Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
The Monday night Havre City Council meeting was not run by Havre Mayor Bob Rice. Instead, Rice turned his duties over to Havre High School sophomore Molly Proctor.
She shadowed Rice all day on Monday, meeting with department heads and learning how city government works. Proctor said after her City Council debut that the experience was fun and informative.
"You really learn how everything works inside the city," she said. Proctor wrote an essay about why she would want to be a junior mayor after learning about the program at school.
Rice said he was impressed with Proctor.
"She was fun and she's opinionated," he said. "She's not really what I'd consider a run-of-the-mill teenager. She's very mature, and she knows what she wants in life. I was very impressed. She has everything all planned out."
Next up on Proctor's plan is a trip to a San Diego, Calif., conference for Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, formerly known as Future Homemakers of America, she said. She will perform community service, go on tours and learn leadership skills, she said.
Rice said he's had about 15 junior mayors since taking office. He has another youth slated to take over the helm next month. The kids generally make a good impression on him, he said.
"I'm impressed every time," Rice said. "The kids are usually very high quality."
