Pleasant Hills celebrates 31st annual National Night Out

In Pleasant Hills, residents tend to circle the last Tuesday of July on their calendars.

“People actually plan their vacations around this event,” Sean Greene, the borough’s deputy police chief, said. “I talked to some people today. They were just in Myrtle Beach, and their kids said, ‘We have to go home for National Night Out.’ So they came home a little early.”

This year marked Pleasant Hills’ 31st annual celebration of the nationwide display of support for law enforcement, with a parade of police cars, fire trucks, emergency vehicles and even some motorcycles winding its way through borough streets.

“It’s a great opportunity for the citizens to show their appreciation not just for the police, but for the first responders, for the firefighters,” Mayor William Trimbath said. “And it’s also a great opportunity for the first responders to see the appreciation from the residents that they normally don’t have a chance to get. So it’s a win-win for us.”

People gathered in their front yards, some organizing larger-scale block parties, to view the proceedings. Others gathered at public places such as Pleasant Hills Public Library and the Pleasant Hills Arboretum. For youngsters, an added bonus was collecting candy that was tossed from passing vehicles.

The parade featured participants from all over the area, from as far away as the North Hills.

“Even though it’s a different community, it’s people saying thank you,” Trimbath said. “They’re all in this together, and it shows joint appreciation.”

Brian Finnerty, Pleasant Hills police chief, regularly extends invitations through his involvement with organizations, including the South Hills Area Council of Governments andthe Allegheny County Chiefs of Police Association.

“We appreciate everybody who comes out, and it’s a nice event for everyone,” he said.

Judy Kirklin, who works in police administration, has been a primary organizer of the event since joining the Pleasant Hills staff. She said the local celebration takes place a week earlier than the campaign as scheduled nationwide, so as not to conflict with Pittsburgh’s event on the first Tuesday in August.

“The police department is very focused on community service and community relations,” Kirklin said. “We have officers who will stop at the block parties and have goodie bags for the kids. They’ll say hi to the kids and just show them that they’re not scary people, that they’re there for them should they need them.”

Residents signed up to host 26 block parties this year, according to Greene. He was one of the visitors, along with Lt. Ralph Rush and Officer Ryan Warnock.

Pleasant Hills’ observance of National Night Out was launched by the late Floyd Nevling, the police chief at the time, and then-Lt. Edward Cunningham, who later served as chief. Finnerty said the only interruption was a year during which Old Clairton Road, a main borough thoroughfare, was closed for construction.

Even during the covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the event occurred as scheduled.

“The community loves it,” Greene said, “and as long as they love it, we’ll continue to do it.”