BELLE FOURCHE—The community of Belle Fourche was invited to celebrate the historic groundbreaking ceremony for the new home of the Belle Fourche Police Department on the afternoon of March 20.
The ceremony was held at the location of the current police department building and had several special guests joining in on the festivities. South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden was on hand for the momentous occasion, as well as Mayor Randy Schmidt.
Police Chief Ryan Cherveny welcomed the large crowd to the event explaining, “Today we break ground on a new police facility that will enhance our training, strengthen our department and serve as a symbol of the strong partnership between law enforcement and our community and our commitment to public safety.”
Belle Fourche Mayor Randy Schmidt also welcomed the community and discussed the significance of the new building. “This building will give our officers the tools and resources that they need to train, serve and protect our community at the highest level. Today we are building more than just a new police department, we are building a stronger Belle Fourche,” he said.
Governor Larry Rhoden expressed how nice it was to be back in Belle Fourche. He spent the first part of his career in the legislature and Belle Fourche was part of his district. “I got to know Belle Fourche really well…I’ve always been fond of Belle Fouche,” he said. “It’s an honor to be here…it’s just kind of a breath of fresh air to get out west.”
Governor Rhoden went on to explain how important law enforcement is to him personally. He has many family members including a son and brother in law enforcement. “I have a number of law enforcement in my family, my younger son is the Deputy Sheriff in Pennington County, and my brother, John spent a long time as Deputy Sheriff from Mead County.”
The Governor underscored the importance of the respect he has for those who serve and protect our communities. “In South Dakota we still respect law enforcement and first responders and the people that put themselves in harm’s way so the rest of us can sleep easy at night. That means a lot to me,” he stated. “We still respect our law enforcement. We still value them as contributing members of our society, so I want to thank you!”
After the speakers finished, the contractor, RC Scull of RCS Construction took the stage to kick off the physical groundbreaking event. “I just want to say it’s an honor and privilege to be part of this project. We’re really excited to get started and break ground, so with that being said, now grab a shovel and break ground on this historical project!”
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