Tracie's Photos of the Wildcats 4-H Club

Barnyard Bandits, November/December, 2008 (Joseph, reporter)

We met in November at the Orr's Farm in Mills River and ate lunch. We toured their farm and checked out their watering system. We toured their barn set-up for lambing season too. We had 15 members present.

Our December meeting was held on December 20 at Bay Breeze Restaurant. We scheduled our meetings for the next 6 months and the topics for each meeting. Our January meeting will be the 24th where we will hear a presentation from a Buncombe County member about livestock. We enjoyed our time of fellowship together. We'll elect officers for the new year in January. We had 13 members present.

Mountain View, November (Dakota Fritz, reporter)

 At our last meeting, half of our members did club talks on whatever they wanted. This was our second month of this. We were going to do robotics but we had computer problems and couldn’t, so we decided to just do club talks in October and November. We have decided that we are going to go to Huntsville, Alabama next spring.

We collected 129 pounds of canned food for Manna Food Bank.

We also had a very good turn out of people for the Veteran’s Day ceremony.  Thank you to the Hawks for joining us.

Young Naturalists – November 2008

The Young Naturalists did their community service project in November. We raked leaves and pulled weeds for a lady on Stony Mountain Rd.

  Crab Creek – November 2008

  Crab Creek 4-H met on November 11, 2008 Veterans Day and had our 1st. official meeting.  We discussed officer positions that will be filled in January, and one of our members spoke on the origination of Veterans Day.  We then went to Crab Creek Cemetary and placed flags on veterans graves that did not have one.  We met on Saturday November 15th and baked cookies as a group, these were sent along with 20 homemade cards to our service men and women in Iraq by Anchor Baptist Church.

  Hawks 4-H Club November – December 2008  (Preston, Reporter)

 All the Hawks attended the Veterans Day Ceremony at the VA Hospital and hand delivered our homemade cards.  We provided supplies for Healthy Cooking Contest participants to make pilgrim hat tray favors for local nursing home residents.  Then we visited the residents of Spring Arbor.  We played BINGO and sang a few Thanksgiving Songs to them.  Our last meeting for the year will be on December 8th.  We will be having a Christmas party and a small awards ceremony; many will be receiving 2nd year pins for project records completed.

Barnyard Bandits – October 2008, Joseph Wesson, reporter
The Barnyard Bandits met for their October meeting at SAFF,
which is the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair, held each year at
 the WNC Ag Center.  There are sheep, goats, llamas, and rabbits,
as well as the many hand-crafted items you can make from these fibers. 
We brought our sheep on Friday and set up, cleaning our sheep and
feeding them.  Then the youth show was on Saturday, showing only
the ewes (females).  The open show was on Sunday, which means
adults show the animals as well as children.  The rams were shown
on Sunday too.  Now that the fairs are over for the season, all of
us will be having our flocks sheared.

Crab Creek – October 2008, Leslie McDowell, reporter
Crab Creek 4-H club observed molasses being made in October. 
We had 9 4-H age kids and other younger children present along
with 5 moms.  We had a great time observing this process.

Crab Creek – November 2008, Leslie McDowell, reporter
The Crab Creek 4-H Club participated in the Crab Creek
Community Club Fall Festival.  We had 4 club members helping
with a kid cake walk, and a beanbag throw game for children. 

Hawks - August, September and October 2008, Preston Baldwin, Reporter
We went to the King's house to participate in a creek reconstruction project
by the county's soil and water conservation dept, gathering critters from the
creek and running a water quality test.  The creek averaged excellent and
we even saw a muskrat! We participated in the Paws and Claws Day, had
an Ice Cream 'Back to Home School' party, next learned about healthy foods
and the food pyramid and we were invited to a Fall Tea Party, given by Emili. 
For Community Service, we made a bunch of Veteran's Day cards and we
collected over 40 coats for Miller's Laundry to clean and give to needy children. 
We would like to thank Ms. Sue Ruff, Ms. Gover's mom for helping us in
collecting many coats.

Wildcats – September, October 2008, Paige Wallace, reporter
In September, the Glass family did a wonderful presentation on
the Solar System with delicious cookies.  They also provided a
great fieldtrip to Ingles, where we got to see the behind the scenes
workings of a grocery store.  We learned how they decorate
cakes also.  Their cookies were good too. In October, the
Wildcats won 1st place on Scarecrow Row at Farm City Day
in the Youth Group Division.  We also had a successful booth
fundraiser with our sand art bracelets. This month the Capps
family will do a presentation on Rabbit Care.

Young Naturalists – October 2008, Paul Maybin, reporter
The upcoming events for our club include the Young Eagles
flight program at the WNC Air Museum. We are also going
to glean tomatoes at a farm in Mills River to help the Society
of St. Andrew.

