Pierre Mayor Steve Harding and Fort Pierre Mayor Gloria Hanson have established a local task force to address bullying. Specifically, the group of volunteers will gather information about local concerns, identify and implement solutions to prevent bullying, and develop support systems for those who have been impacted by the issue.
“This is really about safety and making sure people who live in the area feel secure in our community,” said Steve Harding, Pierre Mayor. “This program will help both Pierre and Fort Pierre provide an environment that promotes health, safety and a high quality of life for all of our residents.”
Fort Pierre Mayor Gloria Hanson echoes Mayor Harding’s comments.
“Bullying is not a school problem—it’s a community problem,” said Mayor Hanson. “We are very pleased to have so many community members willing to give their time to prevent bullying in Pierre and Fort Pierre.”
The taskforce will meet semi-monthly to develop a Community-wide Prevention Plan and establish long-term systems to encourage ongoing prevention efforts.
“There has been a lot of work done by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to position local organizations to take meaningful action against bullying,” said Dennis Pfrimmer, Stop Bullying Taskforce Chair. “We will utilize the tools developed by stopbullying.gov to build a program that works for our community.”
Task Force Members appointed by Mayors Harding and Hanson include:
- Jami Beck, Pierre Community Representative
- Stephanie Cronin, Fort Pierre Community Representative
- Dr. Kelly Glodt, Pierre Public Schools
- Dr. Joel Price, Stanley County School District
- Jamie Huizenga, Pierre City Commissioner
- Dave LaRoche, Fort Pierre City Alderman
- Tim Neyhart, SD Advocacy Services
- TBD, T.F. Riggs High School Student
- TBD, Stanley County High School Student
- TBD, T.F Riggs High School Parent
- TBD, Stanley County High School Parent
- Dave Panzer, Pierre Police Chief
- Dennis Pfrimmer, Capital Area Counseling
- Mike Putzier, SD Dept. of Social Services, Child Protection Services
- Brad Rathbun, Stanley County Sheriff
- Pastor Craig Wexler, Lutheran Memorial Church
- Dr. Marty Allison, Medical Provider