ECMS Students Attend Fiscal Court, Learn About County Government

Judge Executive Wil Cannon sits with ECMS 7th and 8th grade members of the Student Council that attended today's fiscal court to learn about local county government.

Darren Doyle, story and photos:
Students from the Edmonson County Middle School Student Council attended today's session of fiscal court to get a better understanding of how county government works and to see some of its aspects in-person. Local PVA Office Deputy Clerk Jami Booker hosted the students during today's activities.

During today's meeting, Judge Executive Wil Cannon recognized the students and gave an overview about how the fiscal court and county offices work at the local level. After the meeting, several county officials met individually with the group to give a more detailed look at their specific offices.

Sheriff Shane Doyle speaks to ECMS Student Council members after today's fiscal court.

We spoke with the group after today's fiscal court to get some student reactions. 

"I thought it was cool to see how many different county offices there were and how they all gave different reports," said eighth grader Evan Stice.

Makaylee Thompson, a seventh grader said that until today, she thought the Sheriff was only in charge in county law enforcement. "I didn't know he was also in charge of collecting taxes and being part of fiscal court, too."

Both teachers involved with Student Council, Amberly Alexander and Brittany Franich, also said the meeting was informative and that they were glad to get a better view of our local government at work.

Another student noted that parliamentary procedure was practiced during the meeting.

Morgan Vincent, an 8th grader, said she paid attention to the schools transportation director, Lanny Deweese, when he spoke at today's fiscal court. Deweese discussed the school system and county government working together to address a potential issue of road damage to some subdivisions. He requested both groups join to research options to find out how the damage is occurring and what can be done to repair and prevent it.

"I never thought about those things until they talked about it today," she said.

The students also made some lighter points; that maybe the meeting was a little boring, and some didn't realize Edmonson County magistrates were so old.

Each student stood at today's meeting, introduced themselves, and shared the names of the communities in which they resided. Some even gave their parents' names and where they go to church.

Several students said today's experience sparked their interest in seeking public office someday or that it prompted a desire to be part of the local government in some way in the future.