National Night Out Against Crime celebrated in Lake Stevens

BY PAM STEVENS | EDITOR This year’s National Night Out Against Crime is the 10th year for Lake Stevens and was bigger and better than ever with crowds lining down Main Street and community organizations joining forces to make the event fun and exciting.

Sponsored by the Lake Stevens Family Center and the Lake Stevens Police, this year’s National Night Out brought out organizations from not only Lake Stevens but from all over Snohomish County.

“It was highly successful this year and well attended, an event that our community should be very proud of,” Kathleen Friend of the Family Center said.

“We had about 800 folks come out and that for us was quite a milestone,” Linda Rudat also from the Family Center added.

The Lake Stevens Police had their CSI booth for the second year in a row and everyone seemed to really enjoy it.

The kids had a great time turning on the police lights and sirens.

“NNO is a great opportunity for the department to interact with the community and for kids to view the police positively,” Police Chief Randy Celori said.

DJ Bob entertained the crowd with a hula-hoop contest, karaoke and great music which helped create a very positive mood for the entire event.
Every service group from Lake Stevens participated from the American Legion, Rotary, Lions Club, Kiwanis and even the United States Postal Service joined in to teach people ways to protect themselves against mail fraud and identity theft.

New this year were demonstrations at North Cove Park where people could learn safety and rescue techniques. There were also groups like a fiddler’s club to help show families that outside activities can help keep kids out of trouble.

“Crime prevention is more than just locking the door and turning on the lights, it’s building the kind of community where families find hobbies and activities that they can enjoy together,” Rudat said.

Other volunteers included Dr. Tracy DeLorm, a local dentist who made bite kits for kids in case they are needed for personal identification purposes.

Karate and Tae Kwon Do instructors were on hand to teach methods of self-protection.

“The whole point is to say that if you’re physical strong you will be less likely to be a victim of crime,” Rudat said.

National Night Out is in its 24th year and is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anticrime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

Last year's National Night Out campaign involved citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide. In all, over 34 million people participated in 2006.

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