By Debbie Adams
Fourth and fifth graders from the Vinton Baptist Church Boys and Girls Club of Southwest
Virginia expanded their study of government with a visit to the offices at the Vinton Municipal
Building on November 21. The tour was arranged by Vinton Administrative Manager/Town
Clerk Antonia Arias-Magallon and led by Vinton Mayor Brad Grose and Arias-Magallon. They
were accompanied by Boys and Girls Club Director Daphne Sargeant and staff member Marshall
Thompson, walking over from the church.
Church Boys and Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia program toured the Municipal Building as
part of their study of government. (photo by Antonia Arias-Magallon)
The idea came about during a recent Town of Vinton event which Arias-Magallon and Sargeant
were both involved with.
“Daphne told me that she would love for the kids to have a tour of the building, so I got with the
department heads and asked if they could do something, and Mayor Grose and I would bring
them around to each place so they could learn what we do. Right now, they are learning about
government.”
The first stop on the tour was a visit with Jason Davison from the Public Works Dept. who had
brought along the town’s new refuse truck, mini-excavator, and their remote camera for
inspecting drains. He talked about the various responsibilities of the Vinton Public Works Dept.
from stormwater management to recycling to maintaining and repairing streets, caring for trees,
snow removal, and collecting refuse. The students were especially impressed by the camera
which can travel some 1,000 feet inside a pipe to identify problems, and with the diamond cut
saws crews use on curbs and gutters.
equipment the department uses in the many tasks it is responsible for, including diamond blade
saws.
Next up was time in the Vinton Police Dept. with Officer Will Holland, who started them off in
the Sally Bay identifying various pieces of equipment, including bicycles, riot gear bags, catch
poles, and more. Asked a question about tasers, Holland told the students that the purpose of a
taser is “to control, not to hurt” someone.
Dept.
Nathan McClung, Assistant Planning and Zoning Director, made his department relevant for
elementary school students with some Town of Vinton color-coded maps that explained what
zoning actually means and how different areas of town are used for different purposes. He asked
some basic questions: “Would you want a horse farm in downtown Vinton? Would you want a
McDonald’s with all its traffic and noise right next to your house? Would you want a pig farm
next door to where you live?” Students wanted to see more green on the map, signifying more park and recreation sites.
McClung described upcoming projects in the town. The one they found most interesting was the
multi-generational park being built in phases behind the Vinton War Memorial. (They also liked
the toy horse collection of Planning and Zoning Coordinator Julie Tucei.)
explained zoning using a 1995 color-coded map of Vinton.
Deputy Town Manager Cody Sexton and Mayor Grose met with the students in the Municipal
Chambers. The mayor noted that the Vinton Town Council meets twice a month and invites
citizens to come and share their concerns and complaints. Town Council conducts town business
and makes every attempt to “fix town problems and use tax dollars wisely.” He explained that
the students’ parents vote for members of Town Council and mayor.
Brad Grose distributed gifts from the town to the visitors from the Boys and Girls Club. (photos by Debbie Adams)
Sexton described the job of Town Manager and Deputy Town Manager as “acting as a bridge
between Town Council and the citizens of Vinton. We oversee the other departments and make
sure that what Town Council wants done, gets done.”
Finance Director/Treasurer Andrew Keen gave the Finance Department tour, explaining that
citizens pay their taxes and parking tickets there. He then taught them how to write a check
correctly.
from the Boys and Girls Club how to write a check.
The last stop on the tour was the Town Annex building which houses Human Resources/Risk
Management, Capital Projects, Community Programs, and Economic Development. Donna
Collins, the Director of Human Resources/Risk Management, and Jamie Hurt, Capital Projects
Manager, led this part of the tour.
They talked about each of the four departments housed in the Annex and how different people
work together on the same project and how Hurt’s job is to “bring it to life.”
They explained that Marshall Stanley’s job as Economic Development Specialist is to bring new
businesses and restaurants to the town. Director of Cultural Placemaking and Events Mandy
Adkins’ job is putting on events and bringing people into town to see the town through those
events like the Christmas Parade, Downtown Trick or Treating, Fall Festival, and more.
They also talked to the students about what types of things the HR person does and risk
management as far as planning ahead, so people don’t get hurt. Collins gave them the example
that they were given instructions to walk from the Boys and Girls Club at Vinton Baptist to the
Municipal Building for the tour, and those instructions were so that they didn’t get hurt – that’s the type of thing that risk management does. They also talked a little about what HR does –
interviewing, hiring, helping solve problems, and supporting the other departments.
Hurt showed them pictures of what the new park will look like. They toured the Annex building
and the training room and talked about things staff does there. “They seemed to really like the
camera display in my office,” Collins noted.
According to Sargeant, “Most of the kids really enjoyed the police department, but they loved
getting the ‘behind the scenes’ of all the different areas. Some of them commented on how
surprised they were at how much happens over there and all the ‘cool stuff’ they learned.”
