Local News
Night Out brings 1,000 to Crystal Lake
By K J Burnell
Aug 5, 2010, 16:32

It all starts with a bad personal experience: a busted mailbox, petty theft or trespassing — and things can either get better or crime can escalate.

That's the realization that Ward 3 resident Cecil Ellis came to a few years ago when he decided to organize a Neighborhood Watch group in his community.

"I saw things happening around the neighborhood, and I didn't like what I saw, so I decided to do something about it," Ellis said.

Flash forward to 2010, and Ellis helped turn his observation into a city-wide celebration of Hopewell's community-police partnership, alongside fellow Neighborhood Watch Advisory Council member Loyd Taylor.

The National Night Out festivities held Tuesday night at Crystal Lake were part of a 15,000-community chain of block parties, cook outs and parades taking place across the U.S., Canada and on military bases around the world, according to the non-profit organization that founded America's Night Out Against Crime in 1984, The National Association of Town Watch.

Hopewell's 31-member network of Neighborhood Watch groups decided to join forces for the second Night Out in a row at Crystal Lake, instead of hosting individual parties like the surrounding localities of Prince George County and the cities of Richmond and Petersburg. Hopewell Police and Fire and Rescue crew were on-hand to greet citizens and conduct workshops and demonstrations, including a K9 appearance and I-Dent-A-Kid display.

Guests danced to a mix by local DJ Krikkett, had their faces painted and left with gift bags and donated prizes raffled off towards the end of the night. Most importantly, the party-goers came hungry and left full thanks in part to Cecil Ellis.

"I'm just in charge of the food, that's all," Ellis said, in between counting hot-dogs and checking in with neighborhood watch member Kenneth Emerson at the watermelon table.

"We did start planning a while ago. We had the misfortune last year of not having enough food or drinks," Ellis said.

More than 600 people showed up to Crystal Lake in 2009; This year, Ellis said he was prepared for up to 1200 attendees, with 1,200 donated hot dogs and 2,500 donated drinks.

The Neighborhood Watch Advisory Council called in the big guns for help pulling the dinner together. A team of nine Hopewell Optimist Club members seasoned from decades of end-of-school cook-outs and monthly club dinners had the hot-dog assembly line down to a science.

"This is not a big production for us," said Optimist John Loshkreff, two-time past president and past Capital Virginia District governor.

Loshkreff said the Optimists were happy to lend a hand Tuesday.

"If it has to do with kids, well, we're there — and there are plenty of kids running around here," Loshkreff said.

According to Commonwealth's Attorney Rick Newman, the well-rounded participation — from King's Court to Woodlawn and City Point — is what makes events like National Night Out so vital to law enforcement efforts.

"You are our first defense against crime," Newman told the crowd. "The community [is] coming together ... we're taking our streets back."

Hopewell Sheriff Greg Anderson congratulated watch members for the progress that they have made in curbing crime, but cautioned them not to lose momentum.

"Stay involved, we're turning the corner — Keep it up," Anderson said.

According to Randy Simpson, of the Kippax Neighborhood Watch group, no one is slowing down when it comes to safe-guarding the community.

"We're always observant, but we're not vigilantes," Simpson said. "We're just there to help make sure people feel safe at night," he added.

Simpson, like Ellis, decided to organize his community when he noticed crime creeping into the neighborhood.

"I just wanted to make a difference at a critical time; [Crime's] like a sore, you have to cut it out before it can spread," Simpson said.

Kippax Watch members maintain a highly-visible presence patrolling the streets in their unmistakable day-glo yellow uniform shirts. According to Hopewell Police Chief Steven Martin, their presence is being felt.

At last month's city-side neighborhood watch meeting, Martin displayed a map of criminal incidents shaded in regions with active neighborhood watch groups.

"As you can see, areas with active community involvement have lower crime rates across the board," Martin said, pointing at the blank swaths of color bordered with dots largely representing property crimes.

"Your success is crucial to our success as a city when it comes to making strides against crime," Martin told the crowd at July's meeting. "And we are making a difference," he added.