Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Kiwanis Club learns of 4-H

4-H is alive and well in Nevada County.

Rex Dollar, with the Nevada County Extension Service, spoke to the Prescott Kiwanis Club, Thursday, Jan. 12, about the 4-H club, telling what the children did last year and what their plans are this year.

However, his first bit of news is the position vacated by Candace Carrih will soon be advertised. The opening will be advertised for 30 days, after which time, someone will be hired. For more than a year Dollar has been operating the Extension Office only with the help of secretary Dianne Wolfe.

Those in the 4-H, he said, were busy last year, as several members participated in the broiler barbecue contest. In this event, contestants get half a chicken and must grill it. Their results are judged on a variety of criteria.

The 4-Hers also toured the Formby portable sawmill, seeing how it works. They were given samples to take home with them. In addition, Dollar said, the members attended different state camps, including a trip to Ferndale.

They also had entries in the local, district and state fairs. The entries were in different areas, but primarily livestock  especially goats  Dollar said. Also, the horse show is growing as more and more young people are getting involved. The equine events are becoming so popular classes are offered in horsemanship.

Members of the 4-H clubs also put on a haunted house during Halloween as a fund raiser. According to Dollar, it was a successful event.

And, he added, last year was the inaugural year for the Arkansas Junior Cattlemans Association calf show. Some 40 4-H members participated in it.

Other events include the district and regional 4-H ORama and the poultry chain project. Dollar explained the poultry chain project by saying each participant gets 25 chicks, all pullets, to raise. The pullets are raised until fair time, when those involved must select four to be judged. They get to keep the remaining 21 birds. He said the money raised from the sale of the chickens goes back into the chain program to perpetuate it for future 4-H members.

The young people didnt just work with animals and go on trips. Several members were involved in helping build and install birdhouses at Hillcrest Nursing Home. Dollar said the house patterns were cut out of wood with the 4-H members assembling and decorating them.

Plans for this year, he said, include taking a trip to the tree nursery at Bluff City, offering crochet classes through the Extension Homemakers Clubs to 4-H members interested, visiting farms during planting season and learning how to differentiate seeds, along with continuing the ongoing programs and projects.

Dollar said he has applied for two grants for the 4-H clubs. One is a youth garden grant through Home Depot. If awarded, the $500 would be in the form of a gift card to be used at Home Depot to purchase the items the members plan to plant in their gardens. The other grant is through the National Rifle Association (NRA) as the Extension Service is creating a shooting club for 4-H members.

This grant is to help purchase the equipment needed to get started, Dollar said. People will be certified to teach different shooting skills before the club is formed. According to Dollar, even if the grant is turned down, the shooting club will be created.

At this time, he said, the 4-H clubs are in enrollment mode, getting new young people involved and signed up. 4-H is for young people age 5-19. This is broken down into three different age groups, the Cloverbuds, ages 5-7, the juniors, 9-14, and seniors, 15 and up.

Each of the clubs has its own bank account and takes care of its money. The clubs earn money through fund raisers, he said.

Additionally, Dollar said, the local 4-H Foundation has been reactivated, with a board to help oversee where and how the clubs spend money. The money is usually spent in sending 4-Hers to camps, which can be expensive. Money for the foundation is raised through donations and solicitations.

Dollar said the foundation is strictly for Nevada County 4-H clubs. Some foundations, such as Hempstead County, get money through the United Way and arent allowed to solicit.