The Summerland Advocate-Messenger - Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community

Dalton Rotherham, a junior at Ewing Public Schools, was named the local winner of the Holt County Government Day essay contest.

He is the son of Eddie and Karmen Rotherham.

Rotherham shared his essay with the Advocate-Messenger.

He wrote:

I felt that Holt County Government Day was an educational and fun day. One of the first places that we visited was the jail. We learned how things work when you are sent to jail. The officer in the jail showed us how they conduct moving inmates, as well as what they do to care for the inmates. We moved on to the dispatcher's office and discovered how much of a responsibility she has. She has the capability to track your phone from almost anywhere in the entire county! We proceeded down into the courtroom to talk to the Chief of Police. He explained to us what it takes to become an officer and what his job consists of that we didn't know beforehand. Following this the Legion members came in, we did the pledge of allegiance and were given an introduction of what County Government Day is. We then proceeded to split off into the separate offices that we were voted into.

I had been voted into the Natural Resource Department. At the NRD building we learned about all of the important actions that they conduct, from water care and testing the soil, to even teaching farmers new practices that are better for the land. We learned how overlooked the NRD is but also how important it is as a whole.

After lunch we were visited by a state trooper with a K-9 unit. We learned what it takes to be in a K-9 unit and what all the dog could do. After lunch we learned how fun and interesting both Boys and Girls State are. When they finished we learned more about Hudl and all of the new things they are beginning to do. Then the class officers came to the front of the room and gave their speeches about what they learned in their own individual offices. After these speeches our day at Holt County Government Day came to a close.

Holt County Government Day was a real eye opener, learning just how important our small county government offices really are. I can thank the American Legion for hosting such a fun and educational day.