By Kimberly Gasuras
Thanks to a local insurance agent and the votes of local residents, the Bucyrus Police Department is one of the winners of a $25,000 grant to facilitate the DARE program at Bucyrus City Schools.
Police Chief Dave Koepke said that State Farm agent, Nathan Hinesman, provided the information about the Neighborhood Assist grant and Officer Neil Assenheimer wrote the grant.
“There were certain guidelines that had to be followed,” Koepke said. “We ended up being chosen for the top 200 applications out of 2,000 applicants.”
Local residents then got the chance to vote to propel the department into the top 40.
“We were awarded the $25,000 grant, most of which will go towards the training of the officer who will teach the DARE program, Jo Stahl, who is our resource officer at the city schools,” Koepke said. “Crawford County Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Martin has been the only DARE trained officer in the county for many years.”
The money will also be used for books and supplies so that Stahl can teach the curriculum.
“The DARE program helps allows kids to interact in a positive way with law enforcement and builds trust. The kids learn so much including violence and bullying prevention,” Koepke said.
DARE was founded in 1983 as a partnership between the Los Angeles Police Department and the L.A. public schools and evolved into a national program. It is designed to inform students about the dangers of not only drugs and alcohol but stranger danger and other things that can jeopardize the safety and well-being of children.
Koepke said he is thankful to Bucyrus residents for supporting this grant project with their votes.
“Your determination and enthusiasm voting daily with State Farm made it happen. This will be a great boost in our effort to have age appropriate kindergarten through twelfth-grade drug prevention education,” Koepke said.