Story and photos by Mary Jane Farmer — Click here for more photos. Anyone is welcome to download a photo if he/she would like. No charge.
Mary Jane Farmer • Scene In Town
As the city’s chiefs and city managers and many of the public have come and gone over the decades, it”s not really certain just how long Van Alstyne and its city police department have been involved in National Night Out. For certain, that involvement has been continuous since 1996, missing only 2020 because of that darned old Covid 19.
But Tuesday night (Oct. 5) it was a full house, with estimates between 1,500 and 1,800 people having attended, with vendors and activities for all, and many of those being manned by police officers.
Police Chief Tim Barnes said the event gets bigger and better every year. “It was a good location at the middle school, and we look forward to having it (next year, 2022) at the new (Social Central District Park.”
This little one was especially thrilled to get to pet the police-garb-wearing pony.
A new and very popular stroller around the grounds (behind the Van Alstyne Middle School) was a pony clad in police jacket and cap. Kids all over the grounds stopped to have their photos made with the pony, often reaching over to pet him, and the pony seemed to understand and even enjoy the pleasant attention. Joining it in strolling everywhere were the costumed Van Alstyne Panther and the 9-1-1 Fox.
Another popular display was the landing and opening up of CareFlite Air Ambulance. The young ones who went. over to it got a little bit of education that was fun for them to learn. A lot about how it works, training, and how they work with first responders to set down safely at a major wreck or other catastrophe.
One of the paramedics who usually travels with that chopper set up a booth, complete with giveaway bandaid and hand sanitizer kits. One man took full advantage of that after cutting his hand, got it bandaged, and was given the remaining bandaids in that kit. The paramedic also explained to many folks how to be advance-prepared in case they must be flown to the appropriate hospital.
Always popular, and one that also helps kids learn about patients, since they have to wait their turns to enter the bounce houses.
And of course, there were the ubiquitous bounce houses, always a hit with the younger set. Climbing up their ladders, through their tunnels and sliding down the slides, each kid had a smile on his/her face as he/she put shoes back on.
Ubiquitous also were the balloons handed out by AirView a/c company, cooled watermelon slices, ball point pens (always a treasure),and the LaCore employees who primarily served in their neon orange T-shirts as volunteers, helping with parking and the bounce houses.
Vendors included, but weren’t limited at all to: Mantua Lodge, Rotary Club (who cooked hot dogs on a grill all evening, Van Alstyne ISD, the city’s Public Library, Baylor Scott & White local clinic, the police officers themselves, Adams Automotive, Buff City Soap, and oh, so many more. Most, if not all, had giveaways for everyone and the crowd engaged many vendor representatives in conversion about their businesses.
Waving goodbye to Careflite helicopter as it lifts off from its spot at Tuesday’s National Night Out
Missing this year were engines and ambulances from the Van Alstyne Fire Department. Chief,Ryan Dockery said they had planned and looked forward to being there, as they are every year, but this year they continued to respond to emergency calls, one after the other, throughout the event. That included a large out-of-control brush fire on the east side of town, and several medical calls around town.
NNO is normally held in the parking lot on Preston, where both the police and fire stations are housed. However, this year, because of the construction of the new downtown park, there was not adequate parking for anywhere near 1,500-1,800 attendees. Thus, Barnes worked the arrangement out to relocate it this year to the Middle School and he said it worked out fine.
Mark your calendars — NNO is celebrated in Texas on the first Tuesday of October. Which will be October 4 in 2022.