How about a night out, courtesy of the Millis Police Department? On Tuesday, August 6th, from 4-8 p.m., the Millis Police invite town residents out to the Millis Town Fields, outside Millis Town Hall, for National Night Out. This is the first year that the town has become one of the 16,000 who take part in this annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie aimed at making neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.
“We as a police department are putting this event on for free,” says Officer Farrah Gray. “All police officers are on deck – all of us will have our station. We’re really excited! All the officers here love Millis. A lot of them have grown up here, and those who haven’t have made it into part of their community. We’re really looking forward to spending the night with all of the residents in a positive manner.”
The national event began in August of 1984 through an established network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers across the nation. The first annual National Night Out involved 2.5 million neighbors across 400 communities in 23 states. The idea is to strengthen the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community under positive circumstances.
Some of the night’s activities include:
• A K9 demonstration by Westwood K9 Officer Pillai of Westwood Police and his K9 Duke
• A 35-foot adrenaline rush Adventure Obstacle Course from Taylor Rental
• A Dunk Tank
• A Jousting Ring, with inflatable jousting sticks
• Inkless child identification kits provided by the FBI and the American Football Coaches’ Association
• A Dog-Walker Watch presentation by Officer Gonzalez and Officer Sullivan, that encourages neighbors to assist the Millis Police as extra eyes and ears while out walking their dogs. Leashed dogs, in fact, are invited, and the first 100 dogs will receive a red “Dog Walker Watch” bandana.
• A Smaller Bouncy House for little ones
• A Bicycle Course with Motorcycle Unit Officer Afienko, with free helmets
• An Inflatable Baseball Toss
• An All-star Basketball Inflatable
• A Potato Sack Race
About 15 local organizations and businesses are participating with booths. Among them are:
• Tangerini’s Spring Street Farm---
• Napper Tandy’s –
• Millis Lions Club
• Main Street Veterinary Hospital
• Millis Garden Club
• Millis Friend in Deed
• Millis Friends of the Library
• Home Base, a program dedicated toward healing veterans and their families
• Millis Mohawk Boosters
• Millis Plastic Reduction Initiative
• Treehouse Farms
• MERIT, Millis Educational Resources Initiative Tea
• Pinka Dot Pottery – hand crafted pottery by Nicole Martin
• Music Matters DJ and Party Services – Mike Tarara—
• Millis Church of Christ
• Millis Girl Scouts
• Ultimate Barr & Pilates
• Middlesex Savings Bank
• Big Beef
• Alpha Dog K9
• Rep Shawn Dooley
For updates on the Millis Police National Night Out, visit the Millis Police on Facebook. For more information on the National Night Out event, visit https://natw.org.
Obstacle course
The Millis Police will be featuring this Adrenaline Obstacle Course as part of the festivities for National Night Out, from 4-8 p.m. on August 6th.