Fremont has its own Night Out
By Aaron Moore
Published in News on August 8, 2012 1:46 PM
FREMONT -- It was a night dedicated to crime prevention, but crime seemed to be on few people's minds as they crowded into the gym at Fremont STARS School on Tuesday evening for National Night Out.
Although rain poured outside, inside the gym were all the usual fixings for a classic summer scene: music, corn hole, hot dogs and drinks.
"It's better than I expected," Mayor Darron Flowers said. "With all that rain, I didn't think anybody would show up."
But residents said they wanted to come support their police department and to meet their neighbors.
National Night Out is a national event that promotes neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships by letting officers mingle with neighbors.
"It lets the community interact with law enforcement, where some people might be skittish about law enforcement, especially children," Police Chief Paul Moats said. "And it helps them realize we're people just like they are."
Moats said the main goal was community watch -- getting people to know who lives in their community so they can band together to prevent crime.
Jean Milleson, who lives in Fremont but works out of town, said she was glad for the event because she doesn't get many opportunities to meet her neighbors during the week.
"I think anything that helps the community get together can be conducive to raising awareness of community involvement," Mrs. Milleson said. "And it helps us get to see who's in the community."
The event also offered residents a chance to take a stronger role in town government through the Small Town Economic Prosperity program.
The program, run through the state Rural Center, is a chance for residents to put their heads together and draft a long-term economic plan for the town while receiving state money to implement it.
State and town officials came out to remind citizens to be as involved in the process as possible.