Published on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

Chico police said only three arrests had been made in the downtown and west side areas as of 11 p.m. Monday.

Two were for public drunkenness and one was for shoplifting.

The totals were in sharp contrast to Halloweens past, and Lt. Mike Weber said he didn't really expect to see things worsen later.

Read the story.

Heading back to my redoubt high above Chico, things appear to be settling down for the night.

Many of the house parties I've been observing all evening long have concluded or gone inside. Many of the people on the streets appear to making their way home, some obviously needing assistance from their friends.

Traffic seems to be moving normally although there are still numerous police vehicles driving about.

The temperature is a brisk 52º. ;-)

This might be the last post for the night, unless something big happens. I'm going to head downtown to see the bars close up and maybe talk with a police officer at the staging area. I might stop for a late dinner at Jack's.

I want to thank chief photographer Bill Husa, staff writer Melissa Daugherty and photographer Ty Barbour for their contributions tonight. Also, thanks to the E-R Web production team for getting the site launched in a timely fashion.

Thanks are also due to the readers for stopping by. It's not too late to leave feedback to let us know what you think. Please send comments to rolson -at- chicoer.com

This has been your host and E-R staff writer Ryan Olson. Have a good night.

Thomas Whitcher, Associated Students president at Chico State University, said the time has come for the students and other community members to "take ownership" of Halloween.

After successfully halting the violence that has occurred during the holiday, he said the community needs to make the holiday one for Chico residents in future years.

"Now it's time to release it back to the community," Whitcher said.

Whitcher said there were many factors leading to this year's Halloween turnout. He said the event falling on a Monday helped as well as several professors scheduling midterms and paper due dates around the holiday.

Whitcher called this year's incarnation of the student government's alternative to partying and going to bars a success. Whitcher and others had just finished cleaning up from a late-night breakfast held outside the Bell Memorial Union. The breakfast, which included hashbrowns, eggs and sausage, was a capper to a night that included stand-up comedians and a costume contest.

He estimated that there was a total of 400 people on hand to see the "Halloween FrightFest Comedy Night," with about 250-300 people in the ballroom at any given time. An estimated 700 people attended last year's event.

Tonight, Whitcher said attendance peaked when Judah Friedlander performed. After the show, attendees took part in the free breakfast at 11 p.m. Several people coming from the bars and passers-by also partook of the food.

A colorful and sometimes rag-tag bunch of people lined up to seek admission into Riley's tonight.

Renee and Constantine Takwi, of Chico, were waiting for about 35 minutes to get into the bar as the line stretched down the length of the building along Ivy Street.

"I just want to get in there," Renee Takwi said. "I can't wait to have a drink."

Riley's was the first place they had visited tonight after walking around downtown. Renee Takwi, dressed as a vampire, said the neighborhood was "too mellow" with the large number of police present.

This was the Takwis' second Halloween in Chico after their first time in 2003. They said the crowds were similar.

Constantine Takwi said the city could probably reduce the number of police patrolling the event.

"If the city of Chico can relax the amount of security that they put out into the town, I think they'll have more fun," he said.

The line was one of the most active places downtown tonight. As people milled about, a bouncer would occasionally remind people to keep the sidewalk clear unless they were waiting to go in.

At the back of the line, Chico State juniors Jennifer Dingman and Kelly Kreiensieck waited. Dressed as mobster wives, they said this was their first Halloween in Chico.

Dingman said she was having a good time, but she expected more before reading about the enforcement efforts.

"It's not as fun as I thought it would be," she said.

Dingman said her fiancé opted not to come into town because of the commercials discouraging out-of-towners. She said tonight was similar to other nights and called Chico a good town.

Kreiensieck said she felt safe walking through downtown with the significant number of police.

"I don't really think that anybody's going to get out of control," she said.

Some of the police barricades are gone. Well, the one on the corner of West Eighth and Hazel streets has been removed.

Walking through downtown Halloween night, Chico State University President Paul Zingg called the evening a "quiet event."

Starting at 9:30 p.m., Zingg walked through the neighborhood south of campus, passed by downtown bars and stopped briefly at the intersection of West Fifth and Ivy streets.

This is the second Chico Halloween that Zingg has observed. Compared to the same time of night last year, he said this year's festivities are quieter.

"There are fewer people as well as fewer police," Zingg said.

During his walk, several students approached Zingg to say hello. Some said they weren't planning to go out in respect to the calls for caution during the night. There were no indications of any large house parties along Zingg's route.

Zingg has walked through the downtown on other nights. He noted there were far more people during the first weekend of the fall semester (Aug. 26-27).

Zingg predicted Halloween would gradually evolve into a good event as people begin to feel safer about the event.

"It'll be fun, but it'll also be safe and comfortable," Zingg said.

There was only one arrest (for being drunk in public) through 10:30 p.m.

The intersection was much busier than a couple of hours earlier. It's still not as busy as during Labor Day weekend.

Here's the list:

• The temperature has fallen more slowly after that 19-degree drop when the sun set. At 9:50 p.m., it was 53 degrees outside (compared to 57º at 5:50 p.m.). It's been a nice fall night thus far.

• Interesting stuff on the walk from my secret redoubt to West Fifth and Ivy streets. Some people asked if they could pray for me. Others wanted my opinion as part of the annual Halloween survey conducted by Chico State.

