GRANTS IN PLACE UPDATE: Wall, South Dakota
Miranda Poor Bear (5th grader) and Keaunna Poor Bear (9th grader) from Wall, South Dakota, helped Mercede Hess develop and create a crosswalk promoting seat-belt safety.
David Ermish's "Crosswalks for Better Walks in Wall" received a $600 Grants in Place award to support the creation of decorative crosswalks in areas where pedestrian safety is a concern in the historic town of Wall, South Dakota. The crosswalk locations were determined in cooperation with the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SD DOT). This unique project was the brainchild of student leader Mercede Hess.
The first crosswalk site is on the campus of the Wall Schools.
We are pleased to provide the following update from Mr. Ermish and his student Mercede Hess:
"Mercede Hess is a senior at the Wall High School. She came up with the idea of developing and creating decorative crosswalks to ensure pedestrian safety in Wall, South Dakota. Mercede has two helpers, Keaunna Poor Bear (9th grader) and Miranda Poor Bear (5th grader).
Although they have not had the best of weather lately--there is still more work to do--they already completed one of their crosswalks. It is a crosswalk enforcing seat-belt safety on campus and it looks very nice. This crosswalk was placed in front of the school so families going to and from school can remember to buckle up."
Thank you to Dakota Resources, a regional economic development organization based out of Renner, SD, Jim Beddow, and Mike Knutson for supporting our South Dakota Grants in Place program.
We invite you to learn more about our 2018-19 Grants in Place program! Also, we encourage you to check out our web section on the value of place-based education.