VENTURA/FILLMORE : Tricks Were Few on Halloween Night

Treats were plentiful but tricks were in short supply Halloween night, law enforcement agencies reported Tuesday.

The only pranks reported came from Ventura, where youths tossed toilet paper at the home of a former mayor, and in Fillmore, where tricksters sent fountains of water flowing onto streets from fire hydrants, officials said.

Ventura Councilman Greg Carson said his home on the 8200 block of Denver Street was hit by youths throwing toilet paper onto pine and birch trees in his front yard.

“My house has probably 75 rolls of toilet paper hanging all around it,” Carson said.

It is the fourth year his house has been targeted by vandals, Carson said. It started shortly after he was elected to the Ventura City Council and became mayor, he said.

Carson said he figured out who the pranksters were last year.

“It’s done by my nieces and nephews,” said Carson, a Ventura native who has extended family in the city.

“They were intimidated at first because they thought the police were going to arrest them for tee-peeing the mayor,” Carson said. “But now their numbers are growing and they’ve become very bold.”

In Fillmore, someone cranked open at least 10 fire hydrants throughout the city, keeping firefighters busy turning them off, said Fire Chief Pat Askren.

Askren said he does not know who pulled the prank or whether the person had help. Although it kept firefighters busy, the trick caused no injury or damage, Askren said.

The fire chief was asked if he ever pulled a similar prank when he was a youth.

Askren chuckled, then said: “I’m not going to answer that question.”