Waterfest splashes into fourth year, fills City Park

Edwardsville police chief Rance Quinn, left, and police clerk Mindi Lobner at the Waterfest and National Night Out at City Park.

The Edwardsville Police Department drew about 250 residents to City Park on Tuesday, Aug. 4, for its fourth annual Waterfest.

Previously held in late July, this year the event shifted to the first Tuesday in August to coincide with the National Night Out, a nationwide campaign that promotes partnerships between police departments and their communities.

The free event ran from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., featuring water slides, games, music, and hot dogs. Residents could get a small measure of payback by sending Edwardsville’s traffic sergeant Sean Robison plunging into the dunk tank, though most of the dunkers were too young to drive.

Neo, the department’s canine member, showed off for the crowd with a double play of extracting an uncooperative driver (Detective Mike Pozela, well-padded), and tracking down some hastily discarded evidence.

Detective Kirsten Casey cracked two cases as on-call investigator for the event, reuniting a lost child with his mother, then just minutes later tracking down the lost match to another child’s sparkly, pink gel sandal.

Local groups offering help with health, family support, youth programs, housing, food, and employment were also on hand in a community services fair.

Police Chief Rance Quinn said community events like Waterfest give officers a chance to connect with the people they serve. The gathering “allows the citizens to see us in a different light and allows us to build relationships with our citizens,” Quinn said.

That focus runs through his career. Quinn started in Edwardsville as a reserve officer in 1989, then joined the department full time before leaving in 1991. He spent more than three decades in local law enforcement, most of it with the KCK police department. There he rose to deputy chief, helped lead the department’s Crisis Intervention Team, and shifted officer training toward community relations.

A country feel next to the city

Now Quinn has returned to where he started. Of the town, he said, “it’s not much different than it was back then.” He described Edwardsville as offering “kind of a country feel” with quick access to everything a nearby metropolitan area provides.

Lots of splashes and family fun at Waterfest (reader photo submission)

A wish for a city pool

Lifelong resident Candice Craven praised the town’s family focus as she . She called Edwardsville “like a small big city,” where neighbors watch out for one another. Craven said, “if someone sees your kid out, they’re probably watching out for your kid just because you see them around everywhere.”

One thing that would make the city even better: “We need a city pool,” Craven said. Her family travels to Shawnee and Bonner Springs to swim, and she would rather put that money toward Edwardsville.