Students from seven area high schools had the opportunity Thursday to see how Carbon County operates during the county's annual Government Day.

Students from Panther Valley, Marian, Palmerton, Jim Thorpe, Weatherly, Lehighton and Carbon Career & Technical Institute high schools found themselves spending a day observing Carbon County officials doing what they do best: run the county.Students visited the Carbon County Courthouse and Courthouse Annex in Jim Thorpe and the county Emergency Management Agency and 911 Communications Center in Nesquehoning.They talked with various county officials, including Eloise Ahner, county administrator; Roberta Brewster, court administrator; Judge Joseph Matika; District Judge Edward Lewis; District Attorney Jean Engler; Robert Crampsie, county controller; Ronald Sheehan, county treasurer; and Robert Miller, deputy coroner, in the morning and learned what goes into operating the county.The students attended the Carbon County Commissioners' meeting, where they got to see how the commissioners make decisions that they feel are best for the county.Some of the decisions that were made included accepting the weekly personnel and treasurer's report, adopting proclamations, entering into agreements with various outside companies to provide services and paying the bills.Commissioners Wayne Nothstein, William O'Gurek and Thomas J. Gerhard, thanked the students for their interest in government and explained to them about different decisions and how the county operates some programs.The board encouraged the students to ask any questions to help better their understanding of how the county operates.Following the meeting, the students had the opportunity to ask a question, ranging from how did you get into the position, what is the commissioners' favorite thing about their job; how they handle the nearly $46 million budget to keep taxes down; and the toughest part about the job.The students then traveled to the Emergency Management Agency, where they were treated to lunch and more discussions by the commissioners on county government infrastructure.A question-and-answer panel was conducted before the completion of the day.Carbon County Government Day was the idea of former Commissioner Charles Getz, based on a similar event he ran while he served as a Kidder Township supervisor.The first county Government Day was held on April 26, 2001.