Moody County law enforcement will conduct a drill Aug. 21 at the Flandreau High School that will involve the Sheriff’s Office, Flandreau Police Department and Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe police.
The planned simulation of an event from 8:30 a.m. until noon also will include all staff at the school, who are at an in-service that day before school starts on Aug. 22. No students will be present for the drill, said Sheriff Troy Wellman.
Wellman wants the public to know that the event, which also will include an ambulance, is only a drill and to not be concerned when they see activity outside of the school. The training will be in the high school area of the building.
Colman-Egan School District will do a similar drill Thursday with active shooter training and will hold sessions on several health and safety reviews and training. Thursday evening, from 6 to 6:30, S.A.V.E. Yourself training information will be presented to parents at a meeting in the school gym.

“Having one day set aside before school each year to focus on these important topics is a commitment by our board and staff,” said Colman-Egan Superintendent Tracey Olson. “We also need to better prepare staff for all types of situations by coming together to work on building a positive school climate to be proactive rather than reactive.”
Colman-Egan students start school Aug. 21.
The drills will allow law enforcement to check protocols and to better know the layouts of the buildings, Wellman said. “It’s been a while since we’ve done a drill with the school,” he said.
Both Flandreau and Colman-Egan participate in the state’s Project Stand Up – SafSchools, and this year a texting component has been added to the program. The statewide, anonymous texting program allows someone to text “safe” to 82257 to report with a school safety concern. Tipsters will be asked a series of questions for additional information, and the tips will go by mail to school officials, the school resource officer and law enforcement.
Flandreau’s school website also has a place to anonymously report safety concerns, said Superintendent Rick Weber.
Flandreau will have a new school resource officer this fall after last year’s officer Lisa Pelton resigned from the police department to take a job in Pennington County.
Matt Joachim, who started in February 2016 as an officer in Flandreau, will take the position at the school.
The city police department also will hire an officer to replace that position on the city’s force. The school resource officer position is paid mostly by the school district, but the officer is on the city department as well.
Pelton will start her new job as a deputy sheriff Aug. 20 in Wall. The Pennington County department is where her father, Andy Anderson, retired from law enforcement. She grew up in Rapid City and is returning to the area because her mother has become ill. “I’ve been called home to help take care of my mom,” she said, adding that it is something in her culture that is important.
Pelton has served in Flandreau for 5 ½ years, including a half year as school resource officer.