Sheriff On Mission to Combat Bullying In Schools

The Berkshire Eagle   reports Berkshire County Sheriff Thomas Bowler has said that his mission is to build a stronger, safer community. In his most recent effort to achieve that goal, he is traveling the county with actor and comic Wayne Soares to teach students skills to combat bullying in schools.

"It all comes down to: Treat someone as you would want them to treat you," Bowler told a group of ninth graders Thursday in the Taconic High School auditorium.

Bowler, Soares and Sheriff's Office Deputy Superintendent Brad Little spoke to the students about how they can help themselves or other students who fall victim to bullying. The team visited Herberg Middle School and Reid Middle School on Wednesday and has plans to continue its campaign throughout the county.

Soares, who worked as a radio broadcaster at ESPN for 10 years, shared stories about emotional scars left behind from his own childhood on Cape Cod. Being raised by his grandmother, there were people who told him he never would amount to anything because he didn't have a father.

Soares said that he turned to an older crowd for friendship, but those people ended up hurting him, both emotionally and physically.