Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

4-H Working On Restoring Blacklands

The Clark County 4-H Clubs have been busy this year. There are nine community clubs with two speciality clubs.

Our clubs have many different community service projects.

One club's focus is the restoration of the Terre Noire Blackland Prairie. This club busies itself with the clearing of cedars, collection of wild flower seeds and replanting the seeds in barren areas.

Several of the clubs adopt needy families for the holidays. One such club earns money by cutting yards in the summer. The money is divided and the 4-H members plan and shop for each family member. They return to the clubhouse and wrap the presents.

One club plants flowers at the Hoo Hoo building in Gurdon. They enjoy making the area more beautiful. This club also shows support for teachers by washing their cars. Another of their community service projects has been putting on a pet show at the local nursing home.

Another club has worked on the positive promotion of 4-H in this county. They have placed numerous newspaper articles in the local papers. They helped educate today's youth using puppets. They also had a pictorial display at the Clark County Library along with crafts made by some of their members.

Youth community service and service learning have become popular in the world of education and youth development. Research shows clear evidence of the value of service for both youth and community.

A study of youth in sixth through twelfth grades found that those who serve an hour or more a week are less likely to engage in at-risk behaviors. Development theorist have found that experiences during adolescence help shape lifelong values, suggesting that early service results in long-term payoffs.

Here is a list of 4-H community clubs. The time and place for each club meeting and their leaders are: 4-Leaf Clover, Marilyn May, 6 p.m. in Arkadelphia, fourth Monday; Hill Top, Vickie Lynn, 3:30, Gurdon, second Monday; Shining Stars, Holly Harrington, 7 p.m., Arkadelphia, third Monday; L'Eau Fraid, Marsha Haltom, 7 p.m. Manchester, first Tuesday; Terre Noire, Kathryn Burchfield, 3:30 p.m., Gurdon, first Monday; Mad Butchers, Robbie McKinnon, Gurdon; Lake View, Ola Vandiver, Arkadelphia; Clark County Youth Development Center, Karen Harper, Gurdon; Home School Club, Elaine Evans, 10 a.m., Arkadelphia, first Friday.

The 4-H speciality clubs are Livestock Club, which is open to youths age 9 to 19 with an interest in livestock, and Teen Leader Club for 4-H'ers age 13-19.

Any interested in joining a 4-H club should contact the local County Extension office at 246-2281.