Monessen to hold Community Unity Cookout

By CHRISTINE HAINES

chaines@yourmvi.com

What is being billed as the first annual Community Unity Cookout in Monessen is scheduled for Sunday.

The free event will run from noon to 4 p.m. at Ninth Street Park and will feature free food, activities and games, as well as a number of speakers. Organized by community members and the Monessen Police Department, it is an alcohol-free event.

“It was a group of our younger people in town who came to be about establishing some better police-community relations and we came up with the idea of the picnic. For the most part, I think we have a good relationship, but it can always be better,” said Chief Jim Smith. “We want the officers in our department to be approachable. No one should ever be afraid to approach the police or have the police in their homes.”

Devona Carter is one of the community organizers working with the chief.

“He asked me to sit down with him to talk about things going on in town because I’m one of the ones protesting near Keystone Bakery,” Carter said. “He asked what we could do to bring the community together. We wanted to bridge the gap between the police and the community.”

Carter said the event will include face painting by students from Douglas Education Center, grilling by The Pasta Shoppe and voter registration by the Mon Valley NAACP.

“We’re trying to get local people to share their talents,” Carter said.

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Friday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.