Doug Arp climbed into a concrete truck Tuesday for his 15th gimmick to raise awareness of the role of citizens in crime-fighting and made it through his first stormy night, saying this morning, “You can only get so wet.”

Call Doug Arp

Doug Arp can be reached at 601-497-4798.

“I slept on my back right here on a table,” said the retired policeman who lives in strange places for a week each year leading up to the National Night Out Against Crime observance. “I covered up a little bit with some plastic, but really I did just fine.”

The City of Vicksburg’s water plant reported this morning that 3.03 inches of rain fell overnight, and plenty of thunder and lightning was seen and heard across the county.

Arp is living in a Mississippi Materials concrete truck parked at Culkin Volunteer Fire Department’s headquarters on Culkin and Freetown roads. His theme is, “Don’t let crime put your neighborhood in concrete shoes.”

In the truck’s cylinder, Arp has an air conditioner donated by Vicksburg Cooling and Heating and food donated by people from across the county.

He said he enjoys having company.

“I’ve had more people visit than I’ve had in a year,” Arp said after he’d been in the truck for only a few hours.

Firefighters helped Arp hang signs on the truck and the side of the station as well as pitch a tent next to the truck, firefighter Steven Griffith said because Arp’s antics draw attention and boost participation in Night Out.

Last year, Arp spent a week in a trash bin at the same spot.

Before he retired from the Vicksburg Police Department, Arp used vacation time to live in a phone booth, a Bradley armored vehicle, a fountain at Pemberton Square mall, underground chambers, a wrecked car, an elevated patrol car and on a billboard to promote the campaign.

The National Night Out this year is Tuesday, Aug. 4, and will be marked in neighborhoods across the city and county.

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Contact Tish Butts at tbutts@vicksburgpost.com