INSIDE
Volume 3, Issue 11 August 8, 2025 Total Raised: $68,990 Lead this Legacy
: Soul & Story Creative celebrates grand opening
REFLECTIONS OF OUR COMMUNITY
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Community supports 2nd National Night Out with increased attendance By Claire Marshall
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over from this summer’s Water Safety Day. Another goal of many organizations was to inform the public about a new law in Michigan requiring gun owners to keep their firearms locked up if minors are present on the property. Should a minor be injured due to an easily accessible firearm, the owner will face felony charges. Because of this, Trinity Health and the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office were handing out gun locks and spreading awareness of this new law. Other organizations, such as the Citizen Emergency Response Team, were out seeking volunteers to assist them in case of natural disasters. Organizer David Noble has been working in emergency response for decades and even trav-
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Shelby’s robotics club, in attendance, all with the The Oceana Echo Community Correspondent shared goal of letting the public know who they 2025 marks the sec- were and their benefits ond year of National Night to Oceana County. Leslie Out, an annual commu- Best of Oceana/ Mason nity-building campaign County’s joint 911 station held nationwide, which said of their attendance, works to bring together “we are here to get people neighborhoods and their informed about what’s local emergency services. available.” This year saw over 20 orIn many instances, ganizations attend the these service providers event - held at the Shel- encounter communiby Township Communi- ty members who had ty Park from 4-8 p.m. on no idea such organizaTuesday, August 5 - to tions existed. Despite 10 meet residents of Oceana years of operation, Rosa County and share what Avilez-Martinez of Shelby services they provide. Adolescent Health Center National Night Out, is still working to inform while featuring all as- folks that they are more pects of emergency ser- than just mental health vice, was conceived with providers for Shelby Midthe primary goal of im- dle School, but that they proving community and work with adolescents police relations. As Ocea- ages 10-22 all around na County Undersheriff Oceana County. Ryan Schiller explains, Jeremy Shafer of Oceathe event “enables law na County Police’s dive enforcement and public team explained, “last year safety to form relation- we met people who were ships with the communi- unaware Oceana County ty… Community is what even had a dive team.” At it’s all about.” Overall, it’s this year’s event, Shafer a “good event with a great has seen an uptick in kids motive.” under 10 who are curiAlong with the fire ous about the dive team trucks and police cars, and filled with questions were a variety of pub- about the equipment on lic fixtures, from mental display. Many were rehealth organizations to warded for their curiosity with free life jackets, left
Lorrie VanDyke
eled to Muskegon County with C.E.R.T. following the disastrous windstorm earlier this year. Besides spreading awareness and drumming up support, many organizations were just participating in a county-wide show-and-tell with their equipment. The Oceana County Road Commission brought in a highway plow for kids to use as a canvas to paint on, afterwards inviting them to climb into the truck to inspect the mechanics. Other vehicles, such as Life EMS’s ambulances, were available for kids to explore so they might feel more comfortable should they ever need to ride one in the future. Oceana and Mason Counties’ joint Special Emergency Response Team brought in an impressive armored vehicle, riot shield, and a specialized robot intended for hostage and live gunman operations. While Jeremy Swihart and Donny Hansen of S.E.R.T. would prefer to never need this equipment, “these are the tools we use to keep people safe.” Throughout the eve-
ning, live demonstrations were presented by Great Lakes Energy and the collective Oceana County fire departments. If anyone wanted to watch a jaws-of-life demonstration outside of a real car accident, Shelby-Benona firefighters were more than happy to oblige with a junk car donated by Oceana Auto. In between the tents and demonstrations, families could enjoy inflatable slides, a rock climbing wall courtesy of Grace Adventures, free hot dogs, snow cones and refreshments, and the opportunity to dunk Oceana County’s boys (and girls) in blue (and brown) in a dunk tank. 102.7 WMOM radio station provided live music and broadcasting for the event. Last year’s National
Night Out saw around 700 attendees, and so far numbers have nearly doubled. Hopefully attendees left learning more about the people who work day and night to provide public safety. For the Oceana County Sheriff’s Offices, they just want folks to know that “we are more than just writing tickets and bringing people to jail. We are partners to make Oceana a great place to live.”