May 6, 2002                                                                                          Contact: Michael Winder
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                               (605) 773-3478

Bicycles Delivered to Northern Black Hills for Underprivileged Children 

(Spearfish) – Underprivileged children in the Northern Black Hills will have bicycles to ride this summer, thanks to the South Dakota Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Social Services (DSS) and local law enforcement agencies.

Thirty bicycles and tricycles were delivered to Spearfish last week from the Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield, SD. As part of the "Pedal Power from the Pen" program, inmates in Springfield paint and fix up old or discarded bicycles collected from across South Dakota. When the bikes are completed, they are given to law enforcement agencies or charitable organizations around the State of South Dakota. These agencies are then given the task of providing them to children who cannot afford or do not have a bicycle. 

In 2001, more than 1-thousand refurbished bikes were distributed to children in South Dakota through the "Pedal Power" program.

The bikes delivered to Spearfish will be stored at the Spearfish Police Department and the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department until they are delivered to youth in the area. DSS workers are identifying children in the area who need a bike.

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Representatives of DSS, Lawrence County Sherrif's Department and DOC are shown with some of the bicycles to be distributed to kids in the Northern Hills. Pictured (from left to right) are: Ginger Johnson, DSS, Peggy Schmidt, DSS, Lawrence County Sheriff Rick Mowell, Jennifer Johnson, DSS, Del Walter, Mike Durfee State Prison and Secretary of Corrections Jeff Bloomberg.