Special to The Leader

National Night Out, a nationwide program to foster better relationships between local police departments and communities, will be held at Pirate stadium in Vidor on Tuesday, October 4, 2016.  Sergeant Aleta Cappen of the Vidor Police Department and Sally Andrews, Coordinator of Community Relations for Vidor Independent School District, have been hard at work to make this a productive evening for the community.

“The focus at the Vidor National Night Out is going to be on services available for families in our area,” said Cappen.  “Oh, we’re going to have some fun, too, including lots of door prizes, games for the kids right out on the football field, and free books from Vidor Rotary Club’s little green bus.  But we wanted to let our families to know where to go if they need help with health issues, food, insurance, safety, emergency preparedness, or finances.”

Hosting booths at the event will be the Vidor Police, Vidor Rotary Club, and Vidor ISD’s new Pirate Pals mentoring program.  Also on board is the United Christian Care Center, Orange County Emergency Services District #1, Maximus, Legacy Community Health, and Family Services of Southeast Texas.  In addition, Orange County Public Health, Stable-Spirit, Orange County LEPC, First Financial Bank, and the Vidor Chamber of Commerce will be on hand. Acadian Ambulance will allow ambulance tours, and M.A.D.D., MCNA Dental, Orange County Emergency Management, and the Shriners will be there.

“It’s really going to be an exciting evening, starting at 5:30 and ending at 7:30,” says Andrews.  “We will start the evening with a family lap around the Pirate stadium track, just to remind us all that we need to exercise as a family.  There’s really going to be a wealth of information available out there, and fun things for the kids to do as well.  The shriners clowns are so much fun with their balloon animals. Of course, they’ll also have information about the wonderful programs they sponsor.”

The Vidor Police Dept. will provide free hot dogs, chips, and drinks. For further information, call Sally Andrews at 951-8713 or Sgt. Aleta Cappen at 769-4561.