Police and community come together at Lewes National Night Out

After being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, Lewes National Night Out returned Aug. 3 to George H.P. Smith Park, where police officers, firefighters, emergency medical service personnel and other first responders gathered with locals and visitors for an evening of community-building. 

The night featured a variety of free activities, including tours of fire trucks and ambulances, a bounce house and face painting. Sussex County paramedics offered free CPR lessons, while the Division of Public Health was on site administering COVID vaccines and COVID tests. 

Unlike previous years when food was prepared on site, the Lewes Police Department provided prepackaged subs, chips and drinks to ensure the event remained safe for all who attended. Free ice cream, a DJ, and bicycle and backpack raffles rounded out the evening. 

Toward the end of the event, Police Chief Tom Spell honored former police officer Fred Slater with a shadow box of LPD memorabilia to thank him for his service to the town. Slater was a police officer from 1984 to 2005, when he retired from policing as a lieutenant in Lewes. He moved on to work as the streets and maintenance department foreman from 2005 to 2020, when he fully retired from the city. National Night Out was the first opportunity Spell had to publicly thank him for his service.