National Night Out turns city into a giant pot-luck

Racine was a giant pot-luck supper Tuesday night.

Barbeques were everywhere in the city -- some 70 of them at last count. Kids were playing in the streets, popcorn, cotton candy machines and sno-cones magically appeared at dozens of block parties. There was music, play houses and games for kids. Fire engines showed up, not to fight fires, but to let kids climb into.

Why, there even were cops to dunk!

Bernice Moore receives plaque from Neighborhood Watch's
Dan Mekemson and Charlie French, as McGruff stands guard

But all that was secondary to the evening's main purpose, which was to bring neighbors, and neighborhoods, together. National Night Out Against Crime and Drugs was celebrating its 25th anniversary and the message was simple. As Bernice Moore, who was there at the beginning, one of the city's first block captains when Neighborhood Watch was forming in 1981 -- and seeking funds from Mayor Stephen Olson -- said as she was honored at the evening's first event, "We know one day we will have our neighborhoods back."

Walking with a cane at the block party she has hosted for decades, Moore said, "I'm not young like I used to be," adding, "This was a good idea we started in the city."

National Night Out's kickoff event in the 900 block of Racine Street began with the presentation of a plaque to Moore from Neighborhood Watch's board president, Dan Mekemson, and executive director Charlie French. Mayor John Dickert presented a proclamation, but boiled its message down to: There aren't enough police and first responders for every block, so "we're going to have to do it ourselves." That was echoed by County Executive Bill McReynolds. State Rep. Bob Turner said, "We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go."

At least three aldermen -- Ray DeHahn, Jeff Coe and Robert Anderson -- were present, along with Assistant Police Chief Steven Hurley, fire officials, police and firemen, along with two big fire engines blocking the street, and McGruff the Crime Dog handing out honorary badges to the kids. All that before the food was cooked.

Tyler Kerner, 5
holds tightly to McGruff

And that was just at one of the 70 events. Many top officials went from one to another; Dickert had a list of about eight on his iPhone, and Hurley and McGruff made the rounds as as well. Food was plentiful. And depending upon where you were, there was music -- Cheryl McCrary started the evening off with the National Anthem at Mead Street -- and even a dunk tank at the Villa Street COP House where, for $1, you could attempt to drop officer Brad Jungbluth into a large tank of cold water. It was all for a good cause: the money will go toward purchase of kids' playground equipment. After a while, Coe took a stint in the dunk tank as well.

Officer Sam Stulo, Mayor John Dickert and Alderman Bob Anderson
(The haze is coming from the barbeque pit.)

Residents and officials know that it takes a lot of initiatives to eliminate crime, and progress is marked a block at a time. Standing outside the COP House on Mead, Alderman Bob Anderson noted, "This street was gang-bang central, but at the last COP House meeting, everyone was complaining about a parking problem. Charlie French got the giggles." But even with that progress, Anderson also noted, there had been a shooting recently; "You don't get rid of the problem, you just chase them out, to somewhere else."

He praised Officer Sam Stulo, who has been stationed at the COP House for almost three years. "You've got to be the right kind of guy to be a neighborhood police officer; got to get along with people." Stulo, he said, gives people his cellphone number; "people are very comfortable talking to Sam. Getting a policeman who knows the neighborhood is more important than sending four squad cars. We've got to get the neighborhood involved."

Stulo said the same thing. "I try to get around on foot as much as possible." Looking around as the lines formed for food -- burgers, hot dogs, sweet corn, watermelon, cake -- he noted, "There are people I've arrested here ... but we're looking for long-term solutions."

Officer Brad Jungbluth hits the water for a good cause

Dyani Driver, 10, 'drives' Fire Engine No. 6

Cheryl McCrary sings the National Anthem
(The only flag available was Carolyn Vinson's hat)

Denise Jones, 5, has fun with a Frisbee

Jump houses are always popular with kids