Don your costumes — Fort Knox officials say Halloween is happening

By Eric PilgrimOctober 23, 2020

Fort Knox officials say Halloween is happening this year
Garrison officials are asking Fort Knox residents and families alike to practice safe social distancing and wear facial coverings while trick-or-treating between 5 and 8 p.m. Oct. 31, 2020. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT KNOX, Ky. — No trick, Halloween is on this year at Fort Knox.

Officials have blessed off on one of the favored holidays of the year for candy-loving kids, encouraging ghouls young and old to get out there and fill their buckets with treats on post from 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31. There are, however, some added COVID-19 precautionary measures to follow.

“It’s important for the community to continue to practice our traditions,” said Command Sgt. Maj. William Fogle, senior enlisted advisor for Fort Knox Garrison. “As long as we can do it safely, that’s really the important thing.”

Prior to the start of Halloween, Fogle is asking residents to be clear of their intentions as to whether they will participate to reduce confusion. Those participating should light up their porches and be present. For those not wanting to participate—turn the porch lights off and close their doors.

Fogle urged those residents who aren’t feeling well to turn the porch light off and avoid participating in the festivities: “Err on the side of caution: don’t put your family at risk, or the rest of the community. Just do the responsible thing and make the decision for the greater good.”

Some of the restrictions in this year’s celebration involve handing out candy.

“We’re trying to make sure we’re not having direct human contact,” said Fogle. “We prefer not grabbing it with gloves because, even with gloves you’re still touching your face and potentially spreading the virus."

Fogle said while the official recommendation for delivering candy is for people to use kitchen utensils, they are free to be creative.

“— anything as long as they’re not making [physical] contact with the candy; that’s really it,” said Fogle. “For me, I went shopping and grabbed long trash tongs, and I’ll probably end up using those and incorporate them into my costume. Really, it’s anything.”

Fort Knox officials have offered other advice for keeping Halloween as safe as possible.

For trick-or-treaters and family members, observe a safe distance from other families as you walk around, and wear cloth face coverings, even under costume masks. Ensure children approach a home one at a time, or one family at a time, while others remain on the sidewalk.

Crowds gathering up at sidewalks in front of houses could potentially be a concern, said Fogle.

“Parents have a responsibility, not only for their kids but for other kids,” said Fogle. “Parents should be having a conversation with their kids, letting them know what the rules are. And if there are neighborhoods that are congested, they should try to find either a cul de sac, or a different side of the street, to make sure people are spread out.

“Other than that, as long as everybody Is wearing their [face coverings], doing the right things and taking care of themselves, folks should be fine, even if there is a little bit of congestion.”

Those delivering treats must also wear facial coverings and provide only individual commercially packaged sweets. Officials suggest offering candy in large, open-mouth containers, such as bowls or buckets. They also are asking the community to avoid large gatherings for parties.

“We don’t want any large Halloween parties,” said Fogle. “We just want them to meet the normal requirements in terms of gatherings of less than 10 people at those types of events, maintaining social distance, and wearing [face coverings] when they can’t.”

This year, some units have contacted Fogle for advice on setting up trunk-or-treat sites. One of those is U.S. Army Human Resources Center at the Lt. Gen. Timothy J. Maude Complex. Fogle said he has connected them with health officials to ensure their setups help alleviate virus concerns.

“Those units that want to do trunk-or-treat are going back to Public Health and getting approval for their plans so that they’re putting the right factors in place to keep the kids in the community safe,” said Fogle. “We will support them as long as it’s in a safe and controlled environment.”

Despite the restrictions, Fogle said there are still plenty of ways to have fun and enjoy the holiday for all involved. People are sharing several ideas on the internet about how to deliver candy safely. Here are few suggetions:

Candy shoots.

Probably the most common idea that has surfaced involves using a tube to ensure safe distances between deliverer and deliveree are maintained while having fun on both ends. It’s commonly called a candy slide. Or shoot. Or pipe.

Most ideas depict this delivery system being made from a large PVC or plastic pipe set up at an angle that sends the candy sliding through to the other end. It can event be affixed to front porch hand rails.

“If they have a tube and a way to get candy into the tube without actually touching it, that’s fine,” said Fogle.

Zip it.

An interesting variation of the candy shoot idea is the zip line. Some sites explain how small bags of candy can be zipped to eager children waiting on the other end using wire and paperclips.

One-way only.

Another idea is to have separate entrance and exit points to encourage a flow of traffic rather than children having to pass each other in the same area. This idea might require neighbors to work together while creating a fun one-way route for kids to follow.

Whatever the plan, Fogle wants residents and trick-or-treaters alike to have fun while keeping things safe, including driving slowly through neighborhoods frequented by trick-or-treaters.

“At the end of the day, it’s about supporting our community and doing what we can to keep everyone safe,” said Fogle — “while having a good time.”