A large crowd came out to Liberty Park Community Center in Grovetown on Friday, July 28 for the annual Back to School Back/National Night Out event.
Attendees could pick up school supplies for children, explore the fire engines and ladder truck, check out the Game Warden’s boat and mingle with local law enforcement officers. Grovetown Assistant Police Chief Major Robert Eastman said the turnout was good, citing the long line of people down the sidewalk waiting to get inside, which he said is normal.
“Just to meet the people and talk, let them see us in a different light and get to know some of us by interacting with them,” Eastman said of what he was looking forward to with the event.
Patricia Lockamy came out to the event to get school supplies for her grandchildren. This was her first time at the event.”
“It looks great,” she said, before adding she would come again.
For Synqualia McCord, she said it looked like a nice event and that she came to get school supplies for her four children.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the firetrucks for my youngest son and looking forward to all the little vendors that they have around,” McCord said.
Maria Alday said she came out to have fun with the kids, who were especially enjoying seeing the different princesses in attendance. Those princesses included Ariel, Merida, Rapunzel and more.
The National Night Out celebration has grown over the years, Eastman previously told The Augusta Press. When he first started with Grovetown PD over two decades ago, the event was held at the police station and fire department, but eventually had to move to the Liberty Park Community Center to accommodate the growth.
“National Night Out is a national event where all the police departments in America, they have a night of community service where they try to have at least one night of the year is crime free,” said Assistant Police Chief Major Robert Eastman. “They have people turn their porch light on, they have them go walk around the neighborhood and have events with the local police department where the citizens come and meet officers in a different light. Instead of the officers writing them a ticket they meet them in a different light. We share some security measures with them, safety measures, give them a hamburger or hot dog, a drink and just a light moment where they’ll interact with us up close and personal.”
Stephanie Hill is a staff writer covering Columbia County government for The Augusta Press. Reach her at stephanie@theaugustapress.com.
