Parties bring neighbors together

Crime concerns were as varied as the neighborhoods in which block parties were held Tuesday as part of National Night Out.

Gangs, drug activity, predatory sex offenders, kidnapping and vehicle prowling were on the minds of Spokane County residents who gathered with their neighbors to eat hot dogs and chips, or possibly engage in a water fight.

“Getting to know your neighbors is a way to prevent crime,” said Laurel White, 35, who helped organize the National Night Out gathering at Catherine Johnson Apartments in the 6300 block of East Fourth Avenue. “I think our society is becoming increasingly impersonal and violent. The more relationships we build … the less crime we’ll have.”

Communities across the nation spend one night a year in organized neighborhood and block parties to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support and participation in local anti-crime efforts, and to strengthen neighborhood spirit and law enforcement-community relations, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan said. Tuesday was the 22nd annual event.

More than 200 gatherings were held Tuesday night throughout Spokane County, officials said.

“I’ve been concerned about our kids and possible kidnappings,” said White, referring to recent cases in the news. “One of the ways to impact that is to know what each other look like and who doesn’t belong.”

White said more than half the tenancy at her apartment complex is children.

Under a picnic shelter in Spokane’s Dutch Jakes Park, neighbors gathered around newspaper clippings from 1976 when the park was dedicated. Since then, gangs have overtaken the area.

“This is back to our roots,” said Brenda Corbett, chairwoman of the West Central Neighborhood Council. “Our neighborhood built this park initially, so for us to take the park back is only natural.”

Neighbors hope to make the park the starting point for change across the neighborhood.

“This park has a pretty racy reputation and we need to reclaim it for our families,” Corbett said as she gave her grandson Clayton a hug.

Spokane Police Chief Roger Bragdon and Mayor Jim West attended different parties around the city, including one at Emerson Park. Bragdon said community and police partnerships work because of trust.

“We don’t always solve our crimes from DNA or Sherlock Holmes-type investigations, we solve them by citizens talking to police,” he said.

Nearly 20 residents who live in the 6800 and 6900 block of East Seventh Avenue gathered in Tracie Savage’s back yard Tuesday night. Some were meeting each other for the first time, but they had a common goal: to rid the area of drug dealers.

“We have problems with a couple of trailers,” Savage said. “We just wanted to get to know each other.”