One by one, the children climbed into the tan Humvee and sat in its driver’s seat. Those who could reach the gas pedal revved the engine. Others got a kick out of starting the ignition and shutting it off.
Standing guard, leaning on the driver’s side door, Sgt. Tim Kelly from the Army’s recruiting office in Lynnwood patiently watched as child after child let their imagination run amok.
“If soldiers can’t tear it up, nobody can,” Kelly said. A mother, standing nearby, quipped, “put little ones in there and they’ll find a way to destroy it.”
That type of scene was repeated several times during the Mill Creek-area’s National Night Out event Tuesday, Aug. 1, at McCollum Park. Hundreds of residents came out on a mild, sunny early evening for an event that combined a street fair with extensive displays of public safety equipment and information about fighting crime.
Seven-year-old Heron Navarro of Sammamish, who was at the event riding at the nearby BMX track, was one of the children who explored the multitude of vehicles on display. Navarro started and stopped the Humvee’s ignition with particular zeal, a wide smile affixed to his face, in part because it was the first time he ever started a vehicle.
A few feet away other children got to live out dreams of being a motorcycle officer. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department had two of its BMW motorcycles on display, and several children seemed to get a kick out of honking the motorcycle’s horns.
Standing behind the two bikes was deputy David Crandall, a member of the county’s motorcycle patrol. If the horn honking got to him, he didn’t show it.
Other vehicles on display that were open for tours included a Sheriff’s office helicopter and armored personnel carrier.
But the event was about more than showing off police and Army vehicles. People could pick up a variety of information on keeping themselves safe from crime. Allstate insurance, for example, had a booth offering free brochures about preventing home burglaries. Also available were video tapes on fire safety and DVDs offering safety tips for teen drivers.
Tuesday’s event was the fourth National Night Out at McCollum Park and was a joint venture by several sponsors, including the Mill Creek Police Department and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
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