CANTON, Ohio — A new curfew for juveniles in Canton's Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas (DORAs) will go into effect this Thursday.
The 9 p.m.-6 a.m. curfew for juveniles in the outdoor drinking districts was first approved in May. The ordinance reads as follows: “No minor shall loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play, or be in or on any vehicle, in or upon any public place within the Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area within the City of Canton between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m."
Exceptions, however, are permitted for juveniles who are "accompanied by a parent, guardian, custodian or other adult person having custody or control of such minor." Additionally, juveniles who are on an "emergency errand or specific business or activity directed or permitted by his parent, guardian or other adult person having the care and custody of the minor" or "whose presence is connected with or required by some legitimate employment, trade, profession or occupation" are exempt from the curfew.
"Unaccompanied minors contacted in violation of this ordinance, and their parents or guardians, will be held accountable," the Canton Police Department said in a release.
At Gridiron Pizza & Sports Bar in downtown Canton, owner Jeff Hudson has been seeing more teenagers hanging around the area. "On the weekends, they just roam around downtown all day and all night," he told 3News.
Hudson understands why the city wants a curfew, but says it's his experience that the youngsters he encounters are not causing trouble. "The majority I see aren't causing problems. They are just here to be down here," he adds.
In addition to being a business owner, Hudson is a parent. He admits keeping kids out of trouble isn't always easy. "Maybe if the city gave them more to do that you didn't have to pay for, then you wouldn't have them walking around causing trouble."
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