Community Corner

National Night Out Celebrations Vary in Huntley

Huntley sees lower number of neighborhood block parties this year, but Sun City Huntley's National Night Out going strong.

 

While National Night Out may be marked by only a handful of parties in Huntley neighborhoods, Sun City Huntley is getting ready for its annual blowout that attracts hundreds of residents.

Sun City’s Neighborhood Watch/Neighbors Helping Neighbors is holding its National Night Out at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug.7 at Eakin Creek Field, on Del Webb Blvd., with guest speakers, hot dogs and an Sun City Softball All Star Game, said Ken Andersen, acting president of the NW program.

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National Night Out started 29 years ago by National Association of Town Watch (NATW) as a crime prevent tool for police and a way for neighbors to meet each other.

The first National Night Out was marked on the first Tuesday of August in a simple way: residents turned on their porch lights and sat on their front porch.

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Last year, 37 million people throughout the U.S., some Canadian cities and military bases around the world, according to NATW’s website. Andersen said there are 15,000 communities participating in Night Out events this year.

Neighbors Helping Neighbors has seen an increase in the number of Neighborhood Watch groups forming this year since a rash of burglaries hit the community last summer and earlier this year. There are 40 Neighborhood Watch groups with about 75 percent in various stages of certification by the Huntley police department, Andersen said.

The burglaries remain under investigation.

Police are “doing everything, you see bike patrols, patrol cars, plain clothes (officers) all over the place,” he said. “They are doing their job.”

Neighborhood Watch does not involve anyone walking around on patrol, like a Neighborhood Watch group in central Florida where a man, George Zimmerman, faces a murder charge in the shooting of a young man named Trayvon Martin.

Sun City’s Neighborhood Watch members do not walk around carrying a gun, he said. “We don’t allow it. The police department doesn’t allow it.”

An aspect that is different in Sun City is the Neighbors Helping Neighbors concept, which is a big asset in a senior community. Neighbors not only look out for suspicious incidents or crime, they look out for each other, Andersen said.

Sun City Neighborhood Watch/Neighbors Helping Neighbors has a calling tree that can inform all 5,000 homes in the community of important police alerts about crime or emergencies. Block captains also visit people with physical or metal disabilities who can’t get out to let them know what’s going on and make sure they have what they need, Andersen said.

Tuesday’s National Night Out includes a brief ceremony introducing Mayor Charles Sass, Police Chief John Perkins and other speakers. The Sun City Marine Color Guard will be there. Citizens Bank is sponsoring the event, providing hot dogs, cold drinks and potato chips.

Huntley Police Deputy Chief Todd Fulton said other neighborhoods will have gatherings but block parties are down this year. He said there is no indication why; although he speculates the economy may be have an impact.

Huntley does not hold a centralized National Night Out as other communities, like Lake in the Hills. Fulton is not sure how or when National Night Out became centralized or a big event in some communities. But he likes the original intent of National Night out: turning on the porch lights and sitting on the front porch. It doesn’t cost anything, he said.

 “We really just want people to come outside and meet each other,” Fulton said.


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