National Night Out Brings Out The Umbrellas

Before the bike parade to Parisek Park began, Huntley police Sgt. Amy Williams welcomed the participating kids and then questioned them about what they always should wear when riding their bikes, who is a stranger, and what phone number to dial in an emergency.

Fortunately, Williams’ questions required short answers, because it wasn’t long after the pop quiz had ended and the parade arrived at the park that a line of thunderstorms clipped the area and put an early damper to the Parisek Park gathering, one of 10 scheduled throughout Huntley as part of the 28th annual National Night Out.

Other locations hosting National Night Out events included the Huntley Meadows subdivision, the Oakcrest subdivision, the Northbridge subdivision, the Talamore subdivision and at the Eakin Creek Baseball Field in Sun City.

National Night Out “does help with community relations,” Williams said. "Residents are able to associate with the police (later). You know, they see an officer and they recognize him and say, ‘Hey, I saw you on National Night Out. I was there.’ So it’s all about making us approachable, getting out of that squad car and removing that barrier, and being able to interact with the community in a different setting.”

First introduced by the National Association of Town Watch in 1984, National Night Out is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for local anticrime programs, strengthen neighborhood and police community partnerships, and, above all, let criminals know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

According to the National Association of Town Watch, last year’s event attracted more than 37 million people in 15,110 communities participate with National Night Out events taking place in all 50 states as well as several U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and overseas military bases.

Locally, this year’s event at Parisek Park, just east of the Huntley Area Public Library, drew an estimated 40 to 50 residents early on, as participants sought shelter under the park’s lone canopy when the thunderstorms struck.

Hours earlier the National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Chicago area, which, combined with the high heat and humidity, played a role in the event’s initial low turnout.

According to Joella Melendy, who has helped organize a National Night Out event in Parisek Park for five of the last seven years, this year’s turnout was less than last year’s, although the storms passed early enough to allow for a possible recovery.

Melendy and the Parisek Park crew were ready for both turnouts large or small as well as participants’ appetites as organizers received food donations from Jimano’s Pizzeria, Tufano’s Pizzeria, Del Toro's TexMex and Caputo’s. Residents also brought their own dishes including salads and desserts.

“We started out with people bringing pop and cookies,” said Melendy of previous National Night Out spreads. “Then we decided that we didn’t want. We wanted them to have more of a meal so we went out to businesses in the neighborhood and asked for donations and every year they’ve been helpful.”

Sgt. Williams said each neighborhood planned their own National Night Out activities.

“Every neighborhood has different things going on,” she said. “Here in Georgian place they have a bike parade, a bags tournament, and all different things. In the Northbridge they’re doing bike registration and in Del Webb there’s an all-star game going on, so every neighborhood gets together and talks about what they’d like to do.”

Having residents gathered in one area was particularly helpful to Sgt. Williams who offered several crime prevention tips including a reminder to women that they shouldn’t leave their purses on car front seats. Women who do, Williams said, are susceptible to “smash and grab” crime.