DARKE COUNTY — On Wednesday, high school students from across Darke County got an in-depth look at the workings of local government — and some pizza.
During County Government Day, 22 students toured various county offices with Commissioners Matt Aultman, Mike Rhoades and Mike Stegall.
Offices visited included the Sheriff, County Home, Animal Shelter, Juvenile Court, Common Pleas Court, Board of Elections, Health Department, Job & Family Services, Solid Waste, Engineer, Treasurer, Auditor, Recorder, Clerk, Prosecuting Attorney, and Adult Probation.
“I absolutely love it,” said Stegall. “I always enjoy it. We have a good bunch of kids and I do think they learn something.”
“They learn how the jobs they’re going into are so interconnected with county jobs,” said Aultman. “They don’t often realize how something else works with something else in the county.”
Darke County Treasurer Scott Zumbrink was one of the public officials who hosted students at his office.
“It’s a good way of presenting to the students what county government is about, and hopefully in the future they’ll remember some of the things they’ve learned, maybe the offices that they need to call if they have questions,” he said.
Johnny Fike, a junior at Bradford High School, called it “a great experience.”
“It’s really interesting to see how everything works,” he said. Fike said he is planning to major in Criminal Justice after high school and would like to become a police officer.
Lauren Flory, a junior at Tri-Village High School, said this was her first year participating in the event and would recommend it to other students.
“I really enjoyed seeing the different departments that are in the courthouse,” she said. “We got to sit in on a hearing, which was really cool.” Flory plans to attend Ball State and major in Finance and minor in Marketing.
Following the tours, students gathered at the county building for pizza and to sit in on a session with the commissioners.
In addition to Fike and Flory, other students participating included:
Arcanum: Tyler Rardin, Kyle Collins, Nate Merritt
Ansonia: Sarah Murphy, Skyler Marker
Bradford: Bryant Byers, Clay Layman
Franklin Monroe: Shelby Bowser, Peyton Archer, Kirsten Zink
Greenville: Genesis Malin, Megan Azbill
Mississinawa: Josiah Philiposian, Brook Stump
Tri-Village: Rachel Crist, Camren Munchel
Versailles: Trevor Noggle, Preston Platfoot, Justin Besecker, Tim Foreman