The National Night Out, designed to build partnerships and fight crime, is being held in more than four dozen Iowa communities tonight.
In Webster City, Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Timmons says the Night Out is a perfect opportunity for law officers to get better acquainted with local residents and vice versa. “It’s a great community policing event to let the family and people that don’t see us on the other side, they might deal with us in a bad way, or an ambulance call or car accident or things like that,” Timmons says. “They get to see who we are. Nothing’s better than putting a smile on a kid’s face or joking with an adult. Even though if we’ve had encounters with them, we still try to build those relationships to let them know that we’re here to help them.”
Webster City Police Officer Steven Thumma says visitors will be treated to food, educational programs and a coin scavenger hunt at West Twin Park as a part of Webster City’s National Night Out event.. “Webster City PD will be there, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and dispatch will be there, other local area law enforcement, emergency personnel,” Thumma says, “lots of their booths with community services that we partner with, like public health or the Hamilton County Community Services and Veterans’ Affairs.”
There are 57 Iowa communities involved in this year’s event, which is a way for the public, law enforcement and EMS to learn from one another. Events are planned in: Alta, Altoona, Anamosa, Burlington, Carlisle, Cascade, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Charles City, Coralville, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Decorah, Des Moines, Dubuque, Eagle Grove, Eldridge, Forest City, Fort Dodge, Grinnell, Hampton, Indianola, Iowa City, Jesup, Kellogg, Leon, Manchester, Maquoketa, Marcus, Marengo, Marion, Mason City, Muscatine, Newton, Oxford Junction, Polk City, Red Oak, Remsen, Riverdale, Rockwell, Sheffield, Sigourney, Sioux City, State Center, Storm Lake, Stuart, Tama, Tiffin, Urbandale, Vinton, Waterloo, Waukon, Waverly, Webster City, West Des Moines, Williamsburg and Windsor Heights.
Learn more at: natw.org.
(By Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)