October 15 is known County Government Day. Students across the state of Nebraska went to their local county courthouses to learn about their government. On County Government Day in Box Butte County, Alliance and Hemingford High School students gathered at the Box Butte County courthouse.

The day began with splitting the students into 5 groups. Each one of these groups went through a different tour of the courthouse, and then they met around 11 to go to the Knight Museum for lunch. The tour consisted of hitting the county courtroom, jail, district courtroom, assessment office, county clerk’s office, and the county commissioners office.

At the county courtroom the students learned about court cases, what they consisted of, and how many court cases there are per year. The students were able to tour the jail and see how things worked in the jail. They got to see inside a cell, what the prisoners wore, and how they lived in the jail.

Another county entity we heard from was the 4H group. In the district court room, people from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln gave information about 4H. The students first began with an activity. One of the instructors gave the students a picture with a four leaf clover on it with different positive words spread across the clover. The students were given 1 minute to memorize the words on the paper. The instructor took the paper, and the students had 2 minutes to try to remember what words were on the paper. The instructors then talked about 4H and how it has impacted their lives.

In the assessment office, the students were shown how to find and research property online. In the county clerk’s office, the students were shown old records and learned about how the records worked in the office. The students were able to sit on a meeting at the county commissioners office.

Around 11, the students met in the lobby of the courthouse to go to the museum for lunch. There they ate sloppy joes and met the veterans of the American Legion.

After lunch, the students headed to the Alliance Veterans Cemetery. They were able to experience a mock funeral. The students were shown around the cemetery and learned the importance of the cemetery and the veterans among our nation.

Lillian Otto was able to go on the trip, and she said that it was a valuable experience. She said, “I learned the levels of our local government, and how military funerals are held.” She also said that her favorite part of the day was “going to the jail and getting my mugshot”.

Ms. Jay, the history teacher at Alliance High School who took the students on the trip, said, “County Government Day helps students to understand their local government and gives community leaders an opportunity to explain their jobs and communicate their experiences and commitment to their community and job.” She also said, “I hope that the students who attend come away with more knowledge about their county and community. I hope that they are able to realize that county government affects them each and every day.”