Community enjoys Night Out in Selah

Staged each summer in towns throughout the Yakima Valley and across the country, National Night Out aims to strengthen crime prevention by bringing neighborhoods and their local police closer together.

National Night Out, which had its beginnings in 1981, is held the first Tuesday of August, though some communities have activities on another day. The community-building campaign is designed to encourage communities around the United States to build safer and better places to live.

On Aug. 4, nearly 450 Selah residents came together to celebrate this year’s National Night Out and enjoy a few hours of fun at Wixon Park. Free hot dogs, cake and drinks were provided by the Selah Kiwanis Club.

“It’s a great way to get the community in one place and show criminals that we’re not going to take what they’re doing and that we’re going to stand up against them,” Selah police Chief Richard Hains said.

Attendees at the Selah event had lots to look at and enjoy. The Selah Police Department had one of its cars available for people to sit in. The Selah Fire Department had a fire truck on display. People could also enjoy seeing other vehicles from a local Volkswagen club, a Mustang club and the Blue Knights motorcycle club.

Elsewhere, a local company called Super Soaked offered an activity for kids involving water balloons. Other groups with displays in the park included the Selah Library, the Lions Club, the Kiwanis Club, Boy Scouts Troop 275 and Selah Smiles.

Three branches of the military were also represented at the event. The Army’s 53rd Ordnance Company allowed people a chance to operate some of the features of a Talon EOD robot, which is normally used in disarming explosives. The Marine Corps’ 4th Tank Battalion brought out a tank that kids climbed on, and the National Guard had a decontamination trailer on display.

Hains said that National Night Out is a good opportunity for the public to see police officers as regular people. He cited the fact that the officers there were in standard civilian clothing, rather than in their uniforms.

“(Event attendees) also get to see our families,” Hains explained. “They see that we’re family people. Most of them always know we’re human, but some people lose track and think of us as RoboCops.”

Missy Maki, community service specialist for the Selah Police Department, added: “If you know the community and you’re more involved with your neighbors, then you’re going to do more to look out for them.”

Selah Mayor John Gawlik praised what the annual activity offers in helping develop important connections.

“It’s an extension of what the police department does every day,” Gawlik said. “And it’s also a great way for us to get together and have a good time.”

• Colton Redtfeldt is an incoming junior at Selah High School and is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed program for teen journalists.

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