The Hub City looks back at a busy summer of community activities

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - As the summer months wind down, the City of Hattiesburg looks back at the activities that kept the community busy.

City members say it was a great way to get the residents involved with events such as movies in the park and eating popsicles with the Hattiesburg Police Department.

“I just think there should be things for community members to do with their kids, and maybe their kids aren’t with them, and they are at summer camp, they can do things without their kids,” said Innovative Programs Coordinator Nadine Armstrong.

Armstrong said the summer calendar gave the Hub City a way to keep busy without emptying their pockets.

“It just gives activities for people to do in the community, besides going out and spending money,” said Armstrong. “These are free projects or programs.”

When planning the summer events, Armstrong said she took the community feedback when planning the summer events to decide which activities should go on the calendar.

“I just kind of work with what people said,” she said. “The number one thing is people wanted, a movie in the park or a drive-in movie. I was like, ‘We can do that.’ And then people said they like to go out and eat and drink and hang out with their friends, and I was like, ‘Ok, we will work on that.’ So, just try to do something like that once a month and then come up with new things.”

Hattiesburg Police Public Information Officer Ryan Moore said summer events like the Popsicles in the Park and the fire department’s Splash Days reached over 500 kids and family members with the 12 total events.

“We want our officers to not only be in the neighborhoods, but the community as a whole,” said Moore. “Their windows down, speaking to members in the community because the community is our eyes and our ears. If we don’t have their information to be comfortable with them and around them, (it’s hard) for them to be able to contact us or call us and say, ‘We saw this. We know this. We want you to help this.’ We do practice, and we do push very much here at the Hattiesburg Police Department is community orientated policing.”

The Hattiesburg Parks and Recreation will be putting on a Wiffle ball game Thursday, August 18, with the city’s first responders.

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