Several police departments throughout the area held National Night Out Tuesday evening. The event was aimed to get communities involved in crime and drug prevention and awareness.
Mount Carmel and Mount Carmel Township police departments combined this, and for the first time, held the event in front of the Mount Carmel Area Junior/Senior High School. A crew from Life Flight, representatives from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), two troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police Mounted Unit, and several additional government agencies interacted with children throughout the evening.
Children were offered cotton candy, kettle corn, snow cones, chips, a beverage and a hamburger or hot dog, all free of charge. There was a DUI simulator, raffle baskets and several demonstrations, including a vehicle rescue and the use of a Taser.
At Claude Kehler Community Park in Shamokin, children enjoyed an inflatable slide, free hot dogs and a performance by the band Red Halo and the Shamokin Area cheerleaders.
Zerbe Township's National Night Out was held at the Foundry field, where there was a food drive for the Manna for the Many food pantry in Shamokin.