An effort in Oneida county to give young people exposure to the world of government has gotten a renewal.
The program "Teens Active In Government", or TAG, has a new group of high schoolers sitting in on Oneida County board meetings. Oneida County UW-Extension 4-H Youth Development Educator Lynn Feldman says besides students from Oneida county high schools sitting in on the county board meetings, students also sit in on Rhinelander city council committee meetings.
She says she would also like to expand the program to other towns within the county. Feldman says local schools have limited offerings in government classes, and if students have an interest, this is a key way they learn about local government. Many of the students report back to their schools about what they learned from the county board...
"....they learn about local government that it is real. They learn about process. They learn about what goes into decision making. They also learn that you have to be prepared ahead of time with your facts when you come here, you can't just go on the fly and try to determine issues without that background information...."
The students are required to vote on issues, but their votes don't count in the determining tally. A junior at Lakeland Union High School, Brighid Billings is the latest student to be welcomed to the county board....
"...thank you for having me on the board. I feel honored to attend these meetings. I hope to gain a lot of knowledge of what is going on in the community and how to operate and run it...."
Billings will begin her duties later this year.
