Wayne Walden
Wednesday, September 26, 2012 9:00 pm

(Paducah, KY) - City Commission candidates, along with mayoral candidate Gayle Kaler, encouraged PTHS students to be active as voters and citizens at Monday's candidates forum organized by the PTHS speech and forensics team.

Kaler and all eight candidates for City Commission gathered for the first time since the primary election to speak with students about ways that students could be involved in the political process. Eligible students were also given the opportunity to register to vote.

City Commission candidate Richard Abraham noted that some students move away after graduation, but realize later that Paducah is a good place to live.

"The City Commission is five people with one goal: to make Paducah a good place to live and come back to," said Abraham. "Come back to Paducah and make it a better place."

All the candidates encouraged students to extend their civic involvement by volunteering with non-profits, churches, and civic organizations for the betterment of the community. City Commission candidate Sandra Wilson challenged the student body to host a community service fair to offer students more information about how they can be involved in the community.

"Our community is a better place because of the level of volunteerism that we enjoy," said Wilson.  "We want you to want to live here."

Following the candidate's presentations, selected students asked candidates one follow up question on topics ranging from how to encourage more recycling in the city to how city government might make better use of social media.