By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Each year social studies students from across Wood County get a close up view of county government – the grassroots level that often goes unnoticed.
But this year, the coronavirus pandemic hit before Bowling Green sixth graders could go on their courthouse tour.
So instead, the courthouse will come to them.
In the past, the students have sat in on court cases, offered ideas to state legislators for new laws, talked about local crime with the sheriff, and learned how the county handles emergencies. Students from Eastwood, Elmwood, Otsego, Northwood and Rossford got in their visits prior to the pandemic – but Bowling Green and Perrysburg students were scheduled for this spring.
So Wood County Common Pleas Judge Matt Reger decided to offer a virtual tour of the courthouse. It won’t come with the same grandeur that an actual tour of the 1896 courthouse provides, but it’s the next best thing, he said.
“I’ve got a responsibility to teach people about the legal system,” Reger said. And part of that lesson means looking back at the county’s more than 200-year history.
“I think that history is about relationships and people,” the judge said. “For me, it’s fun. If the kids walk away and say, ‘Wow,’” then it’s been worth the effort.
Bowling Green sixth grade social studies teachers Rob Morgan and Lane Hakel have been taking their students on the courthouse tour for the last three years.
“This is a really solid way to see how government makes our lives better,” Morgan said.
And grassroots government suffers from a sort of identity crisis.
“Local government is the form of government we hear about the least,” Hakel said. “It also has, by far, the most impact on our daily lives.”
It’s the level of government that makes sure roads are repaired, drinking water is clean, and toilets flush, Hakel said.
Though the students will still get to view the majesty of the historic courthouse on video, it’s unlikely the virtual visit will have the same impact as an in-person field trip.
“A lot of the students have never been in the courthouse,” Morgan said. They are often awestruck at the massive murals on the third floor of the courthouse. “It’s an impressive place to be.”
The virtual trip to the courthouse will also feature videos submitted by local elected officials.
In addition to video of Reger and the courthouse, several other officials are submitting video clips for the virtual tour, including Wood County Sheriff Mark Wasylyshyn, Wood County Commissioner Ted Bowlus, Wood County Auditor Matt Oestreich, State Sen. Theresa Gavarone, State Rep. Haraz Ghanbari, and Wood County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Klein.
While students will hear from elected officials, this year’s tours will be lacking the back and forth discussions prompted by questions from the middle schoolers.
“That’s the real disappointment,” Reger said of the lack of interaction with the inquisitive sixth graders.
But a virtual tour is better than no tour at all.
“We’re making the best of what we can do,” Morgan said.
