4-H'ers honored at Achievement Night
Comet staff report

4-H presenters Those presenting highlights of their 4-H trips at the 4-H Achievement Night were: Front row, l-r - Lucia Zook, Grace Mears, Trey Overholser. Back row - Megan Francis, Derek Leahy, Kara Overholser, Carissa Hicks. Kara and Carissa received the county "I Dare You" awards, and Kara also received a Key Club Award. Photo provided

At the recent Carroll County Achievement Night, "I Dare You" awards were presented to Carissa Hicks and Kara Overholser.

The "I Dare You" award is presented to 4-H members in their junior year who have shown outstanding leadership. Recipients are selected by the Carroll County 4-H Awards Committee. They each receive the book, "I Dare You."

Jaqueline Combs, Brady Garrison, Kara Overholser and Darren Paul received the Key Club award. The award honors Junior Leaders who have been active in their local club and in various county activities. In addition to leadership activities, these 4-H'ers have also been active in presenting demonstrations and/or participating on judging teams.

Special recognition was given to mini 4-H'ers and first-year members. Mini 4- H'ers received a 4-H patch and first-year 4-H members received a 4-H pencil.

Achievement Awards

Selection of the 2007 Achievement Award winners was based on the following criteria: completing at least three years in their project area, showing improvement or maintaining a high level of accomplishment, participating in demonstrations or assisting with workshops. Those receiving achievement awards were:

Achievement - Chandler Keown; Aerospace - Nick Zink; Agriculture - Crops - Michelle Burke; Animal Posters - Ariel Randle; Beef - Kristina Barnard and Ariel Randle.

Bicycle Rodeo - Nick Zink; Bicycle Poster - Tami Veach; Cake Decorating - Carissa Hicks; Cat - Danielle Allen; Child Development - Nicole Spesard; Collections - Darren Paul; Computer - Malena Zook; Consumer Clothing - Kelsie Thornburg.

Crafts - Basic Crafts - Jennifer Maxwell; Baskets - Kelly Moffitt; Ceramics - Jennifer Hardyniec; Fine Arts - Susanna Haley; Legos - Joshua Welk; Models - Alex Conner; Needlework - Ashley Spraker; Wearable Arts - Maizie Wickersham.

Demonstration - Adam Bonner; Dogs - Ariel Randle; Electricity - Craig Arnett; Entomology - Kendall Baker; Fire Safety - Ashton Mitchell; Floriculture - Allie Combs.

Food Preservation - Brady Garrison; Foods - Spencer Conner, Danielle Kelley, and Kara Schwarzkopf; Forestry - Brooke Beale; Garden - Katelyn O'Farrell; Geology - Kayli Reef; Gift Wrap - Krysta Reef; Goat - Nichole Randle; Government - Caitlin Schock.

Health - Tami Veach; Home Environment - Kristen Myer; Horse & Pony - Brooke Beale and Kylie Wagoner; Leadership - Adam Bonner, Amber Caputo, Carissa Hicks, Seth Larimore, Hannah Mears, Lillian Newbury, Kara Overholser, and Darren Paul; Llama - Tara Skeleton; Microwave - Amber Spitznagle.

Personality - Jennifer Hardyniec; Photography - Kyra Edging, Hannah Mears and Ryan Spesard; Pocket Pets - Leann Cossairt; Poultry - Alex Grimes; and Rabbits - Braden Clawson and Tara Skelton.

Scrapbook - Amber Caputo and Danielle Kelley; Sewing - Fashion Revue - Hannah Mears; Sewing - Nonwearable - Malena Zook; Sewing - Wearable - Hannah Mears and Kelsie Thornburg; Sheep - Megan Ayres, Scott Guckien and Kelly Moffitt; Shooting Sports - Mason Clawson, Seth Larimore, Justin Moffitt and Brandon Wilson; Shooting Sports Poster - Tami Veach.

Soil & Water Conservation - Carissa Hicks; Sports Poster - Amber Caputo; Strawberry - Brittany Spitznagle; Swine - Brock Farrell, Amy Linn, Kelly Moffitt, Katelyn O'Farrell, Kara Overholser, Braden Rader, and Jarvis Simmons.

Tractor - Motorized 1/16th - Morgan Baxter; Tractor Poster - David Veach; Vet. Science - Amanda Payne; Weather - Kyle Bender; Wildlife - Amber Caputo; and Woodworking - Kyle Spraker.

Helping Hands

Eleven 4-H clubs received a Helping Hands Helping Hometowns certificate for their Citizenship/Community Service Projects. They were:

BURLINGTON WILDCATS: Planted flowers at the Community Building.

CARROLTON CLOVERS: Placed Veteran's Flags at two local cemeteries prior to Memorial Day. Collected miscellaneous items to be donated to Carroll County Homemakers Club.

CLAY BOOSTERS: Planted approximately 10 flats of flowers in various places around the Indiana Veterans Home for the residents to enjoy.

DEER CREEK DELPHINIUMS: The Deer Creek Delphiniums focused their service projects around Carroll Manor. They made two lap quilts that they donated for the use of the residents. They also collected seed packets, which they later used to plant the garden at Carroll Manor. They also enjoyed some entertaining evenings playing bingo with the residents. In addition to this, they maintained their two adopt-a-spots in Delphi. One is located in Canal Park and the other is at the old middle school gym.

JACKSON LIVEWIRES: Planted flowers for the Town of Camden and in the flowerbeds for the residents of the Senior Citizen complex in Camden.

JEFFERSON GO GETTERS: They went to Carroll Manor and played bingo with the residents there. They also bought prizes for the games out of their club treasury.

MADISON MAGNIFICENTS: Assisted with the set up of the arena for the Little Miss and Mister and Queen Contests. Members carried concrete blocks and boards for bleachers and helped set up chairs for parents and past queens. Once the work in the arena was finished, there was still work to do around the fairgrounds so some members helped hang fire extinguishers and replace light bulbs in the barns.

MONORE ACHIEVERS: Planted flowerbed and boxes at two Senior Citizens complexes.

ROCK CREEK RENEGADES: Collected canned goods for the food pantry. Club members planted flowers in pots for the Rockfield Community.

TIPPECANOE TRIUMPHS: Placed flags on veterans' graves for Memorial Day. Made valentines for residents of St. Elizabeth Healthcare Center and visited with residents.

YOUNG WRANGLERS: Raised $602 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital this year. They had a trail ride at Tippecanoe River State Park May 5. This provided a fun place to ride horses and raise money for a good cause. Top fundraiser this year was Brendon Shaneyfelt with a total of $200. He will receive a pin, Tshirt, backpack, sweatshirt and cap for his effort.

Summer 4-H trips

The program consisted of seven 4-H'ers highlighting their summer 4-H trips. They were: Carissa Hicks - 4-H Camp; Kara Overholser - Animal Science; Lucia Zook - Food Science; Derek Leahy - Plant Science; Trey Overholser - 4-H Round-Up: Grace Mears - State 4-H Chorus; and Megan Francis - State Fair Youth Leadership School. These 4-H'ers emphasized that the various trips provided opportunities for fun, to meet 4-H'ers from throughout the state, learn more about their projects, and learn more about leadership.