May 2008

Upcoming Events

May 1 . . . . . . . . Auction Work Night and Donation Drop Off
May 2 . . . . . . . . Auction Tagging Day at Sparrow Pond
May 3 . . . . . . . . AUCTION DAY!!!! Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
May 18 . . . . . . . Hog, Lamb, Goat Tagging, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Waterford Fairgrounds
May 22 . . . . . . . 4-H Horse Judging Contest, Three Point Farm
May 26 . . . . . . . Extension Office Closed - Happy Memorial Day!
June 1 . . . . . . . . State Deadline 4-H Horse Project Enrollment for 2008 (see your leader for club deadline)
June 3 . . . . . . . . 4-H Teen Council Meeting - Erie County Tech School, 7:00 p.m.
June 12-15 . . . . 4-H Junior Camp, Emlenton, PA
June 13 . . . . . . . Extension Office Closed
June 15 . . . . . . . 4-H Club Enrollment Deadline for 2008 Fair Season
June 28 . . . . . . . 1st Horse Qualifier Show, Albion Fairgrounds
July 4 . . . . . . . . . Extension Office Closed - Happy 4th!
July 7-11 . . . . . . 4-H Intermediate Camp, Franklin, PA
July 19 . . . . . . . . 2nd Horse Qualifier Show, Erie Hunt & Saddle Club
July 28 . . . . . . . . Northwest 4-H Horse Production Show, Mercer County 4-H Park

May has arrived, and 4-H is in the air (along with pollen and other things)! It's time to really get your summer 4-H plans in gear.
Have you decided which 4-H projects you plan to show at the 4-H Fair this year? Make sure you know all of the deadlines associated with the projects you are interested in before it's too late. Large animal projects need to be identified soon! Also, if you are taking
animal projects this year, don't forget that you will need at least 2 credits of Quality Assurance training before the end of June. Talk to your club leader to find out about this and everything else you need to know for a fun and exciting 4-H season! See you all soon!

LET'S GET SEWING!
If you have a lot of sewing experience, some or none at all, come and check it out. Satin Touch 4-H Club will be having an informational meeting on Weds., May 14, 7:00 p.m. at the Erie County Cooperative Extension. The Club will be meeting weekly during the summer to complete textile projects. If you have any questions or are interested in the Club but can not attend the informational meeting, please contact Julie Vavreck at (814) 602-5889 or email her at QQBP@iup.edu.

RABBITS & GUINEA PIGS
Do you have a rabbit or guinea pig that you are thinking about showing as a 4-H project this year? Consider joining the Klover Kids 4-H Club to learn more about your project. Klover Kids will be having Rabbit & Cavy Project specific meetings through the summer to work on showman-ship, breed ID and more. You do not need to be a member of this Club to attend the meetings. They are also hoping to form a team for the Rabbit Quiz Bowl at this summer's State Achievement Days event. The meetings are usually on the 1st Saturday of the month. Call the office if you would like more details!

HORSE JUDGING CONTEST
Are you a 4-H member working on a Horse project in 2008? Then you are invited to attend the Erie County 4-H Horse Judging Contest on Thurs., May 22, at Three Point Farm in North East. Regis-tration will begin at 6:30 p.m. with the contest following immediately. Contest rules and description are included with this month's Banner. See you there!

ARCHERY OPPORTUNITY
The Gem City Outdoors-men Club in Fairview is hosting a youth archery shoot, free-of-charge and would like to invite all 4-H members to attend. This is an opportunity for all youth to give the sport of archery a try. Our own Blazing Arrows 4-H Club will be there helping out. The event will be on Sat., June14, Noon at the Club. If you would like more informa-tion, you can contact 4-H parent, Barb Moore, who is helping to coordinate the event at 814-796-3390 or email her at RBJM3@YAHOO.COM.

HELP WANTED
What are you doing every day from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.? Do you have an hour or two to spare once a week during that time? The 4-H Program is seeking volunteers (adults or teens) willing to help out in the office with simple tasks such as preparing for events, organizing educational materials and generally sup-porting the Erie County 4-H Program. Please consider giving 4-H a little of your time, whether you are a 4-H parent who has time off during the week, a recent 4-H alumni attending school nearby or a current 4-H teen who gets out of school early enough to spend an hour or two with us. Please call Jenn at the office at (814) 825-0900 today!