Crab Creek – November 2008 (Leslie McDowell, reporter) The Crab Creek 4-H Club participated in the Crab Creek Community Club Fall Festival.  We had 4 club members helping with a kid cake walk, and a beanbag throw game for children. 

Crab Creek – October 2008 (Leslie McDowell, reporter)Crab Creek 4-H club observed molasses being made in October.  We had 9 4-H age kids and other younger children present along with 5 moms.  We had a great time observing this process.

Run-Abouts – August 2008 (Briana, Reporter)During this meeting, we made a poster for the pet education day.  We also made a basket full of snacks for the Elizabeth House. We also went over the judging and information for scarecrow row.

Run Abouts -  Club Report

Earlier this year, our club started shooting recurve bows.  We have also ben waking baskets full of candy snacks and treats for the Elizabeth House.  In May, we went to a therapeutic horse farm to learn about the therapy and to clean a horse stall.  We had 4 members compete at CAD and 2 went to district and state.  One member participated in the State Fashion Revue.

Hawks 4-H Club June 2008  (Preston, Reporter)
o      We had presentation practice at our June 9th meeting.

Preston’s poster titled, “The Dog Doctor” won 1st!

DISTRICT DAY
Brandon won a silver medal for his project record on Photography, Angelina won a silver for her project record on Horses and Sarah won gold for her project record on Dogs! 

Preston’s “Dog Doctor” career poster, ages 9-10 won at District!

District Presentations were Emili, won 1st and Sarah, won 2nd.  Angelina’s won 1st at district and 4th in the State!!!

Hawks 4-H Club July 2008  (Preston, Reporter)

Hawks 4-H Club - July 2008
CONGRATULATIONS to PRESTON!
His picture "My dog did my homework" won 1st place at state!
 

Mountain Lions 4-H Club -June (field trip):

On June 27, the Mountain Lions 4-H club took a field trip to the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education.  Our club split into two groups and hiked to the river with our guides.  We first learned about some of the wildlife that make their home in the river.  We also learned about the tools the researchers use to catch and study the fish and other critters.  After we learned some of the basics, we got right in the water and began looking for creatures that we would later identify.  My group found a rare “Hellbender” salamander and studied him for a few minutes.  Our guide had only ever seen one like it before! Furthermore, we got to classify what critters we’d found in the water using identification charts.  We all really had a great time discovering what lives in our mountains’ rivers. - Meredith

Mountain Lions 4-H Club - July 

July 9 was the date of our club meeting this month.  We all gave our presentations for one another in order to prepare for 4-H Congress.  Some of our younger and newer members also got to watch our presenters.  It was so exciting to see all of the different interests our club members have!  After presentations, we had a going-away party for our friend and fellow club member, Montana.  We put together a photo album filled with notes, cards, Bible verses, and pictures to give to her.  Several more of her friends came and joined us for food and fellowship. -  Meredith

The 4-H Young Naturalists held a BBQ and auction on June 7 to raise money for our senior shooting team. The senior team will be competing in the National target shooting meet in Nebraska on the week of June 23.  Reporter - Paul

Barnyard Bandits 4-H Club - June, 2008
We met this past Saturday at the Newell Farm. There were 13 people present. We had a tour of the Newell's operation, where they have cows and sheep along with their guard dogs. We then went to their home to enjoy a cook-out and covered dish meal. We learned more about how the Newells' have enlarged their farm and how they moved to Illinois, but returned to NC. We're glad they did! Thanks, Joseph--reporter.

Mountain View 4-H Club - May, 2008 

May has been a very busy month for Mountain View. We  ran kids voting in South Mills River and East Flat Rock on May 6. It was fun though we didn’t get too many kids.

On May 15 we did a service project at the mall. We helped venders for the health expo carry their stuff in and set up. This is always one of our favorite activities.

We had our last meeting on May 20. A man from the Henderson County Board of Elections came and spoke about elections and the computers they use for voting. We learned that each precinct needs at least 10% of the people to speak a foreign language for the precinct to have ballots in that language, the pros and cons to using the computer for voting, that there are 75,000 registered voters in Henderson County, that only 35% of the registered voters in Henderson County voted in the primary election (which is a record), that there are about 3.5 million registered voters in North Carolina, and much more. It was a very interesting meeting, especially when each of us got to actually vote on the voting machine just like we were 18 years old.

On May 21 we went to the County Commissioners meeting. They were discussing the county budget. It was very interesting to see them using parliamentary procedure just like we do at our meetings. To see the agenda for each meeting go to http://www.hendersoncountync.org/agendas/index.html

We had a field trip to the old courthouse on the 27th of May. It was very interesting. The display was about people in Henderson County who have fought in wars from the French and Indian War through the War on Terror. They had a lot of cool original uniforms and utensils used in the wars.

