In The News
National Night Out unites communities against crime
Thursday August 06, 2009
By The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian
source: http://www.register-pajaronian.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=7550
The Watsonville Register-Pajaronian, August 6, 2009
http://www.register-pajaronian.com/V2_news_articles.php?heading=0&page=72&story_id=7550
National Night Out unites communities against crime
Posted: Thursday, Aug 6th, 2009
The chain-link fence surrounding Muzzio Park in the Mona Lisa neighborhood was festooned with streamers and balloons Tuesday night as dozens of neighbors gathered for the National Night Out.
Children dashed happily through the forest of adults’ legs, while a line of people waited to be served from an enormous steaming pot full of pozole. Mexican music blasted from a stereo, and families chatted at several tables.
National Night Out is a nationwide event designed to encourage neighbors to get to know each other and forge relationships with local law enforcement agencies. The goal is to heighten crime-prevention awareness, build support and participation in local anti-crime programs, and send a message that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
Watsonville Mayor Pro Tem Luis Alejo, who attended the event, said he helped organize the city’s first event in 1998, before Muzzio Park had been built.
“It’s good to see the changes in the neighborhood,” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s a dramatic improvement.”
Alejo was referring to the dramatic upgrade in 2007 of Riverside Mobile Home Park, an area once known for ramshackle dwellings and high crime. It now boasts a row of gleaming, well-maintained mobile homes.
“It shows how collaboration between police, community members and neighbors can help,” he said.
Watsonville police officer Ed Gluhan said officers were stationed at each of the 18 Watsonville locations, while others roamed from site to site.
Watsonville firefighters also made an appearance at the gatherings, as did emergency medical workers.
At the Stonecreek Apartments on Bree Lane, pieces of carne asada were sizzling on a large grill, and several tables were crammed with neighbors eating from heaping plates of food.
National Night Out volunteer Betsy Hernandez said the events send positive messages to young people.
“It’s a good way to celebrate a drug-free night and a drug-free life,” she said.
Sandra Perez, who manages the Stonecreek Apartments, said she plans several neighborhood gatherings every year. National Night Out, however, is the largest of the year.
Laura Solis, who recently moved into the complex, said she hadn’t met her neighbors until Tuesday’s gathering.
Terri Hernandez, who has been living in the complex for five years, said she has preteen and teenage children, and that knowing who her neighbors are is comforting.
“I want to know who I live with, so my kids can be safe,” she said.
Ezequiel Rebollar, who was eating with two of his friends, said it was good to see the community together.
“This is a community,” he said. “We have to get along with each other.”