4-H COOKOFF SUCCESS!
The 2008 4-H Cookoff was held on Sat., March 29. 4-H members took home the following Cookoff honors:

In the Junior Division; Best of Division and Rosette Winner in the Quick Breads category: Corey Zalewski, Cloverleaf Canines 4-H Club, "Orange Blueberry Bread." Rosette winners in other categories are: Appetizers: Cooper Howard, Edinboro Dairy and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Buffalo Chicken Dip." Soups: John Hess, Beefers plus 4-H Club, "Cheesy Chicken Chowder." Yeast Breads: Eli Buhl, Mountaintop and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Chocolate Pinwheel Bread." Semi-Home-made: Abigail Hurta, Moun-taintop 4-H Club, "Vanilla Coconut Surprise." Vegetables: Corey Nadolny-Trommer, Mountaintop 4-H Club, "Delectable Beets." Salads: Jacob Stull, True Grit and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Taco Salad." Main Dish: Marissa Eliason, Waterford Bucking Broncos 4-H Club, "Macaroni and Cheese Please." Cakes: Cutter Hall, Cloverleaf Canine 4-H Club, "Sour Cream Pound Cake." Cookies: Alana Kerner, Mountaintop 4-H Club, "Healthy Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Cookies." Pies & Pastries: Jacob Stull, True Grit and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Pumpkin Pie." Other Desserts: Isaac Howard, Edinboro Dairy and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Five Star Brownies." Candy: Jesse Moore, Mountaintop 4-H Club, "Peanut Brittle." Lyndsey Carpinello, Happy Hoggers + 4-H Club, was the Popular Vote Winner for her entry "Cheese-burger Soup."

In the Senior Division; Best of Division and Rosette Winner in the Pies & Pastries category: Kevin Zalewski, Cloverleaf Canine 4-H Club, "Summer Fruit Tartlets." Rosette winners in other categories are: Appe-tizers: Elizabeth Buhl, Moun-taintop and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "Texas Caviar." Quick Breads: Brandon Snyder, Beefers plus 4-H Club, "Banana Nut Muffins." Yeast Breads: Elizabeth Buhl, Mountaintop and Blazing Arrows 4-H Clubs, "French Bread with Herbal Garlic Butter." Semi-Home-made: Emilie Buhl, Mountain-top 4-H Club, "Ooey Gooey Chooey Bars." Salads: Samantha Chiprean, Water-ford Bucking Broncos 4-H Club, "Odyssey of the Apples." Main Dish: Noah Dietz, Blazing Arrows 4-H Club, "Chicken Piccata." Cakes: Nicholas Snyder, Beefers plus 4-H Club, "Yo Yo Cake." Other Desserts: Emilie Buhl, Mountaintop 4-H Club, "Apple-of-Your-Eye Cheese-cake." Candy: Justin Hess, Beefers plus 4-H Club, "Baked Caramel Corn." Ali Vanco, Blazing Arrows 4-H Club, was the Rosette winner in the Cookie category and the Popular Vote Winner for her entry, "Chunky Peppermint Fudge Dream Cookies."

Congratulations to the Cookoff winners! A cookbook containing all of the Cookoff recipes will be available on the Erie County Cooperative Extension website later this spring.

HORSE BOWL RESULTS!
Despite a little difficulty getting into the building, Horse Bowl was a huge success. A big thanks to all the volunteers who made the event happen. Congratula-tions to all participating 4-H members, here are some special results to note:

• 1st Place Senior Division Team: Ashley Hayes and Cally Herrington of Horsin' Around 4-H Club and Laura Wheeler of Tally-Ho 4-H Club
  
• Individual: Desiree Parker of Trailblazers 4-H Club
  
• 1st Place Junior Division Team: Rachael Harrington, Cassie Kingston, Brooke Stafford and Sara Huegel of Cloverleaf Riders 4-H Club
  
• Individual: Rachael Harrington of Cloverleaf Riders 4-H Club
  

Everyone did a great job!

Grow your 4-H Dairy skills at the 2008 Northwest Regional
4-H Dairy Overnighter, Mon., June 30 - Tues., July 1, Mercer County 4-H Park, Rt.19 North, Mercer, PA. The cost is just $15 per person and includes lots of great workshops, fun, games, food and QA credits. See the brochure included with this month's Banner for more details!

CAREER SPEAKER SERIES
Are you thinking about potential careers in agriculture, but are unsure of what your options are? If so, be sure to attend the 4-H speaker series. Over the summer and throughout the fall various agricultural speakers will present valuable information on how they achieved the agricultural position that they currently hold. In many cases, these speakers were past 4-H members or have close ties to the 4-H program. Mark your calendars -the first career night will be Thurs., June 19, from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. at the Mercer County Cooperative Extension. This evening will focus on careers in animal health and nutrition. Quality Assurance credits will be offered and Mercer County Ag Develop-ment Council will provide pizza. Registration is recommended by Fri., June 13, to ensure adequate supplies are available, please call the Mercer office at 724-662-3141.

