Hickory Creek Middle School Student Government Day

Imagine you are in eighth grade and can experience first-hand what it is like to be a leader of your community. That is just what some Hickory Creek Middle School students did when they participated in the annual Student Government Day on April 20. As part of studying local village government, students learned about and toured the various departments within the village with their village employee counterparts throughout the day.

The following students participated in these village positions: Mayor Jack Woods; Trustees Gabby Slaviero, Kirsten Lutz, Emily Anderson, Sam Ruby, Abby Matone and Darius Stewart; Village Clerk Maddy Herbert; Village Administrator Emma Mize; Assistant Village Administrator/Finance Director Sam Bollman; Assistant Director Dev. Services/Utilities Zac Stairs; Development Services Director Maria Sterr; Utilities Director Max Gilmore; Community Relations Manager Maggie Clarey; Public Works Superintendent Dominick Canino; Development Coordinator Jordan Jacobucci; Police Chief Bernadette Daly; Fire Chief Jake Heimlik; and Village Attorney Ryan Kazmierczak. The teacher sponsor was Michelle Sommer.

The students toured the Frankfort Village Administrative Office, Frankfort Fire District, Frankfort Police Department, the Regional Waste Water Treatment Plant and the Utilities/Public Works Facility. They also enjoyed lunch at Aurelio’s Pizza.

The culmination of the event was a mock student Village Board meeting just prior to the regular Village Board meeting. As Village officials, the students approved a proclamation of Student Government Day. They gave staff reports on removing and replacing dead Ash trees, the Country Market, new businesses in Frankfort, financial grants, the budget, the Village Hall expansion, body cameras for police officers, speed limits in town, the most common causes of fires and improvement efforts for the waste water processing systems. They also discussed bike trails, the possibility of plowing Old Plank Trail during the winter, finding a tenant for the old Dominick’s, the new building going up on Kansas Street, branch and leaf pick up, progress made on the level of salt in wastewater, the possibility of kayaking in Hickory Creek and a comparison of sales tax and home permits between last year and this year.

At the Frankfort School District 157-C Board of Education meeting later that night, Hickory Creek Middle School Principal Dr. Kevin Suchinski expressed his appreciation for the program. He stated, “I want to publicly thank Mayor Jim Holland, Trustee Cindy Heath and the Village of Frankfort for providing this great opportunity for our students.”

A video of this event is currently airing on FCTV ON DEMAND station through the Village of Frankfort website:

http://villageoffrankfort.pegcentral.com/player.php?video=6a818a481b6c6feb84f48e9eb147da7c