Cub Scouts see inside city government with mayor
- Cub Scouts in Den 14 were all smiles during their visit with Mayor Troy Trulock at Madison City Hall. The group includes Ben Bagwell, from left, Eli Alexander, Connor Murphree, Will Votroubek, Trulock, Jonathan Irvin, John Rinne and Alex Lively. (CONTRIBUTED)
MADISON – Cub Scouts in Den 14 learned about city departments, quizzed the mayor and asked about jail while visiting Madison City Hall on April 17.
In their first year of Scouting, the Tiger Cubs are affiliated with Pack 351 that meets at Asbury United Methodist Church with leader Eric Alexander. The boys earned an elective for visiting a government office and also meeting Mayor Troy Trulock.
The visiting Tiger Cubs were Eli Alexander, Ben Bagwell, Jonathan Irvin, Alex Lively, Connor Murphree, John Rinne and Will Votroubek. The boys are first-graders at Columbia, Heritage and Mill Creek elementary schools.
Trulock greeted the boys with a ‘fist bump’ around the conference table. “None of the boys appeared nervous about meeting the mayor. They were excited to meet someone so important,” parent Karyn Murphree said. “The boys were pleased to learn our mayor is a really friendly man.”
Many questions concerned the jail. “What do you do if you have to put a bad person in jail, but the jail is full?” Connor Murphree asked. Trulock assured the boys that the jail has plenty of room and encouraged them to be good citizens to avoid ever going there.
They asked if the jail is upstairs or downstairs and if the mayor was the person “who locked bad people in jail. That’s pretty interesting to a seven-year-old boy,” Karen Murphree said.
One Scout asked about Trulock’s job before becoming mayor or “if he even had a job,” Karen Murphree said. Trulock explained his service in multiple Army units and managing an Army missile program.
They asked about the length of a mayoral term and how many terms a mayor can serve. Trulock said he and wife Dana have two children but “they aren’t little anymore.”
“Can you make the weekends last longer?” Alex Lively asked. Trulock jokingly said he would check about making recess longer.
The Scouts “learned their mayor is a hard working man who works to keep their city running smoothly and safely,” Karen Murphree said.