First responders to connect with communities at National Night Out

COLUMBIA BASIN — Police, firefighters and other agencies will have a chance to rub elbows with the communities they serve next week at National Night Out. 

“Anytime you can engage (with) the officers (when they’re not) having to enforce the law brings out a better goodwill towards the community,” said Ritzville Police Chief Mike Suniga. “I think it's great for each other to see the human side instead of just the work side.” 

Quincy’s event is Monday, with lots of activities and displays for both children and adults at Lauzier Park. 

“We’ll have a couple of our new vehicles out there,” said Quincy Police Sgt. Joe Westby. “The State Patrol will be there, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. They’ll have the (Tactical Response team) SWAT vehicle on display.” 

Besides the first responder vehicles, the Grant PUD mobile unit will be there to educate the public about electrical safety, and Grant Transit Authority will have a bus to check out as well. 

Last year, about 800 people came to Quincy’s National Night Out, Westby said. The QPD will grill hot dogs for the crowd, with all the fixings. 

Moses Lake Police Capt. Jeff Sursely wasn’t sure how many people were at last year’s event, but he knew it was at least 500. 

“We ran out of hot dogs,” Sursely said. The department plans to be better stocked this year, he added. 

Moses Lake’s National Night Out is Tuesday at Sinkiuse Square, downtown by the post office. It, too, will have emergency vehicles as well as free face painting, a bike giveaway and a dunk tank where anyone who wants to can drop a cop into the water. This year there will be live music as well, from local band The Poor Boyz. 

Ritzville will have its National Night Out on Tuesday as well, although the RPD doesn’t expect the same sort of crowds, Suniga said. He expects about 100 people to come out to the town park. Besides the police department, they’ll have local firefighters and Adams County Emergency Management. They’ll cook up hot dogs as well, Suniga said, and then at dusk there will be a free showing of the movie “National Treasure.” with free popcorn. 

An unexpected find in the RPD basement gave the officers an idea for something to do at National Night Out, Suniga said. 

“We found some old Polaroid cameras,” he said. “So we're going to be taking some photos … and giving those photos away. If they want to take photos of their families, they can (use) it. It’s just a fun little thing.” 

Mattawa Police Department participates in National Night Out as well, but they do it a little differently, combining it with a movie night and a back-to-school celebration at Hund Park. Mattawa will celebrate Aug. 8, a Friday, said MPD Chief Alex Zesati. 

“It's just the availability of people's schedules,” Zesati said. “(For) a lot of farm workers here it’s pretty tough to have them attend, and I think that was one of the reasons why we don't do it on a Tuesday.” 

Last year’s celebration included a doughnut-eating contest, with doughnuts dangling from a line and participants trying to nibble them away with their hands tied behind their back, and a burrito-eating contest where first responders chowed down to see who could polish off a three-pound burrito in the shortest time.  

Zesati wasn’t sure which agencies would have vehicles and personnel there, he said, because some of them wait until the last minute to confirm their plans. 

National Night Out was established in 1984 by Matt Peskin, a community watch volunteer in Pennsylvania, to foster connections between law enforcement and the public. This year, about 38 million people in 17,000 communities across the United States will participate in the event, according to the National Night Out website. 

“We've got a pretty tight-knit community and a very supportive community, and I think any time we can get out and shake hands and talk to people, it's a benefit for our guys,” Sursely said. “This is where we're not in an enforcement role. We're in a community role.” 

Meet the officers at NNO:

Mattawa 

4 p.m. Aug. 5 

Hund Memorial Park
101 Government Road 

Moses Lake 

6 p.m. Aug. 5

Sinkiuse Square
West Third Avenue and South Ash Street 

Quincy  

5 p.m. Aug. 4

Lauzier Park, 1300 13th Ave. SW 

Ritzville 

6 p.m. Aug. 5

City of Ritzville Park
South Division Street 

    Ten-year-old Yemaya Castaneda aims a stream of water at a pretend burning building at last year’s National Night Out in Moses Lake. This year’s event is Tuesday.
  

    Contestants vie to consume dangling donuts at last year’s National Night Out in Mattawa. Mattawa combines the event, which brings out police and firefighters to mingle with the public, with a community festival that includes contests, music, a back-to-school raffle and movie night. Mattawa will hold its National Night Ot Aug. 8.
  

    Moses Lake Police Ofc. Jose Ramirez takes a plunge into the dunk tank at National Night Out in Moses Lake.
  

    Three-year-old Haisley Villalpando lets fly a bean bag at National Night Out in Quincy last year.