Many folks in Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood left their homes, locked their doors, turned on their porch lights and met their neighbors at the 2004 National Night Out events which occurred Aug. 3 at the Mountlake Terrace City Hall and in many different neighborhoods throughout Lynnwood.
Janet Abbott, Lynnwood police crime prevention specialists said there were 11 neighborhoods who registered with the department to have an official National Night Out block watch party to meet and greet their neighbors.
The Family Support Center of South Snohomish County had a big part in gathering folks for these events and preparing starter kits filled with free decorations and information on having block watch parties.
The Lynnwood mayor and many city council members along with police and fire officials joined the neighborhoods during their events.
“It is so important that we all understand the personnel who are dedicating their lives to our safety are real people,” said Lynnwood resident Tracy Ball. “Having their faces here (on National Night Out) in a non-emergency setting was brilliant.”
Ball and others had a crime watch party on their block near 49th and 189th Street Aug. 3, National Night Out.
Abbott said it was a pleasure to see all the different types of people gathering and meeting each other.
“It was the real core of America out there,” Abbott said, “what struck me was that it didn’t take a lot of effort to do something as simple as meet somebody who lives next to you.”
In Mountlake Terrace, Asst. police chief Mike Mitchell said the event was “bigger and better than ever.”
Hundreds maybe a thousand citizens gathered in the parking lot areas of the city hall, library and police department along with the closed down street of 58th Avenue and ate, danced and watched live music until after 9 p.m.
Also, Snohomish County Executive, Aaron Reardon chose Mountlake Terrace as one of his stops during the National Night Out. He said he particularly was happy to be in Mountlake Terrace because he had lived their as a child.
After it was over, Mitchell said, the support continued with citizens, city staff and council members all joining together to cleanup up after the party was over.
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