National Night Out to Come to Butler

The is hoping to bring the entire community together for a drug-free evening on Tuesday during its 14th Annual National Night Out event.

The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Butler Park and is sponsored by the Butler Municipal Power and Light Authority.

"The premise of National Night Out is to build a partnership between the community and police," Butler Police Sgt. Robert Findura, coordinator of Butler's event, said. "It's programmed as a night out against drugs."

About 16,000 communities are expected to participate in this year's National Night Out, which is coordinated nationally by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Findura said that in other towns, it is designed to be a time when residents turn their porch lights on and have a sort of block party, but in Butler, the police department invites everyone to the park in front of their station.

He also said that hundreds of residents come out every year for the event, ages ranging from children to senior citizens.

In addition to the police department participating, Findura said that the , Butler Animal Control, the Morris County Prosecutor's Office and the Police Pipes and Drums Band of Morris County bagpipe band will be participating as well. The event is nationally sponsored by Target and representatives from the Riverdale Target will be there as well, in addition to the radio station WGHT, of Pompton Lakes, broadcasting live from the event.

Local businesses will also help sponsor the event, including , which will be providing free pizza, Findura said.

While the community enjoys the food and entertainment, Findura said that being able to interact with the community police officers at the event is also a key component to National Night Out.

"One of the things people like the most about it is that they can come down and talk to local police officers in a more relaxed setting," he said.

The event is open to anyone who wants to attend from the tri-boro.