Mountain Lions 4-H Club - May, 2008

The Mountain Lion 4H Club met on May 14th for our regular monthly meeting. We invited two guest speakers in preparation for our field trip to the Mountain Horticulture Research Station. Mr. Harley Blackwell and Mr. Gary Green provided a bounty of information on the daily jobs of the employees at the research station. Each club member also planted herb seeds in small containers to grow at home. The following week, on May 21st, we took our field trip to the Research Station. We learned so much! We were able to see how the farmers graft apple trees, how different varieties of tomato plants are bred, and we saw the fish tanks where they are observing sturgeon development. 

Meghan, Reporter

Barnyard Bandits 4-H Club - May, 2008

This month our group met at 6:00pm for supper at Golden Corral. Each family discussed what was happening on their farms, including the number of lambs born on each farm as well as loss of sheep. We had a new member/guest –Landon Wilkins and his granddad Burnitt Babb. Following this we went to the Taylor’s Farm and had a tour of their operation. We discussed with them the fencing they use, hay feeders, lambing process, sheds, and how they protect against wild dogs and coyotes. We then left to go to Piggy’s for ice cream, but they were closed!  Joseph, Reporter

Barnyard Bandits 4-H Club - March 

On Saturday, March 15, 2008, our group went to the Autumn Care Nursing Home in Saluda, N.C. We were there to help the residents fill Easter eggs. We filled 800 eggs with the help of the residents. The eggs were filled with assorted candy. The kindergarten classes from an area elementary school were coming to find eggs with the residents the following week.  Joseph, Reporter

Barnyard Bandits 4-H Club - April

We met on April 5, 2008 at the Tankersly Farm in Transylvania County. We had a hamburger dinner and tour of the farming operations. Children helped milk goats and visit the set-up of the pastures. We looked at the many craft items that are made using wool and other materials. There were nine members and their families present. Our next meeting is planned for the Newell Farm.   Daniel - Reporter

Young Naturalists 4-H Club

The 4-H Young Naturalists went to the home of Mr. Alan Mizera in May.He is part of a group that goes in and searches for native plants on future development sites.  The Young Naturalists scored well in the state W.H.E.P (Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program) competition.  The senior team placed first. The two junior teams placed second and third.Our senior shooting team will travel to Nebraska in June to represent North Carolina. Reporter, Paul

Hawks 4-H Club -  May 2008  (Preston, Reporter)

We performed our Drama Skits, “Doctor, Doctor” and ‘Ant’s Picnic’ at Spring Arbor May 5th and at the HCHA Talent Show on May 9th.  We all had 2 parts to the ‘Doctor, Doctor’ skit and Brandon, Preston, Sarah and Matthew performed together in the ‘Ant’s Picnic’ skit. 

We also performed ‘Doctor, Doctor’ at the 4-H Entertains.  We won a red award ribbon.

Emili King was in the Fashion Review.

Wildcats - April
The Wildcats have been busy.  In April, we studied dogs and the Iditarod.  A presentation was given by Austin and Ciara.   We also collected towels and food for the Animal Shelter.  We visited the Animal Shelter and learned how to approach dogs and how to handle them.  We visited with the animals and presented our donations. 

At our second meeting in April, we visited the Arboretum in Asheville and learned about bugs.  We had a nice hike and enjoyed the flowers in bloom.  We also collected items for our “Summer Fun” basket and completed the basket for the 4-H Basket Raffle.

Paige and Sierra participated in the 4-H photo contest for all three categories.  Paige  will be participating in the 2008 4-H Fashion Review in May.

Paige, Reporter

Mountain Lions - April

This month, our theme has been Animal Therapy.  On April 9, our club met at the Cooperative Extension Office in Jackson Park to learn about animal therapy.  Mrs. Jane Peck came in with her golden retriever, Scarlet, and talked to us about how dogs are used as a form of therapy for handicapped children, elderly people, and kids who have difficulty reading.  To wrap up our study on animal therapy, our club took a field trip to Casper’s Cove stables in Edneyville.  Ms. Angela Cairnes spoke with us about the programs they have using equine therapy for emotionally unstable children.  We then, as a club, helped repair a large riding ring on the property.
                                          -Meredith
                                          Mountain Lions Club Reporter

County Council - April

Hawks 4-H Club
During April we have been learning about Drama and plan to perform at the
4-H Entertains and HCHA Talent Show. We have a guest from North Henderson
High Drama Team helping us with this unit.

On April 14th we all went to the Animal Shelter and mulched the gardens.

