OFFICER HOLLAND'S DILIGENT D.A.R.E. DUTIES DESERVE CHEERS

This writer still vividly recalls learning about how to say no to
drugs at a very young age.

My parents, of course, had that talk with me, but I'll never forget
some lessons learned as a fifth-grade student in Melanie Gerber's
class at Bluffton Middle School.

During the 1991-1992 school year, Bluffton Police Officers Bruce
Holland and Robert Morgan visited our classroom on a weekly basis for
quite some time to teach the D.A.R.E. program (Drug Abuse Resistance
Education).

Over a period of several weeks, we learned about drugs and their
harmful -- and many times deadly -- effects. But we also learned
something far more important: It was OK to say no and how to say no.

During an era when drug abuse and gang violence was high in this
country, officials put together this successful program to reach young
people. Today, D.A.R.E. is in about 75 percent of the country's school
districts and in more than 43 countries worldwide, including Wells
County.

The lessons learned as an 11-year-old from officers Holland and Morgan
back then have stayed with me -- and countless others -- into
adulthood. The simple fact is their dedication and commitment to
D.A.R.E. left an impact.

In fact, there is no hesitation when we say the D.A.R.E. program in
this county is the best in all of Indiana, the nation and worldwide
because of the efforts of a hardworking, dedicated police officer who
was recently recognized for his works.

Bruce Holland, a 21-year veteran of the Bluffton Police Department,
has been teaching students in the D.A.R.E. program since 1988. In
fact, Holland initiated the D.A.R.E. program in Wells County.

Since then and under Holland's leadership, the program has worked with
hundreds of youth steering them toward drug-free and substance-free
communities.

But Holland's efforts and leadership have stretched far beyond Wells
County. In fact, Holland has been recognized across the country for
his involvement in D.A.R.E. He has been recognized as Indiana's
D.A.R.E. officer of the year. He also has traveled to Germany twice
and Okinawa once to give training programs designed to better prepare
other officers.

On July 18, however, he received an award that is more noteworthy than
we can express: America's D.A.R.E. Officer of the Year, a top national
honor given to just one officer each year.

Officials from D.A.R.E. recognized Holland at an international
training conference in Nashville, Tenn., and presented him with a
plaque which now rests in his home.

The prestigious award, which came as a complete surprise, left Holland
speechless but affirmed what many have said about him for quite some
time: Bruce is a true asset to Wells County in many regards.

We cannot think of a better way to honor Holland for his D.A.R.E.
leadership over the years, and we thank him and others on the police
force for continuing to teach our community's children how to say no
to drugs. The price of not doing so is more costly than we can ever
imagine.

Holland has dedicated his police career to the D.A.R.E. program,
calling it his "heart and soul." That dedication has saved lives, no
doubt, while educating a plethora of young minds about making the
best, most-informed decisions about their lives.

Perhaps Mayor Ted Ellis summarized it best this spring: "This (award)
underscores the fact that Bluffton is a community where national
recognition is becoming more and more familiar."

Thanks to the efforts of Bruce Holland and many others like him, our
small community continues to move forward and progress at striking
speeds with all due diligence. We see the dividends day in and day
out.

Bluffton is lucky, no doubt, to have Bruce Holland, and we
congratulate him on the well-deserved national recognition. We hope
his D.A.R.E. efforts continue here and across the nation and
international scene for many years to come because the impact on young
lives is and has been evident.