On Tuesday, the City of Dunkirk will be joining 30 million-plus other citizens from more than 9,000 communities nationwide in celebrating National Night Out.

This is the 31st year that the Dunkirk Police Department is sponsoring Night Out in the City of Dunkirk. When many communities have stopped their Night Out Programs our program is going strong and still growing after 31 years. This is directly related to the dedication of our Night Out Coordinators, the Police Department, Fire Department and the citizens of our Community in working together as partners to keep our City safe.

National Night Out is designed to give strength to neighborhood crime and drug prevention efforts and send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and not afraid to fight back. Our National Night Out program is directly correlated to our neighborhood watch programs that are active throughout the community.

On Tuesday, citizens in Dunkirk will be locking their doors, turning their lights on and spending the evening with their neighbors, Police Officers, Firefighters and City Officials. Again this year there will be one centralized Night Out location at Washington Park.

“Coordinators will be working together on this event and we ask that anyone who can assist to please come to the Park before the event begins to help with set up or help after with clean up. The coordinators, who are the same dedicated citizens who work on our neighborhood watch program, donate a tremendous amount of time and work to this program every year, my hat is off to them as they make it all happen,” said David Ortolano, city police chief. “The coordinators along with the support of the local businesses who donate to our program truly make Night Out the success that it is.”

The Police Department will be at Washington Park during the evening with patrol cars and items for the children. McGruff the crime dog will be there. “Everyone from our Senior Citizens down to small children will have the opportunity to meet and interact with our Police Officers, this emphasizes the importance of the Police community partnership and pride in the community and allow for positive interaction between our citizens and our Police Officers,” Ortolano said. “Also participating again this year will be the Dunkirk Fire Department. The Fire Department has joined forces with us and their participation is a huge success, it is important to show that we all are committed to making our community a safe place.”

The interaction between the Police Officers, Firefighters, City Officials and community residents build positive relationships that will benefit the entire community. The band this year is Furious George and they will play music in the Gazebo.

“We have coordinated with the Recreation Department to have the Movie in the Park series at dusk to cap off our Night Out event. The movie this year will be Inside Out. We will have picnic tables to sit on or you can bring a blanket or lawn chair to the Park to sit on and enjoy the Movie. Fifth Street will be barricaded from Washington Avenue to Park Avenue for parking and to assist with set up and drop off. There is also plenty of parking on Washington and Park Ave. in the area around Washington Park for everyone to attend the celebration. Alternate Parking will be relaxed in the area for the night. We also stress that parents do not send their children alone to the event, this program is a family event and is devised to show the children the importance of the community working together,” Ortolano said.

“A strong Police/Community partnership within the community is the best weapon we have in keeping our City safe. It only takes a few minutes of time to get out and get involved and make a difference in the community. We have seen a very large change in the program over the years and more families are becoming involved, that is what this program is all about. As the program grows so does our commitment to working together to keep the community safe.

“Again this year’s celebration will be held in Washington Park and we encourage everyone from all Wards of the City to attend. Night Out celebration will start at about 6:30PM with refreshments, bounce houses, Fire Trucks and our Police Officers with items for the children. We will cap off the night at about 8:15PM with the movie in the park. Please come and join us!”

The Dunkirk Police Department and National Night Out Committee would like to thank all of its sponsors for their support, dedication and donations over the years. Our many thanks to Tops Markets – manager Scott Obert, Blasdell Pizza-Mark Dulak, WalMart, Southpaw Signs- Cody & Taylor Britton, Save A Lot- Kevin Connelly and James Bartlett, McDonalds Restaurant, Barts Cove – Jason Schrantz, G&E Tents- Justin Cleary, Music by Furious George, Awesome Bouncers – Genovese Family, Atlas Comfort Cabins – Roger Gloss, ROBO Mart, Dollar General, Millers Apparel -Shirlene Miller, Nancy Nichols, Cattoos – Face Painters, Dunkirk Police Benevolent Association, and Dave and Gina Kron from Tim Hortons. Many of these sponsors have been part of National Night Out for a very long time and they donate services, food & refreshment items or financial support for our program, we could not have the success we do without their support. A special thanks to Mayor Kate Wdowiasz and the City Administration, Common Council Members, WDOE/96KIX FM , Access 12, The OBSERVER, the DPW, Parks Departments, Recreation Department and City Electrician for all their support over the years.