National Night Out: Thanks for Saying Hi!

The rain was off-and-on Thursday evening, but that didn't stop the families who attended National Night Out from having a blast.

"This is kid heaven," one local mom said as her child gathered a handful of candy off the Patch table.

We at Patch want to extend a special thank you to those who stopped by our table to say hello. The 7th annual event, held at Easton's Beach, was well-attended by Aquidneck families. I, along with my Middletown and Portsmouth colleagues, enjoyed meeting so many of you and hearing your genuine interest in our work.

We weren't the only ones there, of course. Many other community groups showed up as well, including the Newport Community School, the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County, the Newport Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force, and Beth's Quest.

Newport and Middletown police, local firefighters, the Coast Guard, Navy police and U.S. Air Force, 143rd, Security Squadron Forces, also attended.

While it was good for all of us to get the word out about our efforts, the event was first-and-foremost about the kids. Judging by the smiles on their faces as they collected stickers from each table (they had to collect a total of eight to play games and get free food), the children had a great time going around.

Special thanks goes out to the Newport Police Department-Community Policing Unit and the Newport Recreation Department Children's Night Series, both whom sponsored the event.