Photo Jeff Clemens - Pictured are patrol vehicles from the Raymond and Shoalwater Bay Police Departments. Pictured left to right are Raymond PD Sgt. Arlie Bogss, Shoalwater PD Chief Jim Bergstrom, Shoalwater PD Officer Chris Boggs and Raymond PD Reserve.
Local law enforcement and emergency response agencies assembled at South Fork Landing Park near downtown Raymond for the 2nd Annual National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4. Several other local agencies and organizations also attended to raise awareness for many causes.
New organizer
Zoe Sowa, secretary at the South Bend Police Department, was tasked with setting up this year's National Night Out. Last year's event was organized by former Pacific County Sheriff's Office Chief Civil Deputy Denise Rowlette who departed the office at the start of the year.
"Chief Criminal Deputy Pat Matlock reached out to me to see if I would help this year," Sowa said. "I took part in it last year and helped. Since Denise is no longer there, I was asked to take over and spearheaded it this year."
Building a bridge
National Night Out has become a national event that is designed to build a bridge between law enforcement and emergency responders and their local communities. Residents from different areas of Pacific County had a chance to meet with officers from their respective cities along with firefighters and other resources. Tours of police cars and fire trucks were available as well as a Sheriff's Office Rescue Boat.
Several organizations set up booths to inform residents what they offered and what their roles are in helping local citizens. Plenty of goodies were handed out, and local police departments handed out safety information and free gun locks for attendees.
Good attendance for the second year
Sowa estimates that this year's attendance surpassed the attendance numbers of 2018 of 250-300 by well over 100. The Crisis Support Network held a BBQ during the event and handed out an estimated 450 hotdogs along with chips and water throughout the evening.
"It wasn't like there were that many people there all at once," Sowa said. "It was throughout the entire evening. Every booth was handing something out and we handed out quite a bit of stuff ourselves [South Bend PD]."
Last-minute dilemma
Though the event went smooth it wasn't without at least one dilemma. Sowa learned Monday, August 3 the bouncy houses she had scheduled for National Night Out were double booked and had to back out. She was left with a short time frame to come up with a backup plan as the bouncy houses were the big hit with kids during the 2018 event.
"Thankfully Party on the Willapa stepped up for me and came through and we got them," Sowa said. "I have to give a huge shout out to Party on the Willapa and Merrily Deniston. They saved my bacon there. While there are all the other things to look at during the event, the kids love the bounce houses. It's a fun thing for them."
Get em, boy
One of the biggest draws during the evening was Sgt. Randy Wiegardt and his K9 partner Ciko who awed the crowd with their apprehension demonstrations. Sgt. Wiegardt gave his partner commands to apprehend a fleeing Sgt. Jon Ashley who was no match for the agile K9.
Another large draw was an appearance by the Shoalwater Bay Police Departments' Splash Drone that demonstrated its ability to deliver a flotation device to a drowning victim. Pilot and Officer Chris Boggs flew the high tech drone, to a 'pretending to be in distress', Sgt. Jon Ashley, who was successfully rescued.
"Sgt. Wiegardt with the K9 demos is always a huge crowd pleaser," Sowa said. "Everybody loves to see that dog. He is a great dog and everyone loves to see him work. It was also really cool Shoalwater had their Splash Drone. There has already been a lot of calls in the last couple of years with water safety type incidents. It's nice that they got to bring that and show off their new technology. It is something that is needed in our area."
Onward to 2020
Sowa and other agencies plan to hold another National Night Out in 2020 to continue the tradition of building the bridge between responders, public service-oriented organizations, and communities. She hopes to grow the event each year and bring in new additions.
"I would love to see it continue to grow," Sowa said. "To me, it is all about the community. I grew up here. I moved back here. I love this community. I do what I can to give back to it."
Sowa would like to thank all the partners of National Night Out: South Bend Police Dept., South Bend Fire Dept., Pacific County Sheriff's Office, PAC COM, PCEMA, PCSO Community Watch/Neighborhood Watch, Raymond Police Dept.,Raymond Fire Dept., Fire Dist. 3, Shoalwater Tribal Police, United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Basics Northwest, Road 2 Resiliency ,Teen Advocacy Coalition, Crisis Support Network, Long Beach Elks Drug Awareness Program, Party on the Willapa Bounce Houses (sponsored by TAC).