MOSES LAKE — The Ephrata Police Department will host its first National Night Out this year, joining several other Basin communities.

“We’ll have static vehicle displays: one of our patrol cars, the fire truck, (and) Lifeline is hopefully going to be joining us with an ambulance,” EPD Office manager Jennifer Hansen said. “We’ll be serving free hot dogs and everyone is invited for a free swim.”

The event will be held Aug. 4 at Splash Zone, the city water park, according to Hansen, who took the lead in planning the event. It’s long been a priority of the department to get to where it could host National Night Out, and although this is the first year, Hansen said, it won’t be the last.

National Night Out is a nationwide event that brings police departments face-to-face with the citizens they protect, in a fun, positive setting. Officers serve food, play games and bring in vehicles for children to explore. 

Usually, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol put in an appearance as well. Other organizations and agencies often bring informational booths at the same time, to interact with and bring awareness to the public.

Quincy’s NNO will be held Monday, Aug. 3, downtown, a change of venue from past years when it was held at Lauzier Park. There will be free food, family activities and public safety displays and demonstrations, according to an announcement from Sgt. Joe Westby, event coordinator for the QPD. The event usually draws between 800 and 1,000 people, Westby told the Columbia Basin Herald in an earlier interview.

Moses Lake will hold NNO at Sinkiuse Square downtown Tuesday, Aug. 4, with free hot dogs and snow cones, face painting, a doughnut-eating contest and bike giveaways, according to an MLPD announcement. There will also be a dunk tank, where anyone who wants to, can plunge MLPD Chief David Sands into the water, said Capt. Mike Williams.

“(People) will probably have to fight in line with the cops to get their shot,” Williams said.

Mattawa’s event will be Aug. 7 and will include not only police and emergency vehicles and first responders, but a competition for kids to eat doughnuts suspended from a string and a burrito-eating contest for the first responders.

National Night Out is important, Zeseti said, because it gives the police a chance to be seen in a positive light by a community that isn’t always trusting of people in uniform.

“Sometimes it’s not in (a person’s) best interest to give us a call, because they’re scared of retaliation,” Zeseti said “So if we can build that trust, we can potentially … create a better, safer environment.”

National Night Out and similar events are bridging that gap, Zeseti said, a little at a time.

“The goal is to enhance the community-law enforcement relationship,” Hansen said. “It shows all our officers in a different light.”

Moses Lake

6-8 p.m. Aug. 4

Sinkiuse Square

Third Avenue and Ash Street

Quincy

5:30-8 p.m. Aug. 3

300 Central Ave.

Ephrata

6-8 p.m. Aug. 4

Splash Zone

780 A St SE

Mattawa

5-7 p.m. Aug. 7

Hund Park

    Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad troopers show some attendees at last year’s National Night Out some of the equipment they use.
  

    Grant PUD workers demonstrate what happens to a kite caught in power wires at Quincy’s National Night Out event last year.