(10/2013) It is October. The leaves will start to change into brilliant colors – a last "hoorah" before they fall. The farmers in the area will finish harvesting their crops. The birds will migrate south. We honor Columbus’ arrival in America on Oct 12, 1492 and celebrate this event on Monday, October 14th. And then, on October 31st children and adults will dress up in "strange looking" costumes to celebrate Halloween by going around the community proclaiming "Trick or Treat".

Halloween is a 2,000 year old tradition given to us by the Celts in the area known today as Ireland. Halloween is the one night of the year where children get to dress up as anything or anyone they want to be. If you want to be visited by these little goblens, leave your porch light on. There are some safety tips everyone should take into account that evening. The children should be accompanied by an adult or a responsible teenager. According to Safe Kids USA, a national child safety advocacy organization, twice as many children are killed while walking on Halloween on average as compared to any other day of the year. So, make sure your children wear bright, reflective costumes. If they are wearing a costume that would make it difficult for a motorist to see them in the dark, than place strips of reflective tape on their costume, have them carry glow sticks or give them a flashlight. Motorist, be sure to watch for children walking on the trails and darting out from between parked cars. Please be extra cautious. Parents make sure your little ones understand that they should walk on the left side of the trail, facing the cars. Instruct your children not to eat anything until they get home and the treats have been examined. Why all this precaution? It is Halloween. It is a time to have fun. But, you can never be too safe with your kids.

Have you been down to Carroll Valley Commons? One of perks of being a Carroll Valley resident is having such a beautiful and aesthetically pleasing park to visit. Our park certainly provides us a good way to engage in healthy exercise and a place we can socialize with one another, and form lasting ties. The Commons does contribute to the vitality of our community and residents. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Donny Shaffer for his dedication to maintaining the beauty of our park. Another borough employee I would like to recognize is Mr. Richard Cool. He joined us on March 26, 1990 and is retiring after some twenty-three years. Mr. Cool has faithfully served our residents with a tireless work ethic and a level of dedication which will forever be unequalled. At the September meeting, a resolution of the Council in appreciation for Richard Cool’s services to the borough was signed by John Van Volkenburgh, Council President and myself. Rich, wish you the best and thank you. Also at the same meeting, I had the pleasure to present to council and the residents of Carroll Valley, a gift given by Laura Scudder of Eagle Trail. Using her artistic talent, engineering skills, and knowledge of stained glass design, created an impressive stain glass version of the Carroll Valley Borough symbol. On behalf of Council thank you Laura for your gift and your volunteered borough service of 16 years (4 years on Council and 12 years on Planning Commission). To see the stained glass symbol go to www.facebook.com/MayorRonHarris.

Every year people lose their lives in residential fires. October 6th – 12 is National Fire Prevention Week (NFPW). This year’s NFPW theme is "Have 2 Ways Out!" which focuses on the importance of fire escape planning and practice. This may be a good time to test the smoke alarms in your house and replace the batteries. Most fire victims die from inhalation of smoke and toxic gases, not as a result of burns. It is further reported that deaths and injuries occur in fires that happen at night while the people are asleep. While you are checking the smoke alarms, it might be a good idea to also check and replace the batteries in your Carbon Monoxide (CO) alarm. CO is an odorless gas produced when any fuel is incompletely burned. CO poisoning is associated with malfunctioning home fuel-burning heating equipment such as furnaces, ranges, water heaters and room heaters. Do you have a family fire escape plan? You should. How do you get out of the house? Do the kids know the plan? Do you hold fire drills during the night to see if the children know what to do? For more information go to www.nfpa.org.

The "Medicine Take Back" Program will be held on Saturday, October 26, from 10:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. The Medicine Take Back is a collaborative effort between local law enforcement agencies, Adams County Environmental Services and Adams County Collaborating For Youth (CFY). This program helps those community members who have any unused, expired, and/or unwanted medications (liquids and pills) to properly dispose of them. Disposing the medications properly reduces their availability to youth and contamination of water sources. This year it will be the first time all six of the Adams County locations will be accepting pet medications. No needles or sharps are accepted for disposal. The whole process is anonymous and completely free to those who participate. Once again, there will be members of the CFY Youth Coalition of Adams County and adult volunteers at each site, to help raise awareness of the effects of drug abuse, and also to connect with the community and show support to those who do participate. Our "drop off" location is Fairfield Fire & EMS Department, 106 Steelman Street. On station will be members of the Carroll Valley and Liberty Township Police Departments.

There is a new program coming to Fairfield Area Middle School this fall. For the first time, the Strengthening Families Program will be held at the Fairfield Middle School (4840 Fairfield Road, Fairfield, PA) on Tuesday nights, starting on October 8 and ending on November 19, from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. This program is FREE to all families and prizes are included. Students in grades 4-8 had a paper with a registration form sent home with them from school. The program is to help parents/caregivers and their youth (ages 10 to 14/in grades 4-8) understand the changes and diversity of family life. A free meal is provided each week and free childcare for children under the age of 10 is available on site. During the program, there will be three different sessions. Parents/caregivers will be in a session while their youth are in a separate session. Afterwards, both the parents/caregivers and their youth will come back together for the family session. Each week a different topic is presented. One week it may be resisting negative peer pressure and the next week it could be managing stress. Activities and games are included! Seven different topics and seven weeks of family fun! Registration is required. Hurry and sign-up! The first 10 families to register and complete the program will receive a $25 gift card. For more information or registration, contact Samiah Slusser at (717) 338-0330 x 11, email cfycd@cfygettysburg.com, or by fax: (717) 338-0304 with the back of the flyer (registration form), or check out www.cfygettysburg for more information.

Borough meetings to be held in October are: Planning Commission (Oct 7th), Finance Committee (Oct 14th), Borough Council (Oct 15th), Borough Council Finance Workshop (Oct 22nd), Parks/Recreation (Oct 23rd), a Sewer & Water Authority meeting (Oct 28th) and the Borough Council Finance Workshop (Oct 29th) if needed. Please note that a Public Meeting will be held in October (date not determined at this time) on the Zoning Ordinance dealing with the Mallow Tract. When scheduled, it will appear in the Gettysburg Times. I will post it on my Facebook site. Please reduce your speed to make sure you, your loved ones, your friends and your neighbors will be safe. If you have any questions call me at (301) 606-2021 or email at mayor@carrollvalley.org.