Peabody student receives award from Gov. Graves
Peabody Junior High student Andrew Topham received an award Jan. 24 from Gov. Bill Graves. The award was for his entry in the League of Kansas Municipalities' "If I Were Mayor" essay contest held that day in the Capitol.
The contest was part of LKM's City Hall Day at the Capitol, an event which drew more than 200 municipal leaders from across the state to meet with their state representatives and senators and discuss issues of local importance.
Topham was the winner for the South Central Region. He received a recognization certificate and a savings bond. Robi Alstrom is his teacher. He is the son of Kim and Greg Topham of Peabody, who accompanied him to Topeka as did his teacher and Mayor Kevin Ensminger..
Governor Graves declared Lakin's Trevor Waechter the grand prize winner. After the announcement, Waechter read his essay to attendees of the event, from whom he received a standing ovation.
Six seventh graders from across the state were selected as regional winners from the nearly 900 entries submitted from 105 communities.
The contest asked students to explain what they would do if they were the mayor of their city. Entries were judged according to creativity, clarity, sincerity of thought, and proper use of grammar.
If I were mayor I would
By ANDREW TOPHAM
If I were mayor, I would encourage everyone to work toward common goals. Those goals would be decided upon by my city council.
I would make sure the roads and bridges were kept in shape, especially the ones with heavy traffic.
The parks in my town would suit its size. They would have a variety of well-maintained equipment.
In my town, businesses would be encouraged to come to set up at this locality, so that the people would have jobs.
I would set up a recycling program for recyclables. People could set up three trashcans. One with a plastic bag for plastics, one with a paper bag for paper, and one with no bag for metals.
The police station in this town would always be alert. They would be friendly, but strict on enforcing the law.
I would make an attempt to preserve my town's historical buildings and cultures.
An annual town trash cleanup festival would be held about once or twice a year.
A town with these guiding principles would run smoothly.
