Overcast skies and rain did not stop Perry residents from getting to know their first responders. 

Perry Hy-Vee hosted the annual Public Safety Day in the Hy-Vee parking lot on Saturday. The event brought out vehicles from the Perry Fire, Police and Public Works Departments along with Dallas County Emergency Medical Services and the Blank Children’s SmokeHouse. Perry Hy-Vee Outreach Coordinator Larry Vodenik said they had a fair turnout for how dreary the weather was. 

“It’s a good time to get people to go out and see. A lot of people will come down here, and they’re just amazed at how many fire trucks we have. Or and there’s only part of our police forces here, you know, there’s a lot more equipment and everything. And we’ve got the street department over here with a street sweeper and things like that.”

Fire Chief Grason Hill says that these events are meaningful for their fire department because they get to educate. 

“These are very, very important for people to show up to these things because of the knowledge we give them for fire safety, for homes, their schools, just all in general. It’s good knowledge for the people that come out here to meet the firefighters. They know us in general and we know them. It’s a good relationship that way.”

Life Flight did not perform their scheduled appearance due to the poor weather conditions.