New Curfew For Houlka Teens

CHICKASAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – A Chickasaw County town and school are working together to keep an eye out for their students.

About a month ago, Houlka leaders passed a new curfew ordinance for children under 18-years-old.

The new ordinance comes after the town was having some issues with young people staying out too late around town.

Houlka has had a curfew in place for several years, but recently, there have been issues with teens ignoring the rules.

Hanging out here, too late at night, is one reason why the police chief went to town leaders.

“”We didn’t have any problems, like I said, we just had a couple of issues, you know, we re-looked at this thing and redrew it up and put some new implements in place, to kind of try to curb any activities, illegal activities, or what have you, that would be going on at night time,” says Houlka Mayor Jimmy Kelly.

The goal of the new times is safety, for the teens and the town.

“When you get a bunch of kids together and they’re sitting out here and they’re on their WiFi, you know, you’re going to have some arguments and things, but nothing major you know, just trying to stop it before it did happen.”

Houlka Attendance Center Principal Anthony Golding says the town and school working together for the best interest of their students is a step in the right direction.

“The old saying is, it takes a village to raise a child, so with the fact that the town and the school is working together to hold the students accountable is a good thing.”

If students are out around town during school hours, and aren’t home by 9 during the week and 11 on the weekends, then parents or guardians are faced with paying a fine.

“If you have a child out here running around during the daytime, who should be in school and he’s not in school, then why is he not in school, you know? So, there’s an issue there that needs to be addressed, you know, to try to find out what’s going on. What kind of problems is the child having where you’re not at school,” says the mayor.

The mayor and Golding have both seen a difference since the curfew went into effect on January 1st.

“Just like any other school, we did have some students showing up late, staying out late, breaking the curfew, and so having students show up on time when school starts is going to help boost our academic achievement,” says Golding.

Mayor Kelly says police officers are spreading the word about the new rules.

The law applies to juveniles, but the parents or guardians are the ones who get fined if the curfew is broken.

First offense is a $50 fine and then doubles every time it’s violated.