Hillsboro students involved in Marion Co. Youth Team
Staff writer
Students at Hillsboro High School and Middle School are part of the Marion County Youth Team.
The youth team, sponsored by the Communities in Schools (CIS) of Marion County, includes USD 410, 408, 398, and 397.
According to Tonja Wienck, HMS counselor, the middle school has two representatives on the county youth team: David Vogel and Chelsea Bebermeyer. The program has been in existence since 1998, but Wienck has been involved with the program for four or five years.
Wienck said that once students are selected on the team, they usually continue to serve after going to high school.
According to HHS guidance counselor Diana Holub, there are nine students who still serve on the team. They are Kylee Gustafson, Danielle Johnson, Ricky Johnson, Danielle Kelley, Josh Kenney, Meredith Kliewer, Neil Ollenburger, Michael Roble, and Thomas VanWart.
Students may continue to serve as long as they want to and are compliant with the rules of the group's constitution.
"When new students come to the high school, I advertise to see if any one of them would like to be a part of the youth team," Holub said.
Some of the purposes of Marion County Youth Team include providing a way for youth to be involved in the planning processes that affect them; providing an opportunity for youth leadership; and providing training and education about substance abuse and violence.
The county youth group meets seven times during the school year and plans activities and projects. Approximately 30 students from grades seven through 12, along with the advisers, meet at various schools.
Some of the group's projects include holding youth court, campaigning for reduction in tobacco use in the county, doing various community service projects, and actively pursuing youth representation on local adult boards.
Students from Hillsboro and youth team members recently completed training for their youth court, which will begin soon.
The group helped clean up Marion County Park and Lake this past summer as part of their community service. They also participate in the statewide STAR and SuperNOVA rallies, which focus on the prevention of using tobacco products and examining how tobacco companies target young people.
"Being involved in the youth team gives students a real sense of control," Wienck said. "They are involved in the decision-making process, and kids need those experiences."
Wienck said the group wrote their own constitution and learned parliamentary procedures.
The team has received some funding from a tobacco grant which brings in speakers who inform the group about the dangers of tobacco use.
Students from each school represented are responsible for specific activities.
The HMS students were responsible for designing a web site for the group, which Vogel and Bebermeyer designed.
"The other exciting part of that is they get paid for it," she said.
The HHS students are responsible for giving a power point presentation for the group.
Another school is responsible for acquiring community leaders to serve on a panel discussion addressing issues that involve Marion County youth.
Another is in charge of the group's year-end celebration, for example.
Wienck is excited about all the possibilities that can come from the youth team.
"Linda Ogden should be credited for all the work she has done for these six years and for getting the funding," Wienck said.
