Baltimore Grows

Maryland sex offenders have begun receiving paper pumpkin signs that read “No candy at this residence,” to place on their front doors on Halloween or face a parole violation. Seems like a great idea, but will it actually be enforced? Will there be a pumpkin sign patrol?

Mischievous kids might take this one of two ways. They will know about the signs and stay away from these residences. Or they will take this as the ultimate “Halloween Grinch” move , and target the house for egging, toilet paper, or pumpkin smashing. Or maybe they’ll do that whether they know about the sign or not. Not that anyone here condones that.  So if your new neighbor shows up with one of these signs on their door on Halloween, it might be time to sell.

Check out the story on WBALTV.com – http://www.wbaltv.com/cnn-news/17721033/detail.html

Perhaps, a bright cartoon pumpkin is not the best deterrent on Halloween. Especially for kids who can’t read. Howard Stern picked up the story on his radio show and joked that the sign should contain a picture of broccoli. It might look something like this: