Neighbors mingle on National Night Out
Tonto Park North in Prescott Valley had a “down-home America” feel Tuesday evening.
Officially known as National Night Out, this 25th annual event featured policemen and women, fire fighters, neighbors and their children talking, laughing, and playing over hot dogs and snow cones.
“The whole purpose of this night is to get neighbors together,” said Darcy Morger-Grovenstein, a Kiwanis volunteer. “I have a group of 20 Key Club members from Bradshaw Mountain High School who are participating as Junior Kiwanis here and at Sunflower Park. We are giving out child safety kits and bike safety buttons as part of our partnership with Target. I just wish we could do this every couple of months.”
National Night Out is a crime and drug prevention event to alert people to crime and encourage them to keep a watchful eye on their neighborhoods, according to nationaltownwatch.org.
National Night Out 2007 involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 35 million people participated in National Night Out 2007.
“Tonight’s purpose is to mingle with the crowd and answer any questions,” said Sgt. Joe Cappelli, Prescott Valley Police. “There are a lot of citizens who don’t get to see us. We want to expand on that and let them know that they are capable of helping us successfully fight crime. They are our eyes and ears. We need citizens to help because they know their neighborhood better than we do.”
Central Yavapai Fire District Captain Davin Vanatta commented that his men were there to provide community awareness and interaction.
“We want to educate people and answer their questions,” he said. “Many want to know why we drive huge fire trucks just to provide paramedic service. We want to ensure the most optimal care in the emergency world and get to our stop as quickly as we can.”
The focus of the evening was on interaction between families and being able to visually recognize who belongs.
“This is amazing,” said Angie Poland, mother of 5-year-old Emma. “I love sitting down and talking to my neighbors. I come to the park a lot and I feel better knowing the neighbors are keeping a close eye and looking out for each other.”
Aubra Phillips brings his dog to the park all of the time and many of the neighborhood kids like to play with it.
“I want to know who our neighbors are,” he said. “I can do that visually - I recognize familiar faces.”
Phillips has been in touch with the police recently because he heard gunshots in the park.
“They may have been fire crackers, but this is the third time, and I don’t think this should be happening in the park after dark.”
The Kiwanis Club sponsored the Tonto Park North night out, according to Dan Hussey, vice president of the Prescott Valley chapter.
“It is a way to help the community go back to their roots when neighbors knew neighbors and looked out for one another,” he said.
Target donated food and had about 15 employees show up to help.
“We have ID testing kits and want families to always be aware of where their child is,” said Mott Keen from Target. “It does take a whole neighborhood to raise a child.”
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