GLOVERSVILLE - City and county police agencies joined together at the first National Night Out event in the city Tuesday, and it was a small but successful affair, officials said.
Gloversville Police Department Detective Michael Jory said his department was pleased with the outpouring of support from the community and plans to make next year bigger and better.
Similar events took place across the country, including one in Amsterdam, and are billed as a way to establish a good relationship between children, the community and law enforcement.
Jory organized the event, which featured drug-sniffing dog Mocha from the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, a static display of police equipment, fingerprinting and ID-making for children, the Fulton County Ambulance Service, free food, a bouncy house, a bike auction and music by Small Town Sound.
A number of city officials, including city clerk Brenda Pedrick and Mayor Tim Hughes, donated food and drinks for the event. Price Chopper also donated food, Jory said.
Michele Patterson of Gloversville brought her son, Zachery Leveille, to the event to be fingerprinted and to have an identification card made. The information is kept on file in case Zachery goes missing, Patterson said.
"I think it's a great thing [to have this event in Gloversville]," she said.
Gloversville resident Zoe Horton, 12, agreed. She enjoyed ice cream with sprinkles while several other children in her YWCA day-care class threw softballs at the dunk tank.
Gloversville Middle School Principal Jim Christopher was the willing victim sitting above the tank.
"It was really fun," Horton said of the event.
She said she liked Mocha, a 5-year-old narcotic-sniffing Labrador, the most.
"That was really cool," she said of the dog. "He's cute."
Jonathan Morrison said he was picking his three children up from day care when they saw the event and wanted to go.
"I think it's nice that they're having something like this in the city," he said. "[One of my children] just did the fingerprinting."
Capt. James Lorenzoni said he hopes the event will act as an early deterrent for future bad behavior. He credited Jory with organizing the event and said it gives city children positive exposure to local law enforcement.
"Something like this [event] can have a positive impact on lowering future crime rates [and] drop out rates in school," he said. "Anything that gets the community involved is a positive thing."
Kayleigh Karutis covers Gloversville news. She can be reached at gloversville@leaderherald.com
