Sheriff, DARE celebrate night out on Tuesday

Carson City’s National Night Out event, which will celebrate a dozen years of “giving crime the boot,” is set at Mills Park on Tuesday beginning at 5 p.m.

The neighborhood outreach program is a law enforcement tradition now at 31 years and counting nationwide, with parties scattered around some communities in neighborhoods or held in parks for multiple neighborhoods as is the case here. So said Deputy Lisa Davis, DARE officer and spokesperson for the event. DARE stands for Drug Abuse Resistance Education and describes a method to approach decisions: define, assess, respond and evaluate.

Davis said at Mills Park there will be two helicopters on display, food and drink, much for families to enjoy, and various displays to emphasize the neighborhood outreach theme while stressing public safety concerns or achievements.

“It is one of the largest events that we have,” she said, referring to the Sheriff’s Office and its DARE program. She said nationwide, the night out event is held in thousands of communities.

Sheriff Ken Furlong and Deputy Davis said various groups are being recognized for helping combat crime and boost law enforcement, but Furlong said the “candle group” is the Boys and Girls Clubs of Western Nevada. He refers to the featured group that way, he said, to explain it represents the candle on the cake that is the way to achieve solid policing with community cooperation.

He said various organizations have input, but the club and its backers are “really making a difference with our kids” and “our kids lead the pack.” By that, he said, he meant crime involving youth has gone down markedly in recent years, which is part of the 12 year celebration here Tuesday. He said the night out event here has grown through the dozen years.

Davis said this year there were some pre-National Night Out events around town earlier, but the Mills Park gathering Tuesday is the big one. She said last year, when the neighborhood outreach theme was the same, people participating ate 2,500 hot dogs in three hours, and imbibed a commensurate amount of soda pop or water. The same fare will be offered Tuesday evening.

Davis said even though the Boys and Girls Club is the featured organization, there are others who are being recognized for similar efforts. “We bring together many, many partners who help us,” she said.

The goal is to celebrate gains in turning around problems from crime, substance abuse or violence via intervention or suppression with the community’s help. A flier announcing details of the Tuesday gathering listed 20 sponsors.