Lost in Space is coming to 4-H Junior Camp in 2008. Come spend four fun filled days involving all sorts of space activities with your friends and make new friends, all at Junior Camp 2008. We will be building rockets and doing all sorts of experiments. Space aliens will also be visiting us. We will also be enjoying unlimited games and activities. So, if you want to soar into space, we'll see you at Junior Camp 2008, Lost in Space! See the brochure included with this month's Banner for more details.

On April 6 Edinboro Dairy 4-H Club held our meeting and decided that our Club should try to help the Sherman Family. Casey Copeland, Shannon Copeland, Christopher Lance, Aaron Lance Jr., Brandon Reiser, Brooke Reiser, and Brittany Reiser all helped to raise money for the family by setting out donation tubs around the Albion area and on April 18 stood in front of some of the local stores to collect a substantial amount of money. We would like to thank the businesses that allowed us to stand and put tubs at their places. At the meeting we decided to do a Sports basket for the Auction and are still deciding on club shirts. Our next meeting will be held on April 25 at 7:00 p.m. at the Shepegi farm.

Blazing Arrows 4-H Archery Club continued with their meetings on Monday nights at Gem City Outdoorsmen Club in McKean. On February 21 we had our annual shoot off with the Dead Eyes 4-H Club from Crawford County. Jesse Moore from Blazing Arrows came in first over all. On February 25- we had our poster contest for the first year members. First place was Connor Hindman and second place was Emilie Buhl. On March 3 we had our group picture taken, and the members who are third year and up started Ethics training, led by Ali Vanco. We learned about the Cookoff to be held on Sat., March 29 - all were encouraged to participate and attend. March 10 was our regular meeting. On March 17, Craig Matteson, who is one of our shooting coaches, gave us a presentation on some different types of arrows he had from Africa and North American Indians. March 24 was our regular meet-ing. On March 31 we finished our project year by having a party and a fun shoot. Everyone brought a dish to share, and we had plenty to eat. We all had a good time. We want to thank our leaders--Tim and Cindy Vanco, Gem City Outdoorsmen Club, and all our shooting coaches for all their help this year. This summer, on June 14 we will be helping to sponsor an event at Gem City . It is an Archery shoot open to all 4-H members. There is more informa-tion elsewhere in the Banner, or you can call or email Ray or Barb Moore at 814-796-3390 or RBJM3@YAHOO.COM. We hope to see a lot of people there, Happy and safe shooting!

Horsin' Around 4-H Club held their monthly meeting on April 9 at Meredith Dreistadt's house. At the meeting, everyone was asked to turn in their enrollment forms when completed. Then we went over the Club Clinic. This year the Clinic is going to be held on May 4 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Albion Fairgrounds. The cost to attend is only $15 for the day. Some of the clinicians that will be there are Rob McConahy, Judy Cook, Jamie Miller, Cassie Sienecki, MC Anderson, Eisman Farms and many others, If you would like a brochure with more information, contact MC Anderson. Later at the meeting we went over how our fundraisers were going and if anyone had any money to turn in. After that we started to go over the new business. For the show season, everyone in the Club is responsible for getting at least one sponsor. Also, everyone is responsible for getting at least one donation for the upcoming 4-H Auction. The Club was reminded that Horse Bowl will be held on April 19 this year. We went over any other new business and adjourned the meeting.

Milky Way 4-H Dairy Club met February 3 at the home of Adam and Alan Sherman for their first meeting of the year. The Club began by welcoming three new members: Megan Rajecki and Bryce & Drew Baxter. We are excited to have these new 4-H'ers in our Club! The rest of the meet-ing consisted of electing officers and going over fundraiser options. The next meeting was held February 23 at Uncle Charlie's Pizza Pub, right before the Dairy Bowl. We held our meeting there to enjoy a good meal and have a chance for some fun time. While there we went over Hoards Dairymen and Dairy Judging. Afterwards we all met at the Edinboro Boro building for the Dairy Bowl of Ice Cream, which was fun and tasty. The Club met again on March 30 at the Edinboro Lanes. The members had a great day of bowling and followed their fun with a quick meeting. Members were reminded to have their project animals picked and signed up soon. Everyone is excited for the upcoming show season. The meeting ended by welcoming a new member, Jake!

Please note the following change: To get your news in the Banner, send
your articles by the 20th of the month to jrf21@psu.edu.

Sincerely,

Shawn E. Graves
Urban 4-H/Youth Agent
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