Tehachapi National Night Out

On August 2, Tehachapi celebrated its 6th Annual National Night Out. National Night Out started in 1984 as a way for neighborhoods to take the streets back from violence and gang activity. It was set up in neighborhood block parties as a way for citizens to become more familiar with their local law enforcement. This is Tehachapi's 6th Annual National Night Out. "This year we really just want to have a fun, safe place for the neighbors and the residents of Tehachapi to come together, meet our law enforcement, especially in these times right now," says Mayor Pro-Tem Kim Nixon.

Neighborhoods across the nation and military bases around the world celebrated National Night Out on August 2. The night promotes safety, giving parents tips on how to keep their kids safe at home and at school. Many Tehachapi-based organizations set up booths to spread their messages to the families in attendance. TEAM, a Tompkins Elementary School group is an after school program that teaches kids STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) and does a lot of fun activities.

VFW post 12114 handed out free hot dogs, as did Feed My Sheep. American Red Cross gave tips and advice for various emergency situations, while the Kawaiisu Language and Cultural Center featured rock painting for the kids. National Night Out was also attended by California Highway Patrol, Tehachapi Family Life Pregnancy Center, Community Emergency Response Team, and a local boy scouts troop. Each booth passed out goodies and awarded prizes for families passing by, and most kids could be seen with plastic bags full of candy and prizes.

The street was lined with specialty vehicles. The Kern County Fire Department brought out a fire truck and let kids sit behind the wheel, and EMT Naomie West and Paramedic Jeff Crisler gave tours of ambulances and informed people about basic ambulance and emergency response protocol. Tehachapi Mountains Search & Rescue also came out with their specialty vehicle, and gave people advice on what to do when stranded in an unknown area.

"We wear orange so it's easy to find us. We have our own mobile command so if we get called out to a remote area where you don't have cell service, we can still have radio communication," said one volunteer. Tehachapi Mountains Search & Rescue, an all-volunteer organization, created the Hug-A-Tree program, which promotes general safety as well as their most prominent piece of advice: if you get lost, stop and hug a tree. Find a way to contact people who can help, such as TMSR, and don't move until they arrive. Volunteers sometimes speak at after school programs, teaching kids about Hug-A-Tree and telling them how to keep themselves safe. The gang unit of California Correctional Institution presented pictures of gang tattoos and various contraband found in prisons, and informed people about prison gang behavior.

Police explorers did a demonstration of a felony arrest from a vehicle. They showed police protocol when a suspected felon, such as a bank robber or murderer, believed to be dangerous is pulled over.

The evening was full of such demonstrations, and Tehachapi residents received a lot of useful information for keeping themselves and their families safe. As night fell, the glow walk began, and people took to the streets with their glow sticks and flashlights in a symbolic gesture of togetherness, anti-bullying, and neighborhood safety. The night ended with a movie in the park sponsored by TVRPD.