themselves.”

Most of the areas in the city have lights and are well-lit. He advises that it is a good idea to stay in the those areas as much as possible. If the children’s costumes are dark, he suggested putting an LED light or glow stick on the child to make sure they can be seen by any traffic.

He said to remember people leave their lights on if they want to participate in the holiday, so if the lights are off, please do not knock on the door. The police department will have extra patrols that night, so you will see a lot of them out and about. “Of course,” he said, “all the usual rules apply. Check your kids’ candy when you get home. Go through it, and make sure everything looks OK. Just use good common sense.”

There is no set time limit for everyone to be off the street, but people don’t want you knocking on their door late at night. He said around 8 p.m. would be a good time to wrap up the trick-or-treating.

He added there will be an event at The Roc, on Southwest Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street, which will be fenced in, and they will be patrolling that event as well. They have booths set up and give away candy. That’s a real nice venue, and it’s safe because it’s fenced in, he said. There is only one entrance and one exit, and the police department mans the gate, he said.

“Just remember to use common sense and be careful out there,” he said.