HURON A Huron educator will see her legacy and her ideals live on in a most fitting way.
Peggy Heinz, the long-time principal at the Buchanan K-1 Center, lost her battle with cancer late in 2023, but as the school year wound to a close this week, her family, school administrators and staff from the building gathered at the dedication of a Buddy Bench in her honor.
Tears and memories were shared on the playground.
The inscription on the back panels of the bench read In Loving Memory of Our Principal, Friend, and Mentor
and Do what is best for the kids. with Principal Heinzs signature.
Lori Eggleston, a speech therapist at Buchanan, led the dedication, saying Peggy was an inspiration to all that knew her. She strived for nothing short of excellence in her life and at school. She was our leader, our mentor and our friend.
Eggleston shared the the idea of the Buddy Bench, which is designed to combat loneliness and bullying in schools.
Children who are feeling lonely or isolated and need another child to reach out to them, can sit on the bench. Those who see someone sitting on the bench are encouraged to ask them to come and play and perhaps add a new friend.
Peggy will also go down in history at Buchanan, Eggleston said, and has been added to the student handbook. While under her care, Buchanan Elementary was renovated and became Buchanan K-1 Center. More than 400 students travel the halls where over the past nine years Principal Heinz added colorthroughout the building.
Eggleston also noted that Jeremy Noyes, the physical education teacher at the school, had been contacted by Kirk Beebout, the head girls basketball coach in Pierre. Beebout had heard about the bench and contributed the proceeds from Pierres annual Cancer Awareness fundraiser to the project.
Huron Superintendent Dr. Kraig Steinhoff was in attendance and presented a Golden Apple to Dennis Heinz, Peggy Heinzs husband.
The Golden Apple, said Steinhoff, is presented to Huron School District employees at the time of their retirement. Well, I looked up retirement, and it means that you dont have to work any more.
Steinhoff gave the award to Heinz and added, Peggy didnt get to retire, but she doesnt need to work any more.
Dennis Heinz thanked the staff for their work on the bench and shared that he and his family had often been volunteered to help paint the walls inside the school.
We will forever cherish our memories of Peggy, Eggleston said, in our hearts, in our school and now on our playground. We will always remember to do what is best for the kids.
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