MEET & GREET FOR NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Storms cut short local observances
UPPER GWYNEDD » Harrison Rubinlicht, 4, had his lines memorized as he waited Tuesday night for Upper Gwynedd police officers to arrive in his neighborhood.
“I’ll say ‘Hello.’ And ‘thank you,’” Harrison said.
“You mean, ‘Thank you for keeping our community safe,’” said his father, Phil.
Those two, along with mom Melissa, were among the dozens of residents of the Stonegate development in Upper Gwynedd who clapped and cheered as police, Upper Gwynedd Fire Company fire trucks, a Volunteer Medical Service Corps ambulance and a township public works truck pulled into the neighborhood Tuesday.
After a round of introductions from the officers, Police Chief David Duffy kneeled for a photo with one of his youngest residents, the two sporting matching blue uniforms and caps.
“He’s been looking forward to this all day long.
"He’s been looking forward to this all day long. He’s told everybody he knows." — Melissa Rubinlicht, with her son, Harrison, 4
He’s told everybody he knows,” said Melissa.
As she took photos, dozens of kids climbed into a VMSC ambulance, took turns petting police dogs, and picked up free wristbands and literature from the police officers. Representatives from spoke about what the department does, and commissioners’ President Ken Kroberger said the night was meant to build a closer relationship between residents and the groups that serve them.
“A lot of people here are volunteers, and they provide the necessary services to you, essential services, to keep the community safe,” Kroberger said.
Suzy Furlong, president of the Stonegate homeowners association, said she gets literature each year from Officer Fred Lynch, the department’s outreach officer, to hand out to community members during each National Night Out visit.
“This is a wonderful thing for the community, just to be able to have, especially, the fire and police people here, and to reach out to the people that live in this community,” she said.
“Especially for the kids, not to have them fear calling them if there’s problems. It’s a really good thing
for them, and they are very protective of the neighborhoods in here,” Furlong said.
In Montgomery Township, storm clouds rolled in after about a hour of their National Night Out festivities, and a PennStar medical helicopter took off from the parking lot of the Target store, where the event was held, just as the skies began to open.
Police Chief Scott Bendig said turnout was high compared to prior years, as he helped carry tables and stow equipment before the rains arrived. District Judge Andrea Duffy said she was glad to spread the word about her ongoing Drug Addiction Resource Alliance, which provides education and resources for those battling addiction in the area.
“It was wonderful. We got a lot of interested people, talking about DARA. Addiction is so prevalent now — if people tell you they don’t know anybody with an addition, they probably either don’t know about it, or just don’t want to talk about it,” she said.
In Lansdale, the department’s second-ever National Night Out was cut short due to rain, but police Lieutenant Ryan Devlin said turnout was much higher than last year.
“From the first four minutes that it started, the crowd was ridiculous. We had a really good crowd over last year, very impressive, until the skies turned black and everybody left,” Devlin said.
New additions to Lansdale’s festivities this year included a tactical truck from the Montgomery County SWAT team, a kids obstacle course, and as the last set of inflatable attractions were packed up, Devlin was already brainstorming ideas for 2019.
“We’ll get bigger, a little bit, every year,” he said.