03-05-2025
High school students learn about city jobs on Law Day
Dozens of juniors and seniors from Effingham and St. Anthony high schools learned about what happens behind the scenes at the city's water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plant, police department and fire department on Thursday during the 68th Annual Elks National Law Day.
The day began at city hall, and after a brief introduction, city officials and students split into two groups: one started at the water treatment plant and the other began at the wastewater treatment plant.
Water Treatment Plant Chief Operator Mike Ziegler gave the students a tour of the plant and explained how water is cleaned through filters, chemistry and more.
'I think it's cool to see that they have to put tablets, that they have so many funnels, and how much water they push out for all of us because they are taking care of such a large population of people, and without them, all those people would have dirty water, polluted water,' said St. Anthony High School senior Jackie Niebrugge. 'It's kind of like something you don't think about, so when you see it, you're like: Oh, without them, we'd all be showering in not very clean water. We'd be drinking not very clean water. When we make stuff, it wouldn't have clean water in it. So it's very important to have that in our community.'
Niebrugge plans on going into the medical field but learned how important water treatment plants are for communities.
'I do think it's just a very respectable job to have, to be able to provide for such a large community, and it's overlooked… I think it's vital for our community to have them,' she said.
At the fire department, Captain Jeffrey Landrus taught the students about different fire equipment, let students spray a fire hose and ride on the landing of a ladder fire truck.
At the police station, the group split in half: half went on a tour with Police Chief Jason McFarland and the other half experienced a police training simulator with Deputy Chief Kurt Davis. After the tour, the groups switched places.
McFarland showed students many of the rooms in the department including the 9-1-1 call center, booking and the gym.
The simulator allowed students to practice being a police officer by using an unloaded gun with Deputy Chief Davis. He taught students about the high stakes, pressure and very little time officers have when responding to emergency calls.
Wastewater Treatment Plant Chief Operator Joe Williamson gave students a tour of the wastewater treatment plant and also explained how water is filtered and cleaned.
Effingham High School seniors Adam Flack, Aaron Hill, Max Flack and Jaxon Bridges were surprised to learn how much water the city is responsible for managing.
'That's what a lot of what we learned was water and how it flows, and we get it all the way up from Shelbyville and places like that,' said Max. 'That's kind of crazy that we're a source of water for [somewhere] over thirty miles away.'
They were also surprised to learn how much money is spent in each department.
Although Adam Flack, Max Flack, Hill and Bridges don't want to go into public service work either, they gained a deeper appreciation for people in those roles.
'The people take their jobs very seriously,' said Adam. 'We're in good hands.'
