Getting a look behind the scenes is an exciting way to see how things work and this is exactly what some area youths got to do on Friday during the Youth Academy classes.
The students participate in training exercises with the Police Department’s Tactical Team, try on fire protective gear, are involved with a mock medical emergency at the Fire Department, drive high loaders, ride 35-foot in the air in bucket trucks at Public Works, and also make stops at the Waste Water Treatment Plant and Park Departments before being treated to lunch with Mayor Mike Allison and City Council Members.
“This is a really neat thing,” Fire Chief Michael Napolitano said. “The kids get to see how the city runs behind the scenes.”
Approximately 80 seventh and eighth graders are participating in the Annual City Youth Academy classes sponsored by the City of Great Bend.
“We want to be known as the city that listens to our kids and we want our kids to have so much fun growing up in Great Bend, that someday, when they are ready to settle down and start a family, we hope they will remember how much fun Great Bend was for them and will consider coming back to live.” Mayor Mike Allison said,
The students’ last stop was a idea exchange with City Administrator Howard Partington.
“A lot of the things in Great Bend that the kids enjoy come from this idea exchange.” Sgt. Jay Bacher of the Great Bend Police Department said. “The water park, skate park and the disc golf course were ideas of the children that have participated in the Youth Academy in past years.”
According to Cpl. Jefferson Davis of the Great Bend Police Department, another success of the Academy is the number of former participants who are returning to Great Bend to live and work after they have graduated from college.
Annually, city leaders visit state universities to re-connect with past Youth Academy participants and other Great Bend High School graduates.
Great Bend businesses, The Chamber of Commerce and city administrators have a plan in place to specifically help college graduates from Great Bend High School find jobs in Great Bend that specifically fits their career fields.
According to Partington, the academy allows for hands-on learning for the students. This summer’s Academies brings a total of 44 different Youth Academy classes the city has conducted over the past 15 years, representing over 1,400 student participants.