AREA STUDENTS LEARN FIRST-HAND ABOUT DEMOCRACY

It's not easy being the mayor.

That's the feeling of Central High School senior Beth Bishop following two hours in Mayor Al Spradling III's shoes Wednesday morning.

Bishop was one of 71 students from five area schools involved in the 15th annual Optimist Youth in Government Day Wednesday. The day is sponsored by the four Cape Girardeau and two Jackson Optimist Clubs.

The purpose of Youth in Government Day is to expose students to the workings of city and county government and encourage them to become active and informed in their communities. Sometimes, the experience leads to career decisions in the field.

"We have had students who worked with the prosecuting attorney and later went on to study law and become attorneys," said event organizer Tom M. Meyer. "We've yet to have any students come back and run for City Council. Maybe they've learned a valuable lesson."

Bishop led a group of students acting as council representatives and city staff through a mock Cape Girardeau City Council meeting, complete with issues previously decided by the real council. A mock Jackson Board of Aldermen meeting was also held.

Nervousness and an unfamiliarity with some issues made the Cape Girardeau event difficult at first, but eventually students warmed to some topics.

"I think we could have been more on-target, but on the issues that we were more informed on, I think we made good decisions," she said. "We were kind of thrown into this, and didn't have time to study the issues like a real city council would have."

Students made decisions that varied from the actual council, including tabling a recommendation to amend the City Code regarding year-round sale of fireworks, and vetoing a special-use permit request to operate a scrap iron recycling business at 503 Maple St.

Students denied the special-use permit because it would have been located near a park and because they feared the site materials were being moved from would not be cleared in a timely fashion.

"At first I was really nervous, but once we started sharing and people voiced their opinions on issues, it became a lot of fun," said mock councilwoman Mindy Hoffman. "Some of the issues I voted against passed, but that's just the way democracy works."

Councilman Frank Stoffrengen said he thought the students handled themselves well in their adopted roles. In several cases, their decisions mirrored votes he had cast in real council meetings.

"Frankly, I wish I'd have had them sitting with me in a few sessions because they voted the way I would have," said Stoffrengen following the meeting.

The mock council's makeup was primarily female this year, at odds with the Cape Girardeau City Council, which consists of all men. In addition, the police chief and city manager were females, very different from Chief Rick Hetzel and City Manager Michael Miller.

"The aspect of the many females reflects what may be happening in the future," said Bishop. "With us as a future generation, that that many females signed up reflects well that progress is being made."

Hoffman said she's in favor of progress for women, but would prefer to see more women choose to stay home with their families.

"If I'm single, the council would be okay, but personally, I think my first priority as a wife would be to be at home with my family," she said.

Meyer said the council's makeup changes annually. Students are selected based on their interests, so in some years females and minorities are dominant, in others, participating students are mostly male.

"We work with school counselors who know students very well to make sure we match them up with a government official who fits their interests," he said.

YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT

Participants

The following students participated in Optimist Youth in Government Day Wednesday.

Cape Central High School

Beth Bishop, Amy Gird, Mindy Hoffman, Jessica Burns, Hannah Weir, Justin Welker, Emilee Atchley, Hayley Bridges, MacKenzie Price, Martha Stoecker, Ross Redfearn, Rachel Wright, Eric Wessel, Maggie Clark, Katie Rose, Lindsay Dement, Faith Terry, Joanna Lee, Trisha Bennett, Dionna Webb.

Notre Dame Regional High School

Amber Elfrink, Phillip Davidson, Andrew Tracey, Susan Judd, Jessica Morrow, Greg Lumsden, Jennifer Diebold, Herman Lui, Carrie Laurentius, Kurt Glastetter, Blake Heuring, Susan Layton, Grant Frey, Lucas Klein, Katie Mehner, Michael Siebert, Gail Heuschober, Holly Montgomery, Tony Riley.

Jackson High School

Nathan Brown, Kerrie Gordon, Megan Kuntze, Chris Freeman, Adam Wachter, Beth Becker, Spencer Wills, Becca Johnson, Clint Ressel, Todd Metheny, Brandon Pylate, Trent Miller, Jennie Matthews, Josh Hopkins, Jamie Dost, Laura Horst, Lucas McCulley, Josh Koehler, Joe Niswonger, Austin Reed, Cherish Tillman, Gretchen King, Trace Miracle.

Oak Ridge High School

Dusty Statler, Kristie Reed, Audrey Schoen, Jackie Lappe, Kim Cowan, Tim Eisenhauer.

Delta High School

Erin Cook, Bailey Bowers, Andrew Green, Delaina Williams, Heather Moore, Laura Reiminger.