Our National Night Out In Pictures

We had a great night Tuesday as we gathered on my lawn for Midland's National Night Out. Here are some pictures from the night.

National Night Out is a great way to get to know your neighbors and to share your concerns with city leaders.

Photo by Spencer

The weather was beautiful as District 3 City Council Woman, Sharla Hotchkiss was our first guest of the evening. It was so good to see her but we knew she was covering a big area that night, so we tried not to hold her up too long.

Our next guests of the night were two of the 'Citizens on Patrol' who gave us some home security advice, then urged us to check out the C.O.P.S. Program and become involved.

More neighbors began to appear after returning from football practice and another pair of C.O.P.S. dropped by. I'm not sure who started the rumor that we were serving steaks that night, but they were all asking for them. All kidding aside, these volunteers also shared some tips and advice.

We broke out the glow sticks as the sun went down, just so we could keep an eye on the young children who were in attendance. As we were about to wrap, a large vehicle resembling an RV with police lights, pulled up with Larry Woodruff at the wheel!

Larry told me that he was going to try to make it by, and I'm glad he did, because it looked like his food supply inside the substation, was running a little bit low. I loaded up a plate full of cookies for him as Larry parked the substation right in front of the house. He shook hands and then got down to business.

Larry explained that there were still a large number of transients in the area who were no longer working and needed money to get back home. Some were committing robberies; ones called 'smash and grab's. That's where the thief uses a tool to smashed the window of the vehicle, then reaches inside to steal any valuables he might find.

Larry urged everyone in attendance to make sure that they removed all the valuables from their vehicles, to move them out of view to the trunk, or to just take them inside.

It was a great night of fun and getting to know one another. I had also put together some prizes for the folks that came to the party and everyone went away very happy and excited about meeting their neighbors, some for the very first time!

I encourage you to have your own National Night Out Block Party next time!