Carterville Gears Up for Regional National Night Out
What began as a neighborhood cookout has grown into a Southern Illinois tradition
By Verna Slate, Williamson County Bureau
CARTERVILLE, Ill. — It started as Carterville's own night on the block. Now it pulls in emergency crews and families from across the region.
The city is hosting its annual National Night Out, an event that has grown well beyond its city limits, with neighboring emergency agencies and residents from across Southern Illinois now taking part each year, according to the Southern Illinoisan.
These nights matter more than the free hot dogs suggest. They're the one evening a year when the folks who show up for fires and wrecks and everything in between get to shake hands instead of respond to a call. In a county that has buried its share of miners and mourned its share of tragedies, a little goodwill between neighbors and first responders is worth the trip out.
Details on time and location were not specified in available reporting; residents are encouraged to watch city announcements.
— Compiled from reporting by the Southern Illinoisan.
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