Block Party: Palm Valley hosts National Night Out

PALM VALLEY — Members of the community gathered for the first National Night Out held in Palm Valley to celebrate coming together and learning a thing or two about safety and law enforcement, Palm Valley Police Chief Alvaro Garcia said.
Representatives of the American Red Cross, police and fire departments, Chick-fil-A and United Home Care were on hand at the Harlingen Country Club passing out information to the public.
“We have a little bit of everything packed into one night,” Garcia said. “We are really hoping people can learn a thing or two about crime prevention, their health, and just have an overall great time.”
Garcia said Texas is one of the only states that allow the National Night Out event to be held in October. Usually, he said, it’s held in August.
He said the department chose October because the evenings are slightly cooler than ones in August.
Attending the event was Emmanuel Lagpacan, his wife and two daughters, who moved to Palm Valley from San Francisco four months ago.
“It’s a great environment,” Lagpacan said. “We came out to meet the community and see what services are provided to us.”
Among the safety tips the police department was handing out were fliers about identity theft and telephone fraud.
“We have very low crime rates here (in Palm Valley) but we still need to come out and let people know that we are here to serve and protect,” Garcia said.