Jefferson County hosts Youth Government

Youth Government Day 2Youth Government Day

JEFFERSON — Around 70 high school seniors from six schools gathered at the Jefferson County Courthouse Wednesday to learn about all aspects of county government.

Youth Government Day, sponsored by the Jefferson County American Legion and coordinated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension’s Jefferson County office, has been a tradition for more than four decades, said Dale Mitchell, who heads up the events on behalf of the American Legion.

Participants came from Palmyra-Eagle High School, Whitewater High School, Lakeside Lutheran High School, in Lake Mills, Jefferson High School, Fort Atkinson High School and Waterloo High School.

Along with the 65 area students were three foreign- exchange students who took advantage of the opportunity to learn more about how government works in the United States at the county level.

Participants spent the morning at the courthouse, with an introductory session and a chance to weigh in on the county’s future as part of the county visioning process. Then students rotated through three different sessions in different areas of the courthouse before heading to the Jefferson County Highway Department for a tour of that facility plus a look at several specialty vehicles, including a sheriff’s department squad car, dive team boat and SWAT team equipment.

Mitchell, adjutant for the Palmyra American Legion Post, said that the American Legion is proud to get behind this kind of local civics lesson.

He said it is good for high-schoolers to learn this information as they get ready to leave home. For those interested in politics and in engaging with decisionmakers at any level of planning, county government is a great place to start, he said.

“The American Legion has always been interested in promoting education on government, in order to produce better citizens for the future,” Mitchell said. “That’s why we sponsor programs like this, and like Badger Boys and Girls State.”

He said it particularly was nice that some foreign-exchange students could participate, adding to their knowledge of America’s governmental system.

Mitchell gave the welcome address, followed by Kara Loyd, coordinator of the Jefferson County 4-H program through the University of Wisconsin Extension-Jefferson County.

Jefferson County Administrator Ben Wehmeier shared information on how county government is set up throughout the state, the major services counties provide and the Jefferson County departments.

Jefferson County has an $80 million budget, with almost 600 personnel in 25 departments spanning five key areas: justice, parks and recreation, public safety, human services and miscellaneous.

He said that the lead decisionmakers on the county level are the 30 elected members of the board of supervisors, who represent their districts for two-year terms.

After these introductory talks, all of the students had the opportunity to take part in the county’s visioning process as Jefferson County prepares to update its comprehensive, agricultural and land-use plans looking out 20 years into the future.

Leading the visioning session were Paul Chellevold and Steph Falkers of SRF Consulting Group Inc. of Madison, which is assisting the county with its process.

“You are the future of Jefferson County,” Falkers, lead planner on the project, told the students. “Your opinions are even more valuable than some of the other demographics.”

The students learned about the comprehensive plan and some of the areas it covers, such as housing, transportation and infrastructure, and had a chance to weigh in on those topics.

Chellevold said this was a great opportunity to get responses from young people, who often do not engage as part of the traditional planning process. Yet, these are the same people who could be most impacted by long-term decisionmaking on the part of local government, as opposed to those who are older.

From the main session, students then split into three groups to different workshop areas.

One, held in the Branch 3 courtroom, dealt with “Teens and the Law,” led by the local court commissioner. Another, held in the county board room, introduced students to Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department K-9 officer “Gader,” and led them on a video tour of the jail.

The third, led by Patricia Fabian of Opportunities Inc., dealt with the county’s teen court.

Over lunch in the county board room, students received an overview of the Jefferson County Fair and the Fair Park and learned about the role of the Highway Department.

The afternoon sessions, all held at the Highway Department, involved a tour and introductions to the Sheriff’s Department, SWAT team, Dive Team and the different Highway Department vehicles.

Different students honed in on different areas, with some displaying a particular interest in the courts while others enthused over the mechanics of the vehicles at the highway department.

Pretty much everyone walked away having learned something, however.

“I’m loving it so far,” said Carter Schneider, a student at Lakeside Lutheran High School.

Caleb Doss of Palmyra-Eagle High School said he was glad to have this opportunity.

“I like to explore different areas of knowledge,” he said, expressing a potential interest in entering politics or law later in life.

He said he already likes to advocate for causes he believes in, and knowing how county government works could make him a more effective advocate in the future.