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Extension programs wide-reaching
MONTEREY - Virginia Cooperative Extension is dedicated to improving the lives of the citizens of Virginia by providing educational programs, youth programs, and science-based unbiased research. The local extension offices offer:
• Agricultural and natural resources information. Extension agent Rodney Leech has books and pamphlets on many subjects related to agriculture at his office in Monterey. They are usually general in nature and give enough information to point a person in the right direction. He also has more specific information at hand, such as the Pest Management Guide, which identifies appropriate pesticides to use to eradicate common pests. "If you have a problem, I can find out what chemical is recommended," he says.
• Family and consumer sciences information. Besides the annual pressure-cooker test the extension office provides, there are educational resources on diet, food handling, canning, childhood development, family communication, handling debt, and even information on life insurance.
• 4-H youth development. The youth program is perhaps the most visible aspect of the extension's offerings. 4-H is divided into a number of clubs, among them the Highland Explorers, the High Riders, the Livestock Club, Busy Bee Club, and K-9 club.
n Highland Explorers is a sixth-grade in-school club, which will continue to meet over the summer break. The club does camping and field trips, and is preparing for the county fair.
• The High Riders' annual horse show was June 23 at the Highland County Fairgrounds. It was open to all youth, not just 4-H members. High Riders also hosted a horse show qualifying clinic in April. They participate in trail rides, community service projects, and the state 4-H horse and pony show in Lexington (Sept. 20-23), says extension agent Christine Hodges. Some members qualify and compete at the Southern Regionals Horse Championships. The High Riders also help with the Maple Festival and taught a roping class at last year's 4-H Cloverbud Camp (youth ages 5-8).
• The Livestock Club and Busy Bee Club have been doing a lot of service projects recently, such as road cleanups. Busy Bees cleaned the grounds and did maintenance outside their meeting space in Doe Hill May 12. They planted flower boxes with the America's Anniversary Garden theme. A speaker also made a presentation to The Busy Bees on goat rearing. "We try to stay up with what the interests are," says Hodges.
n In Bath County, 4-H has a new horse club. Hodges hopes to form a Cloverbud Club in Millboro. Bath also has a senior forestry team.
• The Envirothon competition, sponsored by the 4- H, tests teenagers in the areas of soils, forestry, ecology, current events and water quality.
• Hodges worked with the owners of Ashwood School and Mike Wilke, president of the Highlands Chapter of the Archaeological Society of Virginia, to hold a workshop to teach 4-H club members how to uncover artifacts at the Ashwood School site.
• 4-H Forestry Team. Highland resident Paxton Grant, extension technician, works with the 4-H forestry team in Monterey. "We had students from the high school who had an interest in (forestry) and agriculture teacher Steve Heavner knew we had the means to help them," says Grant. The Highland forestry team has seven members and went to the district forestry judging competition June 2 at Virginia Tech.
• The K-9 club, under the supervision of extension office assistant Kathy Beverage, planted flowers in the shape of the 4-H logo on the grass next to the extension office recently. It also assists the Highland County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and is in charge of the dog show at the fair. At club meetings, members have made homemade dog biscuits and macramé dog leashes.
• A recent meeting of the K-9 Club illustrates how 4- H Club meetings operate. The K-9 Club met in the Highland County modular conference center May 17. At the beginning of the meeting, the club members stood and recited the 4-H pledge, "I pledge … my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service and my health to better living for my club, my community, my country, and my world." (4-H represents the heads, hearts, hands and health of its members.) Dr. June Cohron, a veterinarian from Stuart's Draft, gave a program on dog showmanship to the 13 club members in attendance.
• The list of programs the extension offers is extensive. The extension leadership council (there is one in Bath and one in Highland) helps focus the needs of the community through needs assessments every five years, says Leech. The council is made up of citizens from all walks of life in the community and meets twice a year. The extension is always looking for volunteers to be on the council. Call the Highland extension office at (540) 468-2225 or the Bath extension office at (540) 839-7261 for more information.
* More information is also available at the Virginia Cooperative Extension Web site: http://www.ext.vt.edu.
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