[September 04, 2011] National Night Out event slated Tuesday evening Tweet ENID, Sep 03, 2011 (Enid News & Eagle - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Garfield County Sheriff's office expects cooler temperatures for the 2011 National Night Out event in downtown Enid Tuesday evening. National Night Out is a crime- and drug-prevention event sponsored by National Association of Town Watch and involves people, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood watch organizations and local officials from more than 15,000 communities from all 50 states, territories, Canadian cites and military bases worldwide. Garfield County Sheriff's Office Deputy David Hargrave, who organized the event, said he anticipates up to 1,200 attendees. This is the third year Garfield County will participate in the event. The event is designed to heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. The event begins at 6 p.m. with attendees having the chance to meet county law enforcement officials. "It gives people the chance to come out and ask us questions and suggest ways we can improve our services," Hargrave said. " This year's event will bring together law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood watch organizations and local officials from the community. The event will begin with a flag ceremony from the Enid Fire Department color guard, along with a playing of the national anthem. District Attorney Mike Fields will address the crowd at 6:15 p.m. Sheriff's department K-9 demonstrations will be performed at least once an hour as well as local fire departments competing in vehicle extraction's. Shriners clowns will be on hand and children's fingerprinting will be offered for parents. EFD will have a fire safety house on hand along with Oklahoma Highway Patrol demonstrating its rollover simulator and its bomb squad robot. Music for the event will be provided by Peewee's Mobile Music. As well as meeting with area law enforcement and emergency responders, Hargrave said the event will feature free hot dogs, chips and beverages. Garfield County Sheriff's Office rescheduled the 2011 event from its original Aug. 2 date because of a record month of extreme temperatures. The Breckinridge Mesonet site listed the high temperature on Aug. 2 at 110 degrees. The 2010 event saw between 700 to 800 attendees in 106-degree heat. Hargrave said one woman was taken to the hospital during last year's event because of dehydration. "We took a gamble on the rescheduling and it looks like it has paid off," Hargrave said. According to Mesonet, the high temperature is predicted to be 78 on Tuesday. Sponsors for National Night out are Mid-America Wholesale, Pepsi Bottling Corporation of Enid, Vance 71st Security Squadron, Jump 4 Joy Entertainment, ChemCan, Sturdevant Ice Inc, Walmart, Life EMS and Atwoods. Hargrave said Garfield County district judges also made significant financial contributions to the event. Independence from Broadway to Randolph and Randolph from Broadway to Grand will be blocked off during the event. For questions involving the event, call Hargrave at 237-0240, extension 2533. ___ (c)2011 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) Visit the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) at www.enidnews.com Distributed by MCT Information Services [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]