By KAY S. PEDROTTI
Staff Writer

The Peachtree City version of "National Night Out" Tuesday included a bicycle rodeo, clowns, fire safety demonstrations and a kid-pleasing appearance by the "Phoenix" medevac helicopter.

Held on the parking lot of the Kedron Village Kroger on Peachtree Parkway, the NNO celebration drew more than 200 people. More than 150 Kroger stores in the southeast participated in NNO.

The local store provided free bike helmets to about 50 children Tuesday evening, according to customer service manager Delmas Shipman.

National Night Out began about 14 years ago as a way of bringing neighborhoods together to fight crime, eliminate drug trafficking and protect children, Shipman said. In Peachtree City the kids got a close-up look at police and firefighting equipment, talked to officers and learned such safety basics as "dial 911 in emergencies" and the "stop, drop and roll" technique to help put out the flames if their clothes catch fire.

Shipman said the turnout from local law enforcement and fire/EMS agencies "was just fabulous." Personnel from the Peachtree City Fire Department, Peachtree City and Tyrone police departments, and the Fayette County Sheriff's Department participated.

National Association of Town Watch started the NNO celebration to bring citizens and police together to fight crime, and it has been endorsed by national crime-prevention agencies and federal bodies such as the Justice Department. S.C. Johnson Wax Inc. was the 1998 national sponsor.