The City of Battle Ground’s National Night Out event drew hundreds of residents to Kiwanis Park on Tuesday, Aug. 5, bringing families together for community building through youth activities and safety education.
The Battle Ground Lions Club debuted its first Lego pinewood derby at the event, a twist on the traditional wooden kit version.
Lions Club Secretary and Marketing Director Shelley Staudinger said the idea came from her work with scouting and a desire to give kids a creative and fun activity. Dozens of children spent the evening digging through Lego bricks, building custom cars and racing them down a track.
“When the Cub Scouts do it, they get a little kit of wood and all the cars have to be that, you know, made out of that kit, but this, you just make your car and the kids are having fun now,” Staudinger said. “The kids have been here a long time digging around and finding all the cool parts and the drivers and the flames, and yeah, it's been fun.”
The derby drew a large crowd, which helped the club reach its goal to engage with more local families.
“I think it's really helped people coming out of the pandemic to go, ‘oh yeah, we do have neighbors and we can get out and be around people,’ so it's great,” Staudinger said of National Night Out.
Alongside the derby, the Battle Ground Police Department hosted a bicycle safety course for kids. Walmart donated several dozen bikes to be raffled off to youth participants, with Chief Dennis Flynn leading the giveaway.
Officer CJ Cortez, sworn in the day before the event, spent much of the evening helping kids navigate the obstacle course. He focused on teaching them the importance of stopping and looking both ways before crossing, while also showing proper hand signals. He said the line stayed long all night, but the kids’ excitement never faded.
“I just think it is an awesome event, you know, to see the community come together like this and everybody having fun, everybody learning,” Cortez said.
Cortez, who moved from Hawaii last month after several years as a sheriff’s deputy there, said Battle Ground’s friendliness reminds him of home.
“You know, I tell everybody, I tell this to the chief, I said this place so far I've been working for three weeks now, it reminds me a lot of … the people,” Cortez said. “They're friendly, very friendly people … the community in Battle Ground is, it's like a tight-knit community.”
Clark County Fire District 3 (CCFD3) also drew crowds with a hands-on fire hose station for kids, a fire engine tour and free grilled hot dogs, cooked by firefighters and city council members. CCFD3 Chief Chris Drone said the annual event gives first responders a chance to meet people on good days, not just emergencies, and to work side-by-side with police in a relaxed setting.
“Oh yeah, I mean, community is our foundation, right?” Drone said. “One that's here, they're our bosses, you know, they pay our salary and we provide service to them.”
Last year, National Night Out coincided with the preliminary results of a primary election, resulting in the passage of the fire district’s levy lid lift, which will help fully hire paramedic-certified firefighters.
“It was serendipitous to be here with the community and then hearing their voice, getting the vote results that night,” Drone said of last year’s levy passing during the same event. “It really showed how involved everyone was, the partnership that we've earned.”
