Communities in Charles County came together Tuesday night to celebrate the 29th Annual National Night Out with cookouts all across the county. The night kicked off with remarks by the county commissioners and Sheriff Rex Coffey (D) at the Waldorf Moose Lodge in White Plains.
“It’s a good time for us to get out and create camaraderie,” Coffey said. “Let them know we’re there.”
“It’s a great honor to be here to support the Charles County Sheriff’s Office,” Commissioner President Candice Quinn Kelly (D) said.
Commissioner Vice President Reuben Collins (D) and Commissioners Debra Davis (D: 2nd) and Ken Robinson (D: 1st), Maryland State Delegate Peter Murphy, Charles County Sheriff’s Office Acting Human Resources and Administrative Services Director Dr. Rebecca Bridgett and State’s Attorney Tony Covington were on hand for the kickoff event at White Plains.
Nanjemoy Community Center was packed inside and out where they were playing music, eating, jumping inside the moon bounce set up and playing basketball. Inside the community center, a school supplies drive was set up for children from pre-school to high school.
The Phoenix Run neighborhood in La Plata held a cookout. Police officers from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and the Town of La Plata Police Department spent time with residents and allowed children to sit inside the police cars.
Bannister Neighborhood in St. Charles is usually one of the biggest events in the county and Tuesday night was no exception. At the Bannister Community Center, dozens of people brought their swimming gear to the cookout hosted there and took a dive in the community pool.
Charles County is historically one of the most supportive counties for the National Night Out program. Events were held at nearly every community center in the county. In Benedict, things got off to a scary start when a waterspout was spotted on the Patuxent resulting in a tornado warning. There were no injuries or damage reported.
