HINTON, WV (WOAY) – In the middle of a pandemic, traditional trick-or-treating may not be the safest way to celebrate Halloween, but a Hinton resident is making sure kids can satisfy their sweet tooth while staying healthy.
Last week, the Hinton City Council announced the city does not condone trick-or-treating but it’s ultimately up to each resident whether or not to participate. After hearing that, some residents had questions.
“I want to make sure I’m not doing anything illegal,” said Craig Mumpower. “I don’t think so.”
City officials declined to go on camera, but explained that residents can still trick-or-treat and pass out candy. However, it’s recommended that they don’t or that if they choose to, they should do so safely.”
“I can’t think of anything else to do,” said Mumpower. “We’ve got store-bought candy, a whole cauldron of it. We’ll be handing them out with gloves on and the chute is all but sterile.”
To make sure he socially distances with each trick or treater, Mumpower built a Halloween candy chute.
“We got the general idea [from Facebook] and we made it a little bit more artsy and cute. We just wanted to give the kids of Hinton a way to get their candy and be safe about it.”
Mumpower built the chute in just a few minutes for around $50. All it took was some PVC pipe and a creative mind.
“In all honesty, several kids around here don’t get a lot of candy throughout the year, so I wanted to give them some options and make it as safe as I could,” said Mumpower. “If they want to participate, we’ll be doing it at the regular times, so come by here and get yourself some candy.”
Mumpower says his family hands out around $200 worth of Halloween candy every year.
