The community gathered in force Wednesday night to celebrate the return of Loveland Community Night Out, once again bringing the Loveland community and their first responders together.
The annual event had to be cancelled last year due to pandemic health risks. However, as health restrictions have eased the event returned for its 17th year.
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Abraham Hernandez-Romero, 2, looks up at the inside of a firetruck as he sits in the driver’s seat while Loveland Fire Rescue Authority Engineer Tyler Chesher, left, chats with him about the truck Wednesday, June 16, 2021, during a Community Night Out party at the Autumn Lakes Apartments in Loveland.Master police officer Dave Sloat with the Loveland Police Department said that while it was hard for the police to not be able to meet with the community, he feels the real impact was on the community itself.
“It was more of an impact on them than it was for us,” he said. “Most of those people understood because of COVID we just couldn’t have people get together in groups like that. It made (people) look forward to this a little bit more.”
But the summer of 2021 brought with it the ability to return to this annual event, albeit smaller in scale. Sloat said that while in the past the city had 20 or more block parties scheduled, this year tallied seven across the city.
Parties saw visits from Loveland first responders, with one of the largest gatherings at the Autumn Lakes Apartments. Along with a crowd of community members, the parking lot was filled with police cruisers, motorcycles, a SWAT car, K9 units, a Loveland Fire Rescue Authority engine and more.
As the evening went on, kids ran around the parking lot looking at the police and fire department vehicles parked near their homes. They got to sit on LPD motorcycles and in the driver’s seat of the LFRA’s newest Engine 41 and thank the first responders that serve them, giving them hugs as they pulled into the complex.
“For our department I think it is really cool that there are folks who believe in us and support us,” Sloat said.
Sloat also said that the event allowed the police to show the community that they are working to serve them, especially as trust in the LPD has become a point of discussion for some in the city because of the Karen Garner arrest and subsequent lawsuit.
“We do have citizens who are disappointed, and we understand that,” he said. “We are going to continue to do the work we do in our community. That is why we work here, because there are a lot of folks who support us and believe in us.”
But for all first responders, Wednesday night offered the opportunity for the public servants to meet those they serve.
“If you have any opportunities for public interaction you should be taking advantage of those so the community knows who their public servants are,” said LFRA battalion chief Tim Smith.
LFRA Cpt. Mark Lyons said one thing the fire department was excited for was showing off Engine 41, which was recently purchased by the department.
He said that it is “always good to come out and see the community and show them what we do.”
“It’s always good to build those relationships,” he added.
As the new engine rolled into the complex, kids ran up to see all the gear in the big red engine. Engineer Tyler Chesher spent part of his evening showing kids what the LFRA uses to put out fires.
Chesher said events like community night out also give community members the ability to ask questions in a more fun, less serious situation than an actual emergency.
“It’s great,” he said. “Whenever we get the chance to interact with the community its good.”
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Dominique Tingley, assistant manager at the Autumn Lakes Apartments, gets dunked in a dunk tank Wednesday, June 16, 2021, during a Community Night Out party at the Autumn Lakes Apartments in Loveland.Organizers offered the Autumn Lakes community food, shaved ice, a raffle competition and a classic dunk tank. Dominique Tingley, assistant manager, said all the funds that were raised by the raffle and dunk tank will be donated to KidsPak, a nonprofit that provides food to students in need.
Tingley, who was the first dunk tank target, said the event served as a celebration of the community.
“It provides a sense of community (and) getting to know your neighbors,” she said.
Property manager Judie Gonzales said the event showed to the community that they are cared about.
“It shows they are important,” she said. “That we have a great community that works together.”
For those who got out into the heat, the event did create that sense of community that was its focus.
Berenice Hernandez and her family spent their evening walking around and getting to know the responders that serve them. Berenice and her husband Alex Romero watched as their 2-year-old son Abraham Hernandez-Romero and their 9-year-old daughter Maria Hernandez-Romero learned about the police and fire departments.
“They do an amazing job,” she said. “I like what they keep doing (to) give back to the community.”
Sloat said he expects that next year’s Loveland Community Night Out will be a return to normalcy and will, hopefully, see even more block parties.
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