Bomb squads, CSI, SWAT and candy featured at KCSO National Night Out
Oct. 21—A butterfly, Captain America, banana and Princess Belle waited outside the Kern County Sheriff's Office headquarters by 4:30 p.m. Thursday, all braving the punishing sun.
The lineup may sound like the opening to a bad joke, but many queued up for a good reason. Several deputies were on hand with bags of candy and demonstrations of their equipment during National Night Out for a sea of people stretching down Norris Road, who were there an hour before the event started.
National Night Out, fashioned as a Halloween celebration for KCSO, allowed children to dress up as their favorite characters and peruse KCSO's various divisions while fawning over horses, playing games and seeing various community organizations.
"The kids are the highlight of our day," said KCSO Sheriff Donny Youngblood.
He added the impressionable audience milling around him could associate deputies with negative experiences if they've ever seen their parents getting into trouble. But events like the one held Thursday show children the different services offered by the KCSO and instill positive experiences.
"We're really enthused about tonight," Youngblood added.
A hippie chick watched as Deadpool played a Plinko board game and waved at K9s. Deadpool told a reporter K9s were his favorite part of the night.
"(It's our favorite) so far," Krista Hays, costumed in '70s attire, teased her nephew Landon Clark, 9, who was dressed as Deadpool. He then dragged her off toward blond ponies and horses.
But before he left, Clark opened his bag to reveal a trove of candy, notebooks and goodies, in addition to the sugary treats.
Alynna, Meah, Sara and Jocelyn Cazares all peered out of makeshift bars as their aunt took their picture at a booth run by detentions deputies. The girls jumped out as detentions deputies lifted the bars blocking a car's trunk and the children flashed toothy grins as aunt Franny Cazares took another picture.
"She said she was going to lock me in," Meah Cazares, 8, said of her aunt while the gaggle of girls burst out laughing. But Meah knew time behind bars was limited because she has karate skills.
Jocelyn Cazares, 6, pried out green plastic teeth to tell a reporter she wanted to go inside the jail to examine the body inside. She hugged the body as she left.
Over by a table run by Dignity Health, Erin Ramey picked up some Narcan and got a presentation explaining how to use it. Her grandson wants to be a SWAT member, and they all stopped by to check out the booth run by SWAT deputies.
Alli Rodriguez watched her son dressed as Buzz Lightyear glide over to various booths and return with a notebook. Her other son, dressed as Woody from "Toy Story," licked a green airhead while sitting in a stroller.
"I feel like it's a lot safer than going trick-or-treating with all the issues that are going on with the candy, the fentanyl," Rodriguez added.
Buzz Lightyear began pulling on his mother's arm and squirmed without answering a reporter's questions. Hendrix Rodriguez seemed to be impatient to stand still and talk when various attractions awaited.
As soon as the conversation ended, the 5-year-old hightailed it to the prison bars.
You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
