Mon Valley Night Out brings community together

The annual event promotes closer relationships between first responders and the public.

Hundreds of Mon Valley residents gathered with local first responders for Tuesday’s Mon Valley Night Out in Rostraver Township Rostraver Police Chief Scott Sokol was delighted by the turnout for the annual event.

“It’s a fantastic day out here, the weather’s been great,” Sokol said. “The turnout is wonderful, and can only get better. Appreciate your neighbor, and appreciate all the first responders out there. It’s a great day to meet them on a good note and to see that they’re normal people, as you and I are every day.”

Mon Valley Night Out coincides with National Night Out, which typically takes place on the first Tuesday of August to promote police and community partnerships. More than 200 communities throughout Pennsylvania participate in National Night Out.

More than 40 police departments, fire departments and EMS services were represented Tuesday at DiVirgilio Sports Complex. Dozens of organizations also participated, giving out information and free goodies to attendees.

Children were able to complete a checklist of first responders to win a prize. The event was filled with young people interacting with first responders and getting their signatures for the list.

Free food was offered at the Night Out celebration, but there were also several food vendors if families were interested in trying something different. The Lyin Hearts band provided entertainment.

Several baskets were raffled off to raise funds for the Rostraver Santa Cop program.

There was also a K-9 demonstration with dogs from the Rostraver and Clairton police departments. Children and their families gathered around to watch the K-9s in action.

Police Sgt. Fred Hill, who handles the K-9 unit for Clairton, said children loved interacting with their K-9, Broky.

“The community here they love the police dogs, and it’s good to see all the things that the police dogs do, and to meet the police dogs in a positive environment,” Hill said, “and people like to pet him (Broky) and meet him. Broky is a very social dog.”

Dogs weren’t the only animals at the event. The Pennsylvania State Police brought their horse-mounted unit, which could be seen elegantly walking throughout the event.

The state police also brought helicopters for attendees to watch fly over the event and then land so kids could check them out up close. State Police Sgt. John Thacik said they’re always happy to interact with the community and it wasn’t their first time at the Mon Valley Night Out.

“Many times, people think they have a negative idea about police, just because of the nature of our work, but at the end of the day, we’re people too, so we’re out here just trying to do our best and meet people and have a positive interaction,” Thacik said.

Rostraver Township Commissioner Justin Kosanko gave credit to Sokol for putting the event together and highlighted the importance of Mon Valley Night Out.

“We couldn’t do this without Scott,” Kosanko said. “Chief Sokol is the brains behind this operation, and he does and gives back so much to the community, and through his relationships and partnerships, we’re able to put on this great event.

“I think that it allows people to connect with the first responders and get to know them a little bit, and it also allows them to come out and see that they’re giving back, that these are the people that are putting their lives on the line.”

Commissioners Gary Beck and Devin DeRienzo were seen driving golf carts to transport people from the parking lot to the main field area. Beck highlighted how many communities had come together at the Night Out.

“The whole Mon Valley, we have people here from every municipality in the Mon Valley,” Beck said. “I’ve even talked to people from Mount Pleasant and Uniontown. So it’s a really great night.”

Donora Mayor Donald Pavelko said the borough’s police department has been participating every year since Mon Valley Night Out was created. Pavelko is grateful for the outlet the event has given Donora police to interact with their community.

“You see all the little kids, those are our future first responders, and they’re getting a taste of what it’s like,” Pavelko said. “They see how they act, and how they communicate with the public, and hopefully they’ll step up to be a policeman, volunteer fireman or EMS. So this is a good event for kids to see.”

State Rep. Eric Davanzo, who was at the event with an information booth, commended Sokol for the work he’s put into Mon Valley Night Out. He hopes the Night Out continues to grow over the years, as much as it has since it started.

“This is great, because anytime we can get families together like this, it’s a win,” Davanzo said. “We can get families with law enforcement, this way, if that child ever needs help, they know that police officer is their friend if there’s ever an accident.”