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Wickliffe Block Watch sponsors event
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
AUSTINTOWN
Kids ran from emergency vehicle to emergency vehicle, excited to learn more about them.
Firefighters, police officers and emergency medical technicians were on hand at the fourth annual Austintown Wickliffe Block Watch block party to explain how the vehicles work.
Thomas Mossor and his wife, Lesa, brought their two children to the event Saturday at Wickliffe Christian Church on Potomac Avenue.
“Today’s very cool,” Rose, 8, said. “So far, I looked at the firetruck and the ambulance.”
She liked all the vehicles, but her brother, Lawrence, 5, liked the firetruck best.
He said he liked the noise and everything about it.
Thomas Mossor said he supports the block watch’s efforts.
“It’s better to be involved than set everything off to the side and say, ‘Oh, don’t worry about it,’” he said.
Copper pipes have been stolen from homes in the area, he noted.
“We prefer to help the police and the fire departments and do everything we can,” he said.
The goal of the event is to raise awareness about the block watch, said Shawne Wilfong, one of the block- watch captains.
“We invite not only the residents of the Wickliffe area, but anybody in Austintown that wants to come, so they know we’re here, because a lot of people don’t know that there’s a block watch,” Wilfong said.
“But we’re here, and we want everybody to know it.”
The event included free refreshments, games, crafts, face-painting, a basket raffle and a hot-dog-eating contest.
Joni Post, a member of the church, had her face painted with blue, pink and white flowers and swirls.
“I’m also the board chairman, and I wanted to participate in things that are outreaches into the community. It’s important to interact with other people, and I think the block watch is a very worthy cause to keep crime out of areas,” Post said.
Collin Howell, 9, and his brother Peyton, 6, enjoyed hot dogs and chips before touring the emergency vehicles.
The firetruck is “cool,” Peyton said.
Officer Jeff Toth arrived in his red DARE [Drug Abuse Resistance Education] car and turned the lights on, drawing kids to his vehicle. He passed out balls.
“My job is not only to keep kids safe and out of trouble,” he said. “But my job is to help adults and neighborhoods organize so we can help prevent crime in Austintown.”
Block watches are the police department’s “eyes and ears,” he said.
And events such as Saturday’s block watch party are wonderful, he added. “We need to all become a more tight-knit community. That’s how you reduce crime,” Toth said.