Staff report

The Suffolk Police Department and the National Night Out Committee gathered Thursday night in the City of Suffolk’s Council Chambers to recognize the communities and business partners that assisted in making National Night Out 2005 a success in Suffolk.

Chief William Freeman and Sergeant Sandy Springle announced the winners of the &uot;Best Neighborhoods&uot; competition. Neighborhood events were judged on criteria such as neighborhood and business participation, displays and youth activities.

One winner was selected from each of the three tours that police and other city officials took around the neighborhood.

The winners were Hall Place from tour one, Hoffler Apartments from tour two and Pughsville from tour three.

Diana Klink, the community outreach coordinator from the Office of the Common-wealth Attorney and a National Night Out committee member, announced Project 365, which looks ahead to National Night Out 2006.

Next year’s theme is Ganging up for Good: Gang Prevention and Intervention.

&uot;Each year, we try to chose a theme that can address the needs of community,&uot; Klink said. &uot;It’s very important, in light of recent incidents across city, that anytime we can get a preventive message out to youth, we definitely want to take advantage of the opportunity.&uot;