The annual National Night Out event gives residents and safety personnel a chance to reconnect.

By Charly SHELTON

During the year, busy lives can pull individuals down different paths. What is a strong community can quickly fall apart without a concerted effort to maintain a feeling of connectedness. Through community events and open lines of communication, even busy people can feel connected just by taking a few hours to get to know a little better their neighbors and local law enforcement. It is with this sentiment that National Night Out was founded in 1984.

Now in its 35th year, the need for strong community is greater than ever. And while Glendale and the Crescenta Valley area have no shortage of community events, National Night Out is one of the oldest running events that the community takes part in to help strengthen that bond between citizens and local law enforcement through communication.

“Glendale Police Department has been involved in NNO for close to 30 years. It is an opportunity for the chief, command staff, supervisors, officers and civilians to visit with the residents in a relaxed atmosphere and hear their concerns relating to crime in their neighborhoods,” said Tahnee Lightfoot, Media Relations/Community Outreach with GPD. “We speak to some of these folks on the phone, over email or through social media, and it is nice to put a name to a face.”

This year’s NNO events will be held next Tuesday, Aug. 7, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. across the country in over 16,000 communities, with 38 million attendees. These events range in size from a few neighbors getting together to whole towns taking part and can include block parties, festivals, parades, barbecues, visits from law enforcement officers, fire fighters and emergency medical personnel, local government officials and more. In the Crescenta Valley, there will be several events held throughout the community as block parties and neighborhood meet-ups. In Glendale, there will also be block parties as well as events at parks and community centers. A map with a full list of locations can be found on the local event’s website, GlendaleNNO.com.

At the CV Sheriff’s Station, personnel are combining the National Night Out celebration with a station open house. There will be tours of the station, booths from local community groups like the YMCA, Prom Plus, CVHS Robotics Club, New York Life, which will be offering Kid Print, the kids’ fingerprinting program, and local clergy, the CV Chamber of Commerce, local Community Emergency Response Team, California Highway Patrol, LASD Montrose Search and Rescue and many more.

“It’s an event when you try to bring crime awareness to the community,” said Deputy Alex Covian of the CV Sheriff’s Station. “[It’s wonderful that the] community comes out in a show of support in its stand against crime and to learn a little bit about crime trends by interacting with the deputies and picking up some of the informational pamphlets.”

He also recommended that residents take time to talk to some of the local organizations that will be on-site to see what they’re doing about crime or helping to keep kids out of trouble.

“We would like the Crescenta Valley residents to come out to learn a little bit more about what we do at the sheriff’s department. [Attendees] get to meet the captain and they can ask him questions as well as talk to some of the deputies who will be present. They can also learn about the resources that we have at the station for crime or search and rescue.”

At the station, cars from the Early Rodders will be on display and personnel will be cooking up free hot dogs for guests.

“We have so much support from our Glendale and La Crescenta community and this is such a great way to get to know our residents in a positive and fun environment. It is an opportunity to strengthen police and community partnerships, and increase our neighborhood watch programs,” added Lightfoot. “The best part of the event is meeting new friends, interacting with the children and providing information that may assist in resolving a neighborhood problem. The kids really enjoy talking to the officers and getting a junior police badge or other GPD item for attending the event.”

For more information on the La Crescenta and Glendale events, visit GlendaleNNO.com or call the GPD Community Impact Bureau at (818) 548-4015.

  Charly Shelton