Take a bite out of crime with McGruff and the Wood Dale Police Department this Tuesday, August 5, during their National Night Out celebration.

“Night Out helps strengthen the police and community partnership,” WDPD’s Eileen Schultz said. “It also gives us an opportunity to show our appreciation to our citizens for their support throughout the year. There are a lot of residents who really care about keeping Wood Dale safe and a good place to live.”

Activities begin at 5 p.m. between the WDPD building, 404 N. Wood Dale Road, and The Beach, 161 W. Commercial Ave. Free parking is available at the pool.

This free WDPD event includes fun for the whole family, including bingo, a dunk tank with police officers and alderman, raffles, a sidewalk chalk-drawing contest, moonjumps, a balloon artist, temporary tattoos, a DJ playing music and coordinating kids’ games, ice cream and beverages. A variety of police and fire vehicles will be on display, as well as a table about Metra train safety. WDPD’s National Night Out continues 7 to 9 p.m. with a free swim at The Beach, which includes even more games (especially pool-friendly fun like coin tosses) with prizes, music and free snacks like hot dogs, chips and beverages.

Raffle and contest prizes include: overnight hotel stays, gift certificates to local restaurants, gas cards, Jewel gift cards, outings to Top Golf, Oak Meadows and Salt Creek, bikes, iPods and more. There are also separate prizes for bingo winners.

“It’s a great opportunity to get out and see your neighbors, listen to some music and interact with your Police Department,” Schultz said.

This is the 25th anniversary of National Night Out, “America’s Night Out Against Crime,” which is an annual crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. More than 35 million people in 10,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide participated in last year’s National Night Out. Each year, the goal is to not only heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, but to strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships. The WDPD has been participating for at least 18 years, and last year had their highest turnout yet with 600-plus attendees.  According to Schultz, in 2006 and 2007, Wood Dale was one of two cities in Illinois (for populations less than 15,000) to receive an award from the NATW for their event. Prior to 2006, Wood Dale hadn’t applied for the award.

The rain date is Wednesday, Aug. 6, at the same place and times.

For more information, contact Schultz or Sergeant Paul Wyse at (630) 766-2060.

“(During National Night Out) we hope they (residents) will see the Police Department as a group of people who really do care about keeping their community safe, and not just the ‘guys who write tickets’ or show up when there’s a problem,” Schultz said.

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