photo by: Emma Delk

Moundsville Middle School eighth graders receive an introduction to county government services from Marshall County Assessor Eric Buzzard during Government Day on Friday.

Moundsville Middle School eighth graders learned the ins and outs of their local government during Government Day held at the Marshall County Courthouse on Friday.

Marshall County Assessor Eric Buzzard hosted the event, which brought together representatives from various county offices to discuss the inner workings of local government and give students a tour of the facilities they use.

“When I was in school, I would always look forward to Government Day, as it gave us a little rundown of what local government does and how it affects us,” Buzzard said. “I don’t think a Government Day has been held in the county in at least 10 years. After speaking with my 12-year-old daughter and some of her friends, I realized these students have no clue what’s going on in the courthouse and that we need to bring it back.”

After the conversation with his daughter, Buzzard said he contacted Marshall County Schools Superintendent Shelby Haines to restart the Government Day program. He said he wanted students to learn what county offices handle on a “daily basis” and introduce students to the “friendly faces” of various elected officials in the county.

“One of our responsibilities is to educate and keep the public informed, and what better way to do that than with the children in the school system,” Buzzard said. “These students could become future employees of the courthouse or open their eyes to some career paths that they were previously unaware of.”

Representatives from the assessor’s office, county clerk’s office, sheriff’s department, tax office, prosecutor’s office, circuit clerk’s office, emergency management, 911 dispatch and the health department attended the event to speak with students.

The day began on the courthouse’s second floor in the courtroom, where representatives from each office introduced students to their work. The representatives also fielded questions from students regarding their profession, including, “How busy do you get?” and “How hard is your job?”

After the introduction, students got hands-on experience in county offices. Students were split into groups and taken on a tour of county offices, including the new Marshall County Health Department building, the Sheriff’s Office and the 911 Center.

Students were also introduced to the various responsibilities they will have to handle as young adults, including paying their taxes. Buzzard noted the importance of students becoming familiar with the various services performed in the courthouse, adding that “at some point,” the students would be using the services the county provides.

“The students are going to be dealing with the county at some point, whether that be to file taxes or get a marriage license,” Buzzard said. “I think if they have a little bit of knowledge on navigating the local government, it’ll be beneficial and help everybody involved.”

The day ended where it started: in the courthouse. Students took a quiz to demonstrate what they had learned about their local government and the top three scorers on the quiz were given gift cards.

Buzzard noted that though the courthouse can be “intimidating,” he hoped that providing students with the “proper knowledge and education” would help alleviate “some of the pressure” they may feel in the future when they visit county offices. Buzzard added that he hopes to expand Government Day to other middle schools in the county.

“This is just a great opportunity for students to put a name to the face of our local government and help them realize we aren’t scary people and can help them,” Buzzard said. “We just want to give them a chance to interact with officials and staff in the building and make sure they aren’t intimidated by any of us.”