National Night Out another success for Charles City

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

There was no official head count at National Night Out in Charles City on Tuesday evening.

The national police awareness campaign that began in the mid-80s brought out a large crowd on a warm, sunny night at Central Park.

Togetherness was on full display as youngsters could pick up school supplies, snare a pair of tennis shoes or get their picture taken with one of the many CCPD officers who were in attendance at the social meet-and-greet.

“I have no idea numbers right now,” said Officer Duane Ollendick, who has been in charge of the event for two years now. “All they can do is see how many hot dogs we serve. Even that’s hard to say because some people take two.”

Ollendick said 1,200 hot dogs were served last year. The food did run out toward the tail end of the event, so they planned more this year.

“I think they stepped it up to 2,000,” he said.

Speaking of numbers, Mackenzie Wilson and her Back to School Shoe Drive that she teams up with Valero and other business sponsors in town keeps setting records.

Wilson has spearheaded the shoe drive for three years in a row. She said she had 300 pairs of shoes on hand to give out to anyone that needs them. Last year she had 220 sets and the year before the shoe drive was able to collect 180 pairs of sneakers.

“So we keep going up,” said Wilson. “It just keeps growing.”

Wilson said last year she had about 20 shoes left over that she wasn’t able to send home with a student for the upcoming school year.

“We’ll keep them and set them out for next year,” she said.

Zoetis also handed out more than 300 backpacks filled with school supplies. School starts on Friday, Aug. 23, this year in Charles City.

Anyone was able to take a peak in or sit in a Floyd County Sheriff’s squad car or CCPD cruiser that was parked on Blunt Street just north of the square. Charles City Fire Department trucks and AMR (American Medical Response) ambulances were also able to toured.

AMR station supervisor Dawn Staudt was also on site explaining life-saving techniques and the proper use of tourniquets and bandages. The Mercy AirMed helicopter from Mason City flew down onto the parking lot south of the square around 8 p.m., and kids could take a seat in the helicopter if they so desired.

Kids could also run through and get sprayed with a mist of water under the decontamination tent demonstrated by Floyd County Search and Rescue. Normally firefighters or first responders use the tent to wash off after a hazardous materials situation.

“Now it’s for the kids to run through and get wet,” said Ollendick, smiling.

There were several kinds of games, bounce houses and a rock-climbing wall for interested youth to tackle.

The weather worked out well for the event. The sun was out in full force with a clear sky and temperatures in the 80s. Last year it rained about an hour before the event began.

“We got lucky because we never have a Plan B,” said Ollendick. “It’s not like we can move all this stuff and put it indoors somewhere.”

“The community came together. The community put a lot of this on – with the donations and the volunteers,” he said. “Everything tonight is free. We don’t charge for anything.”