Besides promoting a sense of community, Jackson’s National Night Out gives people a chance to meet and speak with those who serve

Jackson Township. It’s also a chance for the police, EMS workers and firefighters of Jackson to give back to the community for the support that they receive all year long. The event is totally free to all citizens and is funded completely through charitable donations.

Jackson’s Night Out had something for people of all ages. Rides and games for the kids, free hot dogs and drinks, free snow cones, free popcorn and free raffle drawings for mountain bikes, iPods and Nintendo DS. This year, the Police Department added “Name my Jackson,” a game where volunteers answered history questions about Jackson for a chance to win a prize. Jackson’s firefighters put together a powerful display of vehicle extrication and throughout the entire evening conducted smokehouse demonstrations, showing people how to handle themselves in a real fire emergency. The Jackson Police Department showed off its different units such as portions of its SWAT team and gear, the all terrain vehicle off road unit, the bicycle patrol, motorcycle patrol and many of its different police vehicles. The Jackson Police also conducted child car seat inspections and provided free child identification to those interested. Both Jackson First Aid and Quality Medical Transportation were on hand as well to show off different emergency equipment.

The Jackson Township Police Department would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made this event possible including this year’s sponsors: Jackson PBA 168, Jackson ShopRite, Six Flags Great Adventure, Custom Party Rentals, NJ Rents, The Jackson Kiwanis Club and Make MeH LLC. Music this year was provided by “Beats Per Minute” and face painting was provided by Kathy Frasier Faces. Boy Scout Troop 34 worked the games and snack concessions for the sixth straight year. They would also like to thank the many community organizations that participated including the 501 Association and all their participating membership. Finally, they would like to thank Mayor Michael Reina and the members of the Jackson Township Council, Councilwoman Bobbie Rivere, Councilwoman Ann Updegrave and Councilman Kenneth Bressi, that attended and supported this event.