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Police have treats

Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Rankin Inlet (Oct 23/02) - The ghosts and goblins lurking the streets of Kivalliq hamlets on Oct. 31 are usually well-behaved.

At least that's been the Halloween experience for RCMP officers patrolling Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet, Whale Cove, Baker Lake and Arviat over the past few years.

Sgt. Tom Kasdorf of the Rankin Inlet RCMP said the detachment rarely receives complaints about vandalism and pranks on Old Hallow's Eve.

"Mostly kids are out Halloweening.

"The communities have a lot of school functions and they usually stay out until eight o'clock and that's it.

"It just stops. Everybody knows that it's the cutoff - it's probably one of the best communities I've been in for Halloween," said Kasdorf.

This will be his third Halloween in Rankin Inlet.

"We're kind of an anomaly in the North," he said.

Cpl. Jamie Zettler in Baker Lake said they are also preparing for a peaceful Halloween.

"We just have the normal trick-or-treating here, but we will have the full detachment working that night," he said.

Three officers are stationed at the Baker Lake detachment and they will be participating in the festivites as well.

"We will be handing out treats at the station as well as out on patrol," said Zettler.

Cpl. Bill Mooney said Arviat ghouls and goblins are also well-behaved.

To congratulate them for being so good the officers and their wives will hand out special treats at the RCMP station.

Kasdorf cautions all children in the Kivalliq to make sure they have a safe Halloween.

"Make sure that they wear reflective clothing and be careful crossing the streets if they're wearing masks or anything that blocks their vision," he said. And as always, he reminds parents and young trick-or-treaters to carefully inspect all candy before eating. "Don't eat anything that's been opened or looks like it's been tampered with, but we usually don't have any problems," said Kasdorf.