Hundreds of Clay County residents turned out for National Night Out (NNO), where games and family activities opened the door to conversations with the agencies that serve them.

The recent event drew an estimated 400 to 500 people to the parking lot of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty, slightly more than in previous years. This marked the eighth year the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Liberty Police Department partnered to host NNO, which moved from its previous downtown Liberty location due to construction on Liberty’s new police facility.

The event welcomed several new participants this year, including the Kearney Police Department, Missouri Department of Conservation, Missouri State Park Rangers, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).

Other participating agencies and organizations included Liberty Fire Department, Liberty Animal Control and Shelter, Liberty Parks and Recreation, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Clay County Parks, Kansas C…