2023 Elks Law Day Set for Thursday

Elks National Law Day is set for Thursday.

The Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks has sponsored Law Day annually to give students an idea of how their local government works.

A local observance will include a noon luncheon at the Effingham Elks Club on South Banker. The luncheon is for the government officials, students and school officials involved in the day. Effingham Police Chief Jason McFarland will be the guest speaker.

In the meantime, it will be a busy day for the students and government officials involved.

Students from Effingham High School and St. Anthony High School will take over city offices. At the county level, students from Teutopolis High School and Dieterich High School will participate in activities.

EHS and SAHS students will gather at City Hall at 8:30am. City Administrator Steve Miller will make student introductions. Tours are planned of the police station, waste water treatment plant, fire station and water treatment plant. The students will participate in a mock City Council meeting at 1:20pm before dismissal at 2:45pm.

These students will take over city offices: Nate Braun of EHS will be the mayor, Josh McDevitt of EHS, Austin Siemer of EHS, Sanna Trupiano of SAHS, and Brock Jansen of SAHS will be the commissioners, Blayne Pals of EHS the city administrator, Lilly Weis of EHS the deputy city administrator, Emily Kowalke of SAHS the economic development director, Lexi McCoy of EHS the police chief, Muhammad Freeman of EHS the city treasurer, Connor Simmons of EHS the director of public works, Griffin Sehy of SAHS the communications manager for the police department, Lizzy Gonzalez of SAHS the EMA coordinator, Dawson Lohman of SAHS the public works operations manager, Will Flach of SAHS the building official, Michael Martelli of SAHS the fire chief, Amellia Bednar of SAHS the director of tourism, Alex Reed of SAHS the city clerk, and Karli Jones of SAHS as city attorney.

As far as the county plans, students will arrive at the Effingham County Government Center at 9am, then will take a tour of the tunnel to the county office building, followed by a tour of the county jail at 9:30am. A trip to the Illinois State Police firing range is planned at 10am before the luncheon at the Elks Lodge. The students will job shadow with the office holders at 1:15pm for about an hour, then board members will be introduced and students will share information on their days. Participating students from Teutopolis High School will be Mick Niebrugge, Jaclyn Frey, Isaac Thompson, Anthoney Roley, Nicholas Blickem, Andrew Probst, Owen Heuerman, Sydney Rhodes and Tyler Petersen. Students participating from Dieterich High School are Wyatt Fuesting, Jeff Faught, Ryan Galbraith, Gabe Jackson, and Jack Bloemer.