Motion to learn about local government
CMS students hold mock city commission meeting in Cedartown City Hall.
A group of Cedartown Middle School students got a personalized look at how local government works when they got to take part in a mock city commission meeting at Cedartown City Hall.
The students, who are in CMS gifted and advanced social studies teacher Matt Foster’s current events class, were hosted by the city of Cedartown on Friday, March 17, and placed in the role of city commissioners and staff to hold a scripted meeting in the commissioner’s room.
Foster, who is in his ninth year as a Cedartown city commissioner, came up with the framework for the agenda and let the students work out the details of the meeting, which included delegates seeking to use city facilities for special events and a short debate on the merits of allowing residents to raise chickens.
Actual City Manager Edward Guzman gave the students an overview of his role in the city government and how each city department works together to keep the city running.
“I encourage you to look at all of the roles in local government and I know you will find something that will interest you,” Guzman said.
Foster reminded the students of a Latin phrase he has in his classroom, “Non nobis solum,” which means “Not for ourselves alone.”
“Stay curious, keep a watch on the news that comes out and know what’s going on in your town,” Foster said. “You are the fabric and the future of our town.”
Prior to the start of the meeting, all of the students who were portraying city commissioners were given the oath of office by Cedartown Police Chief Jamie Newsome and City Clerk Evelyn Cortes handed out copies of the meeting agenda.
Ella Popham served as a delegate seeking permission to use Peek Park for an arts festival and Chris Johnson served as delegate who sought permission to use Bert Wood Park for a summer football camp.
Commission Chairman DJ Pace listened to
are expected to be closed to traffic March 27 and 28.
The movie, written and directed by Tyler Perry, tells the true story of the only all-black, all-female World War II battalion faced with the task to sort through and fix a three-year backlog of undelivered mail to U.S. troops fighting in the war.
Activity to prepare for the one day of filming has been centered on the Main Street area for about two weeks and resulted in a number of storefronts being temporarily transformed into fictional businesses with era-appropriate signage and window dressing.
Several prop benches, trash bins and a vintage mail collection box here and there were added as well.
It is just the most recent example of film production happening on Main Street that has required some redecorating of downtown storefronts, with the film “Jayne Mansfield’s Car,” and the HBO series “Watchmen” both using Cedartown for scenes set in past time periods.