Oh Don't forget--There are a few more opportunities to donate food for the
Bak Pak Bunch. 4/28 from 2-4 at the Extension Office; 5/8 from 1:30-3:30 at
Covenant Presbyterian Church; at the HCHA Talent Show at Covenant on May 9th
and 5/27 from 5-8pm at the Extension Office--THANKS!

Preston -Reporter

Mountain View 4-H Club - April
We had our last meeting on April 15. This was our last month of learning about photography. We were supposed to have someone come and teach, but she couldn’t make it there so we all critiqued each others photographs. We also learned how to do project records. I think that everyone in Mountain View has improved our photography skills enormously! Next month we will begin our unit on Citizenship.
Dakota

Young Naturalists 4-H Club - April

The 4-H Young Naturalists helped plant 100 trees at Alcan Packaging for their community service project.  We shot rifles and shotguns this month.  The 17th of
April was our last W.H.E.P practice before the state competition April 19th at Carolina Beach.  Paul, Reporter

Young Naturalists 4-H Club
The 4-H Young Naturalists were going to work at the Henderson County food bank for their community service project.  Unfortunately, the manager was not there, so we had to call it off.  We are starting back on target shooting,the new 4-H members have all done shooting training.  Almost all Young Naturalists are participating in Wildlife Habitat Evaluation Program, or WHEP.  We will go to the competition on April 19.   Paul, Reporter

Discovery Team 4-H Club  -March meeting
All the kids took pictures of things and showed them to the class. It was fun.  Then Mrs. Murtagh hid pictures around the hallway and we had to find them.   After that we had snack. We had yogurt with granola bits and fruit punch.   Written by Samuel

Hawks 4-H Club - February
All elected club positions filled: Angelina -President, Lauren -VP, Sarah -Secretary, Emili -Treasurer, Preston -Reporter

Discovery Team 4-H Club -  January, 2008 -We talked about our relatives and made a picture frame. I liked it a lot. We had snack and had a lot of fun.    written by Reagan

Mountain Lions 4-H Club

By Naomi, age 12

My 4-H club went to City Hall and the mayor, Greg Newman, gave us a tour. There are statues in the lobby and he said they had been there since he was a little boy. He went to City Hall with his parents to pay the bills because you couldn’t mail the bills, as you can do today. The statue has two of our presidents sitting on either side of a president on a horse. The statues are bigger than life-sized, and looked like bronze. Mr. Newman said he never got bored of looking at the statues.

We saw his office, the lady who works with traffic tickets, the city’s 9-1-1 call center, the City Council chambers, and pictures of Hendersonville in the past. They were installing new computers in the 911 Center because it’s important to have the best equipment to help with emergencies. In the Chambers, we saw a slide show on the renovation of City Hall. When we left, he gave us Hendersonville pins, and we gave him brownies.

Mr. Newman said his favorite thing about being mayor is talking to students and giving tours. The hardest thing was making big decisions that are controversial, because he knew whatever he decided was going to make a lot of people unhappy.

The same day we went to the Board of Elections. Mrs. Cunningham told us they were getting ready for voting to begin the next day. They were setting out their computers so people could come to their office and vote before the regular day on November 6th. This early voting is called one-stop voting. We used one of their computers to practice voting.

On this field trip I learned how to use a voting machine and some of the jobs of the mayor of a town. These are important things to know to be a good citizen of our country.

 Discovery Team – (September meeting - Samuel , Reporter)

We talked about ourselves and met new kids.  Then we showed our posters to introduce ourselves.  After our posters, we had a delicious snack.  Then we played on the playground and went home.
 

Mountain Lions – (September meeting – Jessica, Reporter)

The meeting was called to order by Sarah.  We talked about old business and then new business.  We talked about what we were going to do at Farm City Day.  We decided to offer face painting, to have a bake sale, and to have a display of butterflies to illustrate migration.  Then we colored butterflies to send to Mexico.  This was a very informative meeting.  I would like to welcome our new members.

Mountain View – (September meetings – Michael, Reporter)

September 11 – Mountain View took a field trip to Buncombe County’s microbiological sewage treatment facility, Metropolitan Sewage District.  We first went to the Systems Control Room and were taught about all the systems in the plant.  Next we went to the RBC’s, Rotating Bacteria Containing Tanks.  Each RBC is about 15 feet x 10 feet containing thousands of pounds of waste containing bacteria.  The waste water is pumped through the RBC’s and then to the clarifier which allows the sludge to settle and be scraped out.  The sludge is then piped to the incinerator.  The water is chlorinated, micro-screened, and piped to the river.  After the tour of the plant, we visited the chemistry lab on site.

September 18 – On September 19, we had our second chemistry meeting taught by Mike Williams.  He taught us about atoms and their structure.  As an interactive activity, we made a “human” atom of Boron.  Next we went outside for some explosive chemistry.  It was very exciting!