DUNCANSVILLE - What do you do for an encore?
After reaching a milestone anniversary in 2009, the 26th annual Night Out Against Crime at the Antique Depot continues to draw people to Duncansville, both to attend and to volunteer.
About 600 people attended Tuesday's Night Out, which featured a parade, car show and fireworks display.
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Night Out Against Crime
The event, which sends a message to criminals that neighborhoods are fighting back against crime, takes about 150 volunteers to run, Duncansville Police Chief James Ott said Tuesday. People don't get tired of the event, as seven new volunteers came on board this year.
"Every year, new people come up to me and ask to help. I just had one tonight," Ott said.
Pam Illig of Allegheny Township, one of those volunteers, manned a booth with anti-crime literature and "Push Out the Pusher" drug hot line yard signs. Illig has lived in the area for two years.
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Brady Deterline, 11, of Roaring Spring makes a beaver paw print at the Night Out Against Crime Tuesday in Duncansville as his sister Ryen, 7, watches. (Mirror photo by Mark Leberfinger)
"I love to walk every night, and I feel safe," she said. "I just like being able to contribute to that feeling of safety."
And the event doesn't get tiring for Blair County's law enforcement agencies.
"We like the interaction with the public," Blair Township Police Chief Randall Lingenfelter said. "Blair County has exceptional people. They're willing to come out and take a stand against crime."
The county's drug epidemic and the subsequent rise of Operation Our Town also helped inspire residents to step forward against crime.
"It wasn't just the drugs, but it was also what went with it - the thefts, the assaults. People just got tired of it," Ott said.
Thirty-two vendors, representing businesses, community groups and police and fire departments, had stands ranging from their services to food to anti-crime literature.
The free event was sponsored by the Duncansville police, Blair County law enforcement agencies and the Duncansville Area Business & Professional Association.
