It is just a simple fact. There are advantages and disadvantages to living in a small town.

But at the end of the day, I’d think the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, which to me mostly center around no major bookstore to feed my out-of-control novel habit.

Working backwards on several observations.

Saturday was Halloween. Now, in various places I’ve lived, I’ve had a few trick-or-treaters, but this past Saturday took the cake. The numbers were in the hundreds. I don’t remember what was on television, but it didn’t matter much as my girlfriend and I spent most of the early evening handing out candy.

I have to say it was a lot of fun and reminded me of something out of Americana.

And for the record, I don’t know who the little girl dressed as a lamb was, but you absolutely took top adorability prize that night!

But what greater example of small-town advantages is there than the trick-or-treating on the square Friday?

First, the local police department did a marvelous job controlling traffic and keeping the children safe. A big hats off to you folks.

Next, the businesses looked great and apparently had ample candy, though here at the Times I was worried for a bit. However, the supply sustained and cute, creative and interesting costumes were in abundance.

And finally, I was personally extremely impressed with how polite the children both Friday and Saturday were.

If you are interested, you can see some of the costumes on Pages 4B and 11B in this edition of the times.

But there’s more.

Not a week goes by that we don’t have some fundraiser being announced or being covered in our paper. Always for a worthy cause, these events give me great confidence that this is a town that takes care of its own - plain and simple, even if I do worry a tad for the people working the roadblocks that are so popular.

These are the things that set Lafayette apart. Afterall, I seriously doubt you’d see the Memphis Police Department out there blocking traffic to make the world safe for trick-or-treating kids. No, they’d more likely be too busy picking up the pieces.

Naming victims

We have a story this week, and another we’re working on, that involves people convicted of rape or child molestation or incest.

These are heinous crimes that in my opinion deserve the harshest punishments we can muster.

However, you’ll notice no names.

The reason is simple. To name the accused would be to identify the victims. And it is our policy not to name the victim of the aforementioned crimes without their expressed consent.

You may call Clay Morgan at 666-2440 (office) or 670-3658 (cell) or e-mail him at cmorgan@heartlandpublications.com.