Hughes Springs student participates in County Government Day

By Bobby Horn Jr.

Special to The Steel Country Bee

On April 7, Cody Williams, of Hughes Springs High, joined nine other Cass County high school students in participating in the inaugural Cass County Government Day. County Judge Becky Wilbanks said that April is National County Government and the county thought it would be a good time to join in the observance by hosting the event.

This is the first time Cass County has held the event. While the county extended an invitation to all seven districts, Wilbanks said that due to scheduling conflicts only Hughes Springs, Linden-Kildare and Bloomburg participated this year. She added she hopes to have more participation next year. Other students who participated in the event were: Mona Khorshid, Katie Burns and Mary Standford, of Linden-Kildare High and Katlyn Wilson, Josh Allison, Erin Evans, Hanna Parker, Nathan McGill and Brandon Restelle of Bloomburg High. The students who participated were nominated by their teacher.

The day began with students meeting at the Justice Center in Linden. There they toured the offices of the auditor, treasurer, district attorney, district clerk, justice of the peace and sections of the county jail. “The students learned about different aspects of county government from how we run commissioners court to the different departments in the county to how grand juries are put together,” Wilbanks said. The teens then toured the historic courthouse and the tax office.

The day ended with a catered hamburger luncheon. Cass County Extension Agent Brian Whatley spoke about importance of leadership during the luncheon.