West-Oak Middle School Student wins Project Sentry Logo Contest

Kyler Fleeman, an eighth grader at West-Oak Middle School is the overall winner of the 14th Annual Project Sentry Logo Contest sponsored by the office of United States Attorney Beth Drake. Other winners of the United States Attorney’s Office Contest are K-2nd grade division winner Ayden Downey of Ocean Drive Elementary School in North Myrtle Beach, 3rd-5th grade division winner Natalie James of Slater Marietta Elementary in Marietta, 6th-8th grade division winner Kyler Fleeman of West-Oak Middle School in Westminster, and 9th-12th grade division winner Zandria Smith of Military Magnet Academy in North Charleston. Honorable mentions were Jake Iannone of Ocean Drive Elementary, Taylen Clinkscales of Edisto Elementary, Mirand Gosnell of West-Oak Middle School, and Brianna Dozier of Conway Middle School. The winners were chosen from 285 entries from 13 schools across South Carolina. Each division winner will receive a $50 award, with the overall winner receiving an additional $50 award. All of the students who participated will receive a Certificate of Appreciation for logo submissions. The statewide contest fosters an opportunity for South Carolina students to tell the entire state how they prevent gun violence in their school and focuses on deterrence of juvenile gun violence and ensuring secure school environments. The contest was open to students in all South Carolina schools. The winning entries were selected by “The Insiders,” a select group of students from the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, who travel throughout the state, encouraging troubled children and promoting community awareness of the prevalence and consequences of juvenile crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office coordinated with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Officers’ Association Foundation (SCLEOA) to provide the cash awards to the winners. Project Sentry, which is part of the district’s Project Safe Neighborhoods/Project CeaseFire program, is a vital step in strengthening our ability to prevent gun crimes among our young people and to ensure a safe learning atmosphere for our children. For more information on the Project Sentry program and to view this year’s winning submissions (also attached) as well as winning logos over the years, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/sc/programs/logowinners.html. US Attorney Beth Drake commended the students and their engagement on helping foster this very important dialogue. “Thanks to all of the students who participated and congratulations to our winners! The students demonstrated some real wisdom we can all learn from.”