HIGH-SCHOOLERS GET A TASTE OF GOVERNMENT

JACKSON -- Eighteen Jackson High School seniors found out first hand on Friday what it's like to be in charge of city government in Jackson and Cape Girardeau County. For many, it was an eye-opening learning experience.

The Jackson students were among a large group of seniors from Central and Notre Dame high schools in Cape Girardeau, and high schools in Delta and Oak Ridge who participated in the annual Optimists' Youth in Government Day.

For a half-day, the seniors became mayors, city administrators, city councilmen, city aldermen, city attorneys, city clerks, city engineers, public works directors, county officeholders such as sheriff, collector, clerk, assessor and other positions. They worked side-by-side with real-life counterparts.

This is the fifth year the event has been held in Jackson under the sponsorship of the Jackson Optimist clubs. It is the seventh year the program has been held in Cape Girardeau under sponsorship of the Cape Girardeau Optimist clubs.

Mike Ruppel, a member of the Jackson Optimists and Youth in Government project chairman, explained the purpose of the program is to give high school seniors in the upper third of their class an opportunity to see how municipal and county government functions.

Ruppel said: "It's amazing when you talk to these kids after the program is over how surprised they are the way government works. Most of them have very little understanding of the day-to-day operation of government. Most of them only know what they read in the newspaper about the operation of municipal and county government.

"This is one reason for Youth in Government Day: to create a greater awareness of the functions of government, so when these students leave school and become working citizens they'll have a better sense of how their local government functions. We're not out to make politicians out of the kids, but we do hope this experience will make them more aware of the operations and responsibilities of city and county government, and the part they play in it as citizens."

While some of their classmates went to the county administration building, students elected as mayor, city clerk, and aldermen conducted a mock meeting of the board of aldermen at the Jackson City Hall.

The students worked from an agenda prepared by City Administrator Carl Talley that contained a number of thorny and controversial issues the board of aldermen has had to deal with the past two years. Some of the issues included the East Main Street extension toward I-55, dust control for residents who live on gravel streets, barking dog problems, smoking in the board of aldermen meeting room, and perhaps the toughest of all, rezoning of property that affects residential areas adjoining commercially zoned property.

Under Talley's guidance, the students discussed the issues, and in most cases made decisions. "Government is all about needs and who pays for those needs," Talley said. "You'll often find there may be two, even three sides to an issue that must be considered before making a decision."

When the meeting adjourned two hours later, the students agreed the job of being a city alderman is not an easy task.

"I have a lot of respect for the people that sit in these chairs behind this table," said student alderman Brad Beckham. "They have a difficult task. They have to make a lot of decisions that affect a lot of people that are based not only on what the people want, but for the overall good of the community. It's a hard job to do."

Beckham said he decided to run for student alderman because he wants to learn more about city government. "Most high school students my age will never have this opportunity unless they are actually elected to the board. As a student aldermen, I have learned a lot more about how our city is run, the budgeting process, and how hard it is to be a good alderman."

Student alderman Sandy Oliver said she had heard aldermen discussed and voted on things. "But I did not know what they did."

After the meeting, she said: "I feel its a much more complicated job than most people would expect because you discuss the issues that affect the city and the citizens. It puts a lot of responsibility on each alderman to be as fully informed on the issues so they can make an intelligent decision based on all the facts."

Student alderman Chris Marchi said he ran for alderman because he plans to become involved in local government after he's out of school.

"I hear people say all the time that they're not pleased with their government. I figure if you're going to complain about it, then do something about it and become involved," Marchi said. "One thing I learned today is that everybody has an opinion on an issue, and as part of the process you have to learn to compromise."

Student mayor Kory Thoma said he ran for mayor because his brother, Kyle, had also served as mayor during an Optimist Youth in Government Day several years ago.

"He told me it was a great experience, but I really didn't know what to expect until today. I think my experience as mayor has made me more aware about the issues the city must deal with, such as rezoning and the East Main Street extension," Thoma said.

Each student participating in Youth in Government Day are elected in primary and general elections held in their school.

In addition to Talley, other city officials who sat in on the student board meeting were Mayor Carlton Meyer, Mayor-elect Paul Sander, City Clerk Mary Lowry, and Aldermen Val Tuschhoff and David Ludwig.