At Tuesday’s meeting of Hopkinsville City Council, city officials recognized the top 10 essay writers among local eighth-grade students selected for the Mayor’s Scholars program.
Nikki Durham, administrative coordinator for the city, said this year marked the 11th Mayor’s Scholars program. It is a Partners in Education collaboration.
The winners in the essay contest are:
- Kinley Clark, CCMS, first
- Azaa Enktugs, HMS, second
- Miley Cantrell, HCA, third
- Madison Campbell, CCMS, fourth
- Mia Cannon, HCA, fifth
- Kathryn Sandifer, CCMS, sixth
- Emma Eastes, CCMS, seventh
- Chesa Leyenaar, CCMS, eighth
- Michael DeArmond, CCMS, eighth (tie)
- Domenieke Rucker, HMS, tenth
Clark received a $50 prize for first place. The other essay winners each received $25. The students were asked to write about “the most pressing issues they face along with suggestions about how to address them.”
The recognition ceremony at the start of the council meeting was one of Durham’s last public duties in her city government career. She is leaving at the end of the week to take a new job at Hopkinsville Electric System.
During the meeting, Mayor James R. Knight Jr. thanked Durham for her service. She has worked at city hall for about 15 years.
Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. Brown was a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era, where she worked for 30 years. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board past president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition. She serves on the Hopkinsville History Foundation's board.
