The largest crowd ever turned out for the annual Mountain Top National Night Out held Tuesday, Aug. 1, at Wright Township Park.
National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. It is celebrated in thousands of communities across the country annually on the first Tuesday in August.
The event aims to help improve relationships between police and the communities they serve by providing residents an opportunity to meet first responders as well as their neighbors.
The Mountain Top National Night Out is sponsored by police departments from Wright, Rice, Fairview, and Butler townships. This year’s event was estimated by officials as over 1,000 people, including many youngsters. It featured officers, vehicles, and equipment from the four sponsoring departments along with Pennsylvania State Police, U.S. Marshal’s Service, Pennsylvania Game Commission, United States Army, Wright, Dorrance and Mountain Top Hose Co. No 1 volunteer fire departments, Dorrance Township ambulance and a host of community organizations and businesses. There were pony rides and bounce houses for children. Special attractions were Geisinger Life Flight helicopter and Lehigh Valley Health Network Med E Vac helicopter.
State Senator Lynda Schlegel Culver (R-Northumberland); State Rep. Alec Ryncavage (R-Luzerne); and State Rep. Mike Cabell (R-Luzerne) also stopped by to greet first responders and constituents. Ryncavage provided two bicycles which were given away to two lucky children.
