Daily Egyptian Summer05 Edition
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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
The Daily Egyptian, the student-run newspaper of SIUC, is committed to being a trusted source of information, commentary and public discourse while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester. The Pulse, Carbondale Entertainment Guide, is published once a week on Thursday.Last update: Wednesday, August 3, 2005 at 5:56:05 PM
Copyright 2009 Daily Egyptian Summer05 Edition