Word from Chico Police Department volunteers -- things are off to a quiet start tonight. One gent says it's been quiet for the past four years or so.

If I were to make a guess, it's not as busy as downtown during the past Labor Day Weekend. It's definitely busier than a typical Monday. There seem to be only modestly sized parties, but there's activity.

The barricades have gone up across roads around the area south of Chico State University and the police are out in force. Police units are scattered throughout the area.

Officers are supplemented by units mounted on horse and bicycle in addition to volunteers (who are on all the major corners along Main and Broadway streets). I saw equestrian units heading down Third Street.

At about 8:30 p.m., there were often more police officers on the corner of West Fifth and Ivy streets than partygoers.

The local nightspots in downtown Chico have different closing times tonight. Several bars that would normally be closed on Mondays (such as LaSalles) are open.

The Crazy Horse Tavern and Mr. Lucky are open. The bouncers say Crazy Horse (with spotlights on out front) will be open until 2 a.m. and Mr. Lucky (featuring a band and DJ) will be up until 1:45 a.m.

Madison Bear Garden will shutter at 10 p.m. It typically hosts "Bear-e-oke" on Mondays. Peeking inside, the group appears to be about three times the size of a normal Monday crowd.

Duffy's will also close at 10 p.m.

Some other downtown businesses called it an early night, notably Starbuck's Coffee, which closed at 8 p.m.

There were plenty of seats available at the Bell Memorial Union ballroom five minutes before the start of the Associated Students' Halloween event geared to provide an alternative to bars and parties.

While the doors opened at 8 p.m., A.S. President Thomas Whitcher said students have in years past streamed in throughout the night to hear the two stand-up comics before a breakfast at 11:30 p.m.

There are 800 seats set up in the ballroom for the event, which will also include a costume contest. While a fraction of the seats were filled before showtime, groups of students were heading to the ballroom.

Whitcher said the night is going well. He said the student government is building off of four years of organizing similar Halloween events.

Whitcher said it has been a nice change for local police officers to treat students with a lighter hand than in previous years.

"It shows more of a collaborative effort between the city and the students to make the event a success," he said.

Throngs of supporters gathered outside the Chico City Council Chambers Monday evening to voice their support and well-wishes for law enforcement officers as they departed to their evening duty-stations.

"Go Chico PD," the crowd chants as the officers emerge from the building and navigate their way through the gauntlet of supporters. With each new appearance, the large crowd erupts into cheering and clapping that stretches the length of the wide sidewalk from the building to the Fifth Street curb.

Donna Kraus, of Chico, said the rally is a tradition that began a few years ago when the police department would use the Neighborhood Church off Notre Dame Boulevard as a staging ground for its Halloween effort. She said the group decided to shift downtown with the police.

"Since they're staging here this year, we decided to come here," Kraus said.

Kraus held a sign that said "Thank you" on one side and "May God go with you" on the reverse. She said members of the group hand officers a postcard containing a prayer.

Kraus' husband, Bill, said the group is trying to focus on the positive side of Halloween. He said the community has been a "mecca" for people from other places to party, but the police and community have done a good job to rein in the event -- including a dramatic turnaround last year.

"It's coming away from the insanity," Bill Kraus said.

After the officers departed, several members of the crowd embarked on a prayer walk.

Briefly leaving downtown, I head towards the corner of East and Mariposa avenues. In the parking lot of the Church of Jesus Christ and Later-Day Saints, there's an annual tradition called "Trunk or Treat."

It's pretty much like it sounds -- people pull into the parking lot and give children candy out of the vehicles' trunks. Every one appeared to be having a good time.

Melissa and Justin Soulsby, of Chico, were dressed as elves from The Lord of the Rings -- complete with cloaks and elven ears.

Melissa Soulsby remembers the trunk-or-treat events she attended growing up in Tracy. She said it's a lot more fun than going door-to-door.

"It's a good, safe place where kids could walk and do their trick-or-treating," she said.

There are also more opportunities for kids to get candy. Some children have passed by their red Ford Escort several times.

This is Justin Soulsby's first time. He said he thought it was cool when his wife told him about the event.

"This is a unique idea," he said.

Justin Soulsby said many of the kids are from the church's two wards, although there are several community members as well.

Some people go all out to decorate their vehicles — with strands of orange or green holiday lights or spooky music. One has placed several duck decoys in the bed of a pickup in a recreation of a hunting camp.

The Soulsby have placed two lit Jack o' lanterns atop their car.

"We didn't have time to decorate, so we have pumpkins," Melissa Soulsby said.

Joyce Atrian, of Chico, was going around with her daughters — Angelina, two-and-a-half, and Elysa, 1 — for their first time. She said it's good way to keep kids off the streets.

"I thought it was a neat idea," Atrian said.

Victor Gonzalez, Atrian's brother, has been coming to the event for 14 years. He said there appear to be more vehicles and kids than in past years.

"This is a pretty good community event," Gonzalez said.

He said "Trunk or Treat" continues until the candy runs out.

Heading from downtown to my secret redoubt, I've noticed the police are marshaling their forces. On East Eighth Street, there is a Chico PD DUI enforcement unit parked to the side of the road.

Elsewhere, there is a city street blocked off. Within the cordoned area, there's several horse trailers for the equestrian units. There's a trailer from the city of Modesto Police Department. A woman from the Chico Equestrian Association keeps an eye on the goings on.