Homecoming week in Cleburne County brought more than school spirit this year — it also left the Heflin Police Department wrapped up in fun. Officers arrived at their station Thursday morning to find the building and grounds covered in long strands of toilet paper, a familiar sight in the community during homecoming celebrations.
Rather than complaining about the adornments on their buildings and vehicles, the department leaned into the tradition.
In a Facebook post, police addressed “the school kids of Cleburne County,” joking that toilet paper sales had “skyrocketed this week” and the additional sales tax revenue should be enough to cover raises for the new fiscal year.
“We think that rolling the police department was a little uncalled for,” the post read. “But as we enter into Halloween season, we don’t want to hear any crying when we load up like we are going to serve a search warrant and go full out tactical ninja style old school rolling at your place next month. We know who you are … good luck in the game tomorrow night, and we will see you next month.”
According to The Anniston Star, Heflin Police Chief Ross McGlaughn said Friday the playful spirit is part of the community’s approach to homecoming.
“For the most part, all of Heflin, the community embraces the kids,” McGlaughn said.
“They go around and roll, and as long as damage isn’t done, you know, nobody’s property gets torn up. For the most part, everybody’s good with it. There’s a couple people who do not like it, don’t want them on their property, but as long as the kids are behaving and not tearing anything up, I told them they could come to the police department. I told them, if they did a good enough job, I would post it on Facebook, so they did okay.”
The chief admitted the custom is one he grew up with, too — and besides, the statute of limitations has expired.
“Yes, I have engaged in rolling houses before,” McGlaughn said, laughing. “I think my generation and the generation prior to us probably got out more. I think today’s generation is more technology-based, or on our phones, or playing games. Back then … we probably got out and rolled houses more.”
The playful “rolling wars,” McGlaughn said, are often staged between grades — juniors decorating seniors’ yards and vice versa — sometimes with parents chauffeuring to make sure students don’t cross the line.
“Technically, you know it could be considered trespassing, criminal littering,” McGlaughn said. “But the community, for the most part, embraces it.”
The department’s post captured that spirit, drawing nearly 1,500 comments and, according to McGlaughn, “not a single negative comment I see.”
For the chief, the homecoming ritual is about more than pranks — it’s about community.
“Everybody that does it, for the most part, they’re all friends,” he said. “It’s a little cheeky, ‘haha, got you’ kind of thing.”
By leaning into the humor, Heflin police turned what could have been a nuisance into a moment of shared laughter and small-town fun — a reminder that even lighthearted pranks can strengthen community ties.
Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
