Page 6/The Sun and News, Saturday, August 5, 2023South Kent Night Out event draws steady crowd in Gaines Township
James Gemmell
Contributing Writer
Tuesday, Aug. 1,
marked the 40th anniver-sary of National Night
Out, and the South Kent
version of the nationwide
event was well-attendedin Gaines Charter
Township.
For the second straight
year, the event was held
in a large parking lot out-
side of South Christian
High School, 7979
Kalamazoo Ave., just a
few blocks north of the
township hall.
Night Out originated in
the suburbs of Philadelphia
as a way to promote crime
prevention and spur part-
nerships between neighbors
and law enforcement.
Several communities in
West Michigan held Night
Out activities Tuesday
night.
The South Kent Night
Out is traditionally one of
the region’s largest and is
attended by people in thetownship and surrounding
municipalities. The Kent
County Sheriff’s Office
hosts it each year. This
year, they brought in an
armored tactical team vehi-
cle, flew a drone (unmanned
aerial vehicle) overhead
and had a mounted horse
unit on hand.
The Gerald R. Ford
International Airport and
the Cutlerville and Dutton
Fire departments were
well-represented, with vari-
ous fire engines present. A
water rescue boat and other
emergency vehicles were
also on display.
“Just a good community
night. There’s a good turn-
out, a lot of families, a lot
of young kids comingthrough. A good opportuni-
ty to share some fire-safety
tips, give them some thingsto take home with them. So,
it’s a fun night,” Cutlerville
Firefighter Mike Vos said.
Sgt. Brett Windsor, the
dayshift supervisor for
Davenport University’s
Department of Public
Safety, brought along a
dog. Onyx is the universi-
ty’s first therapy dog. She
is nearly three years old
and was kept under shade
in a booth most of the
night.
“We use her in conjunc-
tion with our therapy center
on campus to help students
who face challenges or are
having a rough time adjust-
ing (to college),” Windsor
said.
Also helping out at a
booth was Township
Treasurer Laurie Lemke.
“We are just having the
greatest time here on this
sunny, beautiful evening,”
Lemke said. “Lots of
township residents coming
out. A great showing with
our fire and police and
public safety. Our library
(staff) is here; our area
businesses are here. And
they all have special give-
aways and fun for the kids
and the adults.”
The Sheriff’s Office
held its first South Kent
National Night Out in- Across the country,
more than 38 million peo-
ple participate in National
Night Out activities. It
began with neighbors
turning their porch lights
on and sitting in front of
their homes. Night Out
later grew into the big
block parties and back-
yard cookouts community
members are familiar with
today.
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T h a n k Y o uT h a n k Y o u
Several rescue vehicles graced the parking lot of
South Christian High School for a National Night Out
event in Gaines Charter Township.Standing in front of a Dutton fire engine are
Michael Olthof, Brent Cummings and Mark Lenger.Sgt. Brett Windsor, the dayshift supervisor for
Davenport University’s Department of Public Safety,
with the university’s first therapy canine, Onyx. (Photo
by James Gemmell)Cutlerville Firefighter Mike Vos lets Jackson (top)
and Carson check out the inside of a fire truck at the
South Kent Night Out event in Gaines Township.
(Photos by James Gemmell)
The Kent County Sheriff’s Office brought along
some members of its mounted unit.The aerial ladder truck cooled kids down on a hot
evening.