Three bus loads of students — two from Gasconade County R-2 School District and one from the R-1 School District — last Wednesday filled the county’s Courthouse for an up-close look at the workings of one of their local governments.

Sponsored by the local office of the University of Missouri Extension Center, County Government Day offered the high school government students a field trip of a different sort — a practical lesson of how activity in the county seat affects them personally.

“Hopefully, this will be informative for you,” said Associate Circuit Judge Ada Brehe-Kruger to about half of the 125 students assembled during the morning in the second-floor courtroom to watch a session of her court. The judge, a former prosecuting attorney, was joined by Assistant Prosecutor Theresa O’Brien and defense attorney Paul Schmanke in talking to the students about the local legal process.

While O’Brien explained her role in bringing charges against offenders, Schmanke characterized the role of defense attorneys as being the “check and balance on the system.”

“In my former life, I was a government (class) teacher,” said Schmanke, who taught and coached football in Owensville and has offices in Owensville and Union.

The judge tried to explain how busy her Division 4 Court can be by pointing to a recent Wednesday in which dozens of cases were included on that session’s docket. On that particular day, Brehe-Kruger weighed through a 65-page docket. “We were here late into the afternoon just calling the cases — no hearings, no trials, nothing. Just calling the cases,” she said.

While part of the students attended the Division 4 session, others were in small groups visiting the various county government offices with the officeholders explaining the workings of that particular office.

County Clerk Lesa Lietzow spoke about the various duties performed by her staff —  from preparing and conducting elections to preparing an annual operating budget to a myriad of administrative tasks.

“We pay all the bills,” Lietzow told the students.

“We sell county liquor licenses and auctioneer licenses,” she added. “The only thing we don't handle is what you sat in on this morning — the judicial side.”

This year’s County Government Day comes after a two-year hiatus. The annual event was canceled in 2017 when a scheduling conflict prevented the R-1 students from attending. The project remained on hold in 2018.

The day’s activities also included a lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers grilled up by Associate Commissioners Jim Holland of Hermann and Jerry Lairmore of Owensville and County Treasurer Mike Feagan, also of Owensville. The lunchtime break featured an awards ceremony for those county government employees reaching certain milestones in their service to county residents.

Nearly a dozen employees were scheduled to be recognized alnong with elected officials including Presiding Commissioner Larry Miskel of Hermann for five years and Brehe-Kruger for reaching the 20-year mark. Both officials hit those milestones in 2018.

Reaching notable levels of service this year are Assessor Paul Schulte, five years; Emergency Management Director Kristopher Bayless, five years; Road Department grader operator Dennis M. Godi, five years; Prosecuting Attorney office assistant Joann Bickmeyer, 10 years; personal property clerk Donna K. Struttman, 20 years; grader operator David Slater, 20 years; Road Department truck driver Paul W. Dahl, 30 years; real estate clerk Lisa Diebal, 30 years; and Road Department Supervisor Roger L. Dahl, 35 years.