It’s one of the happiest days for a child – they dress up in super-hero costumes, go from door-to-door, hold out a sack or a bucket and say the magic words: "Trick-or-treat!"<!—->.

Thursday, October 07, 1999

It’s one of the happiest days for a child – they dress up in super-hero costumes, go from door-to-door, hold out a sack or a bucket and say the magic words: "Trick-or-treat!"

And they get tons of treats for their efforts, too.

But all the little ghosts, goblins and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers will have to wait an extra day before donning their costumes and grabbing their trick-or-treat bags in the City of Ironton.

Trick-or-treat, originally scheduled for Oct. 27, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. this year, has been rescheduled, Ironton Mayor Bob Cleary said.

At the last Ironton City Council meeting, city officials decided on the Wednesday evening time, but after numerous telephone calls from city residents, Ironton Business Association members and city leaders had a change of heart, Cleary said.

"There were some scheduling conflicts in having the trick-or-treat at that date and time," Cleary said. "We’ve changed the date to Oct. 28, but the time will remain the same, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m."

Several area churches had apparently asked parishioners to call the city and request the change because the previously scheduled trick-or-treat night conflicted with church services. Also, some area churches had already scheduled and announced their own safe trick-or-treat parties for that evening, Cleary said.

"We wanted to schedule a time that wouldn’t cause any interference with any other activities," he said. "Once these schedule conflicts were brought to our attention, we had absolutely no problem with rescheduling the date in order to better accommodate other organizations in the city."

The new time also will put the city’s trick-or-treat night in a position that is better synchronized with the villages throughout Lawrence County, Cleary added.

"In talking with mayors in the many other villages and municipalities in the county, we’ve determined that by changing the trick-or-treat night and times to that Thursday, we’re closer in scheduling with them," he said. "We always want to be cooperative in our scheduling of events like this, and it seems that most of the county municipalities will have their trick-or-treating on the same night, which is what we generally try to do."

But, for trick-or-treaters of all ages who just can’t wait to put on their costume, there’s at least one chance to get in the spirit.

IBA members will conduct the annual Safe Trick-or-treat night from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Oct. 25 at the city building, followed by a Halloween parade and costume contest. The event is free and open to the public.