Families, police and elected officials came out to National Night Out at the Dewey Family Festival for a night of fun and awareness. Community members gathered at Barnard Fire Department and Bethany Presbyterian Church to enjoy a night filled with free music and activities for the family.
National Night Out is a national program for crime and drug prevention.
Bill Selke, a member of the Dewey Corridor Neighbors committee and one of the initial organizers, believes that National Night Out is a great way for the community to know one another.
“Just the families to get to know each other, to respect each other, to feel comfortable, to make it a safer community, and to have the people feel that they can trust and report when they see things that are going wrong,” said Selke.
Town of Greece Supervisor John T. Auberger and state Senator Joe Robach came out to support the event’s debut in Greece.
“National Night Out is designed for the community to stand against crime and make a statement that we have zero tolerance in our communities for crime,” said Greece Police Chief Todd Baxter. “Police officers, community, elected officials working together to keep crime out of our neighborhoods or to address it once it occurs as quick as possible is the key to having a safe neighborhood.”
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks was also there to ensure the Greece community that they’re being protected and watched over by the Greece police.
“We have one of the most dedicated profession law enforcement communities, I believe in the country,” said Brooks. “The only way we will be effective in defeating crime in our community is when we all work together in a collaborative and coordinated way.”
Sen. Robach, a resident of Greece, said that looking after those in our community is a key point in lowering crime.
“It really is about the neighborhood working together,” said Robach. "Everybody doesn’t like crime, at least the law abiding citizen, and there is a lot, lot more of us that follow the law [and] look out for our neighbors than those that choose to break those laws.”
Family Court Judge Gale Donofrio, who is running for Supreme Court Justice come this November, said that teaching our children that the police are there to help is important.
"I think that it’s very important that as families we teach our children to work with law enforcement and to respect law enforcement and teach them that law enforcement are our friends and they’re there to help us,” said Donofrio.
Families, police and elected officials came out to National Night Out at the Dewey Family Festival for a night of fun and awareness. Community members gathered at Barnard Fire Department and Bethany Presbyterian Church to enjoy a night filled with free music and activities for the family.
National Night Out is a national program for crime and drug prevention.
Bill Selke, a member of the Dewey Corridor Neighbors committee and one of the initial organizers, believes that National Night Out is a great way for the community to know one another.
“Just the families to get to know each other, to respect each other, to feel comfortable, to make it a safer community, and to have the people feel that they can trust and report when they see things that are going wrong,” said Selke.
Town of Greece Supervisor John T. Auberger and state Senator Joe Robach came out to support the event’s debut in Greece.
“National Night Out is designed for the community to stand against crime and make a statement that we have zero tolerance in our communities for crime,” said Greece Police Chief Todd Baxter. “Police officers, community, elected officials working together to keep crime out of our neighborhoods or to address it once it occurs as quick as possible is the key to having a safe neighborhood.”
Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks was also there to ensure the Greece community that they’re being protected and watched over by the Greece police.
“We have one of the most dedicated profession law enforcement communities, I believe in the country,” said Brooks. “The only way we will be effective in defeating crime in our community is when we all work together in a collaborative and coordinated way.”
Sen. Robach, a resident of Greece, said that looking after those in our community is a key point in lowering crime.
“It really is about the neighborhood working together,” said Robach. "Everybody doesn’t like crime, at least the law abiding citizen, and there is a lot, lot more of us that follow the law [and] look out for our neighbors than those that choose to break those laws.”
Family Court Judge Gale Donofrio, who is running for Supreme Court Justice come this November, said that teaching our children that the police are there to help is important.
"I think that it’s very important that as families we teach our children to work with law enforcement and to respect law enforcement and teach them that law enforcement are our friends and they’re there to help us,” said Donofrio.
It wasn’t just elected officials that knew the benefits for putting on the event, as participants and volunteers came out to help the cause.
David Fitzgerald, Scout Master for Boy Scout Troop 240, says that the program will benefit not only the scouts but the community at large.
“I think it will be great for the neighborhood because the scouting program is a very positive program for youth and it’s something that the boys in the neighborhood can see what scouting is all about,” said Fitzgerald.
Alexander Seman, a 1st Class Boy Scout from Scout Troop 240, was there with his fellow scouts to play games and gather crowd interest.
“I'm having a lot of fun with all my fellow scouts they’re really enjoying the time they’re spending together and helping out other people,” said Seman.
The Greece Marching Band and Arikata Martial Arts were there for live entertainment, as well as a car show and door prizes.
National Night Out is in its 29th year and happens the first week of August all over the country and is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch.
