By Linda Collins
Fairborn Daily Herald
ENON — Residents throughout the Village of Enon and Mad River Township Tuesday, Aug. 2 will be locking up their doors, stepping outside their homes and joining their neighbors at Indian Valley Intermediate School, 510 S. Xenia Drive, as the Enon Police Department marks its fourth consecutive year of hosting National Night Out Against Crime.
The three-hour community event will kick off at 6 p.m. and will include a number of activities and family fun. Since 1984, the nationwide campaign has been held the first Tuesday in August and has promoted community relations between local law enforcement and residents, generated support for anti-crime programs, and heightened crime prevention awareness.
“Enon has one of the biggest National Night Out events in the area,” Enon Police Chief Lewis Wilcox said. “One reason for our success is that we do not wait until the last minute to plan things. We will start planning for the 2017 event the day after this year’s event.”
According to Wilcox, Enon Administrative Assistant Kristy Thome is heading up the National Night Out team again this year, and she said everything has fallen into place.
The public will have the opportunity to enjoy free hot dogs provided by Speedway LLC and cooked by members of the Enon VFW Post 8437. The annual event will also feature a number of games, face painting, a D J, “Dunk a Cop,” and a 24-foot rock climbing wall and slide.
Miami Valley Medical Center Care Flight is schedule to make a grand landing in the adjacent field at the school; and once it lands, families will have the opportunity to check out the inside of the air-medical transport.
A 50/50 raffle will be held throughout the evening to support the village police department’s “Shop with a Cop” program. Once again, local businesses and residents have generously donated a number of great prizes for the raffle, including two Kindles, said Thome.
In addition, various law enforcement agencies and fire and EMS departments will be coming out to support the annual event and the village police department, including the Clark County Sheriff’s Department, the Clark County Park District, the Clark County Prosecutor’s Office and both the Enon/Mad River Township and Hustead Fire and EMS Departments. Some of the agencies will be setting up several demonstrations which are aimed to educate residents about various safety topics.
“This event provides a great opportunity for children in the community to meet and interact with our officers,” Thome said. “They end up feeling like the officers are truly their friends and will protect them.”
Chief Wilcox noted that he looks forward to the annual event because it provides such a great opportunity for him to meet and get acquainted with so many members of the community. He also expressed his appreciation to the Greenon Local School District for graciously making available the intermediate school campus for the event.
“This is a really good thing. It brings people and local law enforcement together in one place and really helps build community spirit,” Wilcox said.
