Neighborfest

Tuesday, August 14th 2007, 9:48 pm

By: News On 6

It was Tulsa's version of the national Night Out Against Crime Tuesday, and the mayor's office coupled that with several other late summer events. It was also a back-to-school festival and an immunization clinic. The News On 6â€™s Emory Bryan reports the biggest part of what happened at Veterans Park was a chance for people to meet firefighters and police.

The Tulsa Fire Department filled the parking lot with its tallest ladder truck and just about every other tool they have to help people. And that's why little Alex Mercatoris was here.

â€œAnytime he hears a siren he says â€˜fire truckâ€™,â€ said Tulsa resident Candace Mercatoris.

Mercatoris brought her children to see a showcase of Tulsa's emergency equipment, and the people who help out. Alex Mercatoris got to pet the sheriff's department K-9, and he left with a tattoo from the police department.

â€œI wanted to bring him out here to see the police officers and the fire men,â€ Candace Mercatoris said.

It's practically a carnival for the kids and good public relations for police and fire.

This final Neighborfest of the year was combined with a back-to-school festival. Children were given lots of free school supplies, were able to sign for a library card and enjoy clowns and entertainment.

Coupled with Tulsa's Night Out Against Crime, it was a huge show of force for the police, the sheriff and fire departments, and about every city service imaginable.

"And that's always a really fun thing for the kids because it makes them less intimidating if and when they ever need those officers to help them,â€ said Carol Bush of the Citizens Crime Commission.

The heat was on, but the ice cream was plentiful and so were the freebies, to get children ready to start school.

â€œWent to the Met, the library, visited all the booths, we got here early,â€ said Tulsa resident Paula Recess.

This was the final Neighborfest of the summer, and the mayor wanted to combine all these things to encourage parents to get children to the first day of classes when Tulsa students go back to school next Monday.

Watch the video: Getting To Know Your Area First Responders