On Tuesday evening, residents and civic organizations from Jim Thorpe and the surrounding area joined forces with thousands of other communities nationwide for the "34th Annual National Night Out" crime and drug prevention event.

The event is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and co-sponsored locally by the Jim Thorpe Police Department in conjunction with the Jim Thorpe Community Watch.National Night Out is designed to heighten crime and drug prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime efforts, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnership and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.Jim Thorpe Police Chief Joseph Schatz said, "this is the first time that the Jim Thorpe Police Department has sponsored this event. We want to thank a lot of people that are involved with a lot of community support and for donations that we received from different organizations. It's a great thing that brings the community together to take a bite out of crime and let the people know that we're taking back our streets in the community and fighting crime."Pennsylvania state Rep. Doyle Heffley said, "I'm happy that the Jim Thorpe borough and the police department are putting on the National Night Out. I think that it's really important to the area residents. They can come out and learn about different things in the community. We have a problem throughout Carbon County and throughout Pennsylvania with addiction, and this is just to educate people about some of the services that are out there but also to educate parents what the hazards are raising children and what to look out for."I'm excited that Jim Thorpe is doing this and I'm also excited that for the first time Lehighton is also doing the National Night Out," he said. "My office is at both of them and I think that it is a great thing in the community and I'd really like to see this program expand through all of Carbon County. It's really a worthwhile program and there's a lot of information that can be gained here. This is a nice night to come out in the community and see your neighbors."This year's event in Jim Thorpe drew hundreds of visitors and featured first responders from the Jim Thorpe area and about 35 organizations and civic groups, including the borough of Jim Thorpe, the Jim Thorpe Neighborhood Bank, the Mauch Chunk Trust Company, D.J. Monroe Berger, Crufeli Troupe, Kresge Services and the attorney Greg Mousseau family.