SKOWHEGAN — American Ninja Warrior Jonathan Alexis Sr. will make a special appearance Tuesday night when the Skowhegan Police Department hosts the town’s first ever National Night Out.
Events are scheduled to be held from 5-8 p.m. Tuesday in Coburn Park as part of an annual nationwide community-building campaign that promotes police and community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie, Skowhegan Police Chief David Bucknam said.
Other cities and towns in Maine also are participating in Night Out festivities aimed at “enhancing the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community,” according to promotional material.
In Waterville, the South End Neighborhood Association, in collaboration with the Kennebec Valley Community Action Program’s South End Teen Center, will be hosting the annual South End Neighborhood Festival & National Night Out from 5-7 p.m. at Green Street Park.
Activities in Waterville are scheduled to include a free barbecue, live music, police and fire department demonstrations and displays, a bounce house and a climbing wall.
In Skowhegan, Bucknam said 10 police agencies will be represented, with activities to include free food, an obstacle course, pedal cart races, water games, a K9 demonstration and a radar display.
“The Skowhegan Police Department has joined up with Jonathan Alexis, who is a participant in the TV series ‘American Ninja Warrior’ and he’s going to be bringing his kids’ American Ninja Warrior obstacle course,” Bucknam said.
Alexis, 51, along with his son Jonathan Alexis Jr., 29, both from the Waterville-Oakland area, appeared on the TV show in 2015.
Bucknam said the Night Out is a community policing activity, now in its 35th year nationwide, providing an opportunity to bring police and residents together under positive circumstances. Events are sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch.
An estimated 38 million people in more than 16,000 communities across America take part in the event in all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August.
Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel and exhibits.
“Basically every type of law enforcement agency in Somerset County will be participating, from Skowhegan PD, the Sheriff’s Office, state police, border patrol, the Maine National Guard is sending over their units as well,” Bucknam said. “We should have about 10 different agencies being represented and each agency represented is going to be bringing some type of activity for kids to partake in.”
Bucknam said the events are meant to teach kids that they can approach a police officer at any time. He said this is the first time in the event’s 35 years that it’s being hosted in Skowhegan.
After the Night Out events, there will be a movie shown under the stars as part of the town’s Movie in the Park Night.
Doug Harlow — 612-2367
Twitter:@Doug_Harlow
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