LITTLE ROCK — Pranks are as much as a Halloween tradition as the jack-o'-lantern or trickor-treating.
But for local law-enforcement agencies, things have been quiet for the past few years as extra patrols and more organizations sponsoring Halloween- or fall-themed events have kept a lot of potential pranksters off the streets.
"Usually pretty calm," Gurdon Secretary/Treasurer Tambra Childres said.
"You always have a few teenagers that get away with having shaving cream and egg fights with each other. We are just like any town in that regard."
While most departments say they experienced "a smashed pumpkin or two," Bauxite Police Chief Jimmy Wood said adding extra patrols helps keep some of the revelry down.
"We've never had any threats for any major pranks on Halloween, but we always step up patrols just in case," he said.
The number of church and/or community carnivals is on the rise in recent years, helping keep the peace and letting youngsters have a different optionthan heading out on the streets.
But that has not always been the case.
"About six or seven years ago, we had someone throw a rock off the Interstate overpass and break the glassof a (police) trooper's car," Clark County Sheriff David Turner said, "but we caught that person."
Turner also recalled someone throwing a carburetor off an overpass and injuring a trucker.
"It has been a few years since anything like that has happened," he said.
"We bring in the Offices of Emergency Services to help watch the overpasses to make sure nobody does anything."
In Caddo Valley, Police Chief David Thomason has experienced a few people shooting fireworks, but for the most part, he said, the past few years have been pretty calm despite the community's close proximity to Henderson State University and Ouachita BaptistUniversity in nearby Arkadelphia.
"We'll have a little overflow from there every now and then," he said.
"We'll get a few kids wearing masks while driving in public, but nothing major."
Capt. Jason Massey with the Saline County Sheriff's Department saidextra visibility has kept the pranks to minimum.
"That is the focus of our shifts is to be seen," he said.
"We don't get a lot of trick-or-treaters in the county, but we have had a fewpeople smash pumpkins."
Massey also said in years past a lot of people would visit the China Grove Cemetery to see if the rumor of satanic worship at that spot was actually true.
"It is now closed property, so we don't see a lot of happenings out there," he said.
While gossip fueled a past Halloween surge to that Saline County spot, near Gurdon one legend continues to drive an increased presence in Clark County.
The Gurdon Light - a mysterious orb that has reportedly been seen near railroad tracks outside of town - have been publicized by numerous newspaper and television accounts, including the NBC show Unsolved Mysteries.
"It draws a lot people on Halloween night, especially college kids from Arkadelphia," Childres said. "A lot of people come to see if they can spot the lights. Halloween is by far the busiest night."
Some people have preyed upon the visitors of the site in the past.
"A few years ago some cars got vandalized out there," Turner said, "but other than that there have been very few problems out there." - pseaton@arkansasonline.com
Tri-Lakes, Pages 137 on 10/28/2007