Kickoff at park shows off city’s commitment
Madera’s first-ever National Night Out (NNO) gatherings were marked by upbeat rock music and hopeful spirits as pre-kickoff and kickoff events this week brought out a community united in the ongoing fight against crime.
The two starter events — Monday evening and Tuesday morning — were in preparation for Tuesday night’s city-wide participation in NNO, which brings 37 million Americans across the country together in spending an evening outside to meet their neighbors and strengthen community relationships.
“This is one night where we can come together and really make a difference,” Madera Mayor Robert Poythress said. “Too many times in our neighborhoods we have a tendency to drive home, open up the garage door, pull the car in, close the garage door and go inside until the next morning when we leave … we don’t know who our neighbors are.”
Because of that lack of connection within a community and its people, the potential for crime lurked ever stronger, Poythress and Madera Police Chief Steve Frazier said during Tuesday’s kickoff at Courthouse Park...