Police Chiefs: Safety Concerns Led to Decision to Reschedule Trick-or-Treat

In separate phone messages to the residents of Hamilton and Wenham on Wednesday, Hamilton Police Chief Russ Stevens and Wenham Police Chief Tom Perkins both said concern about downed power lines and power outages was behind the decision to reschedule Trick-or-Treating.

Instead of Halloween night, Trick-or-Treat will happen in Hamilton and Wenham at the same time on Saturday: 5-8 p.m.

Trick-or-Treat faced a separate threat of postponement or rescheduling last week from an evening activity ban in Hamilton that barred any organized outdoor activity from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. because of concern about mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile Virus and Eastern equine encephalitis. But on Wednesday the Hamilton Board of Health lifted that ban in an unanimous vote while adding that Trick-or-Treaters should still take "extreme precautions" to guard against mosquito bites since temperatures have not yet dropped below 28 degrees for two hours or longer.

Stevens and Perkins both said on Wednesday that town officials are working with National Grid to restore power to both towns. At 1:30 p.m., there were 681 homes without power in Hamilton and 195 without power in Wenham, according to National Grid. Wenham's number has held steady all day, but in Hamilton about 40 more homes were reported without power since 9:30 a.m.

“At this point we cannot give an exact date or time when all residents will be restored,” said the message, which was sent out by each police chief in their respective community. “As a result, residents who are still without power should make preparations until midnight on Thursday.”

Anyone who does need help should contact the Hamilton-Wenham Emergency Center at 978-468-1212 in Hamilton and 978-468-4000 in Wenham.