Haley Murray
Daily Egyptian
With hot dogs in hand, Shelby Seegers-Schafer of Carbondale and her
2-year-old daughter Ellie, surveyed the families sprawled out on the
grass and slowly strolled from booth to booth.
"I thought it would be good to see what it's all about and see what
community services are offered," Seegers-Schafer said, and Ellie said
she was having fun.
Seegers-Shafer and her daughter were just one of more than 100 families
visiting Carbondale's annual National Night Out at Turley Park Tuesday
night.
The National Town Watch Association, a nonprofit, crime prevention
organization, established National Night Out more than 20 years ago,
according to the National Night Out Web site. It was designed to
heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for
local anticrime programs and strengthen neighborhood spirit and
police-community partnerships.
Sponsored by the Carbondale Police Department, the theme was a "going
away party" for neighborhood crimes and drugs and featured Carbondale's
Police and Fire departments, Jackson County Ambulance Services and
Animal Control.
"It's a showcase of emergency services," police officer Randy Mathis said. "They're all available to answer questions."
Most services offered tours of their vehicles and demonstrations.
The Carbondale Fire Department brought in its Fire Safety House, a mock
two-story home on wheels, designed to help children escape their own
house in a fire.
"It's about fire prevention and escape techniques," firefighter Dana
MacCrimmon said. "We teach kids about home hazards, what to do if there
is a fire and how to find the best escape route."
The participants begin in the living room, where they learn about
electrical sockets and fireplaces, and move onto the kitchen to discuss
potential hazards and the fire extinguisher, she said.
"Everything is half-sized," she said. "It's a lot of crawling."
From there, they climb the stairs to the bedroom to talk about escape
routes. The room is then pumped full of theatrical smoke and the
children make their escape through a back door or out the window.
"They have to problem-solve to escape," MacCrimmon said. "The door could heat up so they have to go out the window."
The Jackson County Ambulance Service had its newest acquisition on
hand-a new, larger ambulance, purchased eight months ago, meant
specifically for longer trips, supervisor Gerald Lense said.
He and his crew were there to disprove the notion children have about
ambulances being threatening and associated with pain, he said.
"We want to show kids the ambulance and walk them through; show them
the equipment," Lense said. "Show them they don't need to have a fear
of us."
Animal Control officer Cindy Nelson walked through the park, handing
out two leashes to unchained dogs along the way, to inform passersby
with dogs about the leash laws and the importance of tagging their pets.
"[Animal Control] is there for the safety of you and your pet," she said. "I tell kids I'm the 'puppy police.'"
Mathis, who helped coordinate the event, said he was pleased with the turn out.
"We raised some money and it looked like everybody was enjoying themselves," he said.
Seegers-Schafer said it was good to connect with the various services.
"I didn't know so much about them," she said.
Reporter Haley Murray can be reached at
haley_murray@dailyegyptian.com
