Dear 4-H Family

WOW – we are up and running with a busy month ahead ~ Pastry and Photography Workshops, Beef Weigh-In, Carnival, 4-H Horse & Pony Tack Auction, "Funshops", and MORE! We have loads of great programs planned that the entire family can enjoy this month, so don't miss out!

We'd like to welcome all of our new members and we hope that your 4-H experience is a great one! Let us know what we can do to help you get the most out of being a 4-H member. We want to help you "make the best better."

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Sincerely,

Cartha Gustafson

4-H Program Coordinator Clark County

4-H FEDERATION FOOTNOTES

Forty 4-H'ers and friends had a g-r-e-a-t trip to Paoli Peaks for a day of skiing on the slopes. The next Federation meeting will be held on Monday, February 27, 6:30 PM at the Extension Office. Make sure that you have the Carnival – February 11 and the Volunteer Banquet, March 10 on your calendar and be thinking ahead to job shadowing during spring break in April.

The February Federation meeting will be devoted to making plans for the upcoming Volunteer Banquet and other upcoming events. Don't miss the fun! Special thanks goes to our Federation members for being great help during the very busy past month!

Fun With Science - 4-H Funshop

Come visit the "wild side" of science at the next 4-H Funshop! Participants will ride on an electric bike, make a wind turbine, and LOTS MORE hands-on activities at the next Fun with Science Funshop! The cost will be $3.00 per participant and is open to all area youth 8 years and older. Snacks and games included. Funshops start at approximately 3:15 and last until 4:30. Please phone the Extension Office at 826-5422 to pre-register.

Casey – First Christian Church, Wed. Feb. 8 – Registration deadline, Feb.6.

Marshall – Extension Office, Thurs. Feb. 9 - Registration deadline, Feb. 7.

4-H CARNIVAL – DON'T MISS THE FUN!

It's the annual 4-H Carnival - an evening of fun for the whole family! It will be held Saturday, February 11, 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Roosevelt Middle School and Community Center in Casey. There will be games, prizes, a cakewalk, refreshments and more!

As a reminder, each club should select their prince and princess contestant (up to 6th grade) and a king and queen contestant (junior and senior high school). Each contestant needs to bring a decorated coffee can with their picture, club, name, and a hole in the lid for tickets. The candidate who receives the most carnival tickets will be crowned royalty. Each club is also asked to provide two or three decorated cakes and three-dozen cookies or brownies.

SKATING PARTY – MARCH 22

A 4-H skating party will be held on Thursday, March 22, 6:30-8:30 PM (IL time) at the Terre Haute Skate World. There will be a $2.00 fee for skate rental ($3.00 for speed skates and $4.00 for rollerblades). The party is open to all 4-H'ers and their families. Cloverbuds are welcome to come too!

4-H FOUNDATION CONDUCTS FUND DRIVE

Has your child received a scholarship to 4-H camp or conference, enjoyed the free publications they received or taken advantage of the 4-H workshops? If so, parents are encouraged to make a donation to the 4-H Foundation during their current fund drive.

The Foundation plays a very important role to the Extension budget and contributed over $30,000 to the Extension budget this year. This money is used for a variety of 4-H expenses including scholarships, publications, premiums and salaries. Any donations from 4-H parents would be welcome!

SUMMER 4-H CAMP

Time to register for 4-H Memorial Camp is here!! Clark County's week to camp is June 17-21 and Mini-Camp is set for July 1-3. Any youth, 4-H'er or non 4-H'er, 8 - 16 is welcome to attend camp. Mini-Camp, a shorter version of the week-long camp is held especially for youth 8 – 12 years old. It fills up very quickly – so register ASAP!

2012 4-H Fair Dates

MARK THE DATE - Dates for the 2012 4-H Fair have been finalized for July 21 – 25 at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. Mark these important dates on your calendar! Clark County Day at the State Fair will be Friday, August 10^th.

Livestock News

LIVESTOCK JUDGING TEAM –

The Clark County Livestock Judging Team under the leadership of Angie Vanatta has begun practicing for the 2012 contest season and invites YOU to join! This is a great way to learn more about livestock. Any 4-H'er 8 years old or older may participate. Please call Angie at 217-276-2216 or Cartha at the Extension Office if you are interested in joining the team or attending one of the below practices or contests!

Practices are being held at the home of Mark Stone, in Casey @ 6:30 PM.

Future practices & contests dates ~

Practices - February 7, 14, 28 @ Casey

February 25 -IL Beef Expo

March 3 - March 24 ~ LLC, Mattoon

June 18 ~ State Livestock Judging Contest, Champaign

IVY TECH COMM. COLLEGE LIVESTOCK JUDGING INVITATIONAL –

Ivy Tech Community College will be hosting a Livestock Judging Contest at the Vigo County Fairgrounds in Terre Haute, IN on Saturday, March 3. Check-in begins at 8:00 AM with the contest at 9:00 AM. Pre-registration is set for Wednesday, February 22 and the cost is $8 for pre-registrations and $12 per person for on-site registration. To pre-register, please contact Justin McKain at jmccain4@ivytech.edu or by calling 812-298-2313 or 812-243-2878.

SWINE & SHEEP WEIGH-IN –

Swine and Sheep I.D. Day will be held on Saturday, April 21. Members who will be showing market animals at the 2012 Clark County 4-H Fair will need to weigh-in their livestock that day.

QUALITY ASSURANCE & ETHICS NO LONGER MANDATORY...

4-H members are NOT required to complete the QA & Ethics certification this year in order to exhibit livestock at the IL State Fair. The below web site will still be open between February 1 and July 1 and we encourage you to go ahead and complete this certification. The web site is http://web.extension.illinois.edu/qaec/.

Reminder ~ the Clark Co. QA&E is STILL required to show at the Clark Co. 4-H Fair, it's a one-time training for 1^st and 2^nd year showmen held every other year. The county training will be offered in 2013.

Illinois BEEF Expo – The Illinois Beef Expo will be held February 23-26 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. Dates, times, breed sales as well as rules and regulations are on the IBX web site at www.illinoisbeefexpo.com. For more information, contact the Illinois Beef Association at (217) 787-4280.

LIVESTOCK SUPERINTENDENTS

Do you have any questions about your 4-H livestock projects? If you need additional information, feel free to contact our "expert" Livestock Superintendents or call Jessie or Cartha at the Extension Office at 826-5422.

Beef – Jeff Lewis - 826-5512; Charles Warfel - 932-5356

Dogs and Cats – Karen Hutchens - 826-6164

Goats – Brenda Gilbert - 967-5698

Horses – Bob Zellers - 932-5411; Karen Hutchens - 826-6164;

Karie Cook - 618-553-7580

Poultry – Scott & Mary Applegate - 932-6401

Sheep – Fred Morecraft - 826-8863; Angie Vanatta - 932-4409;

Linda VonBehren - 618-569-3853

Rabbits – Lori Rhoads - 889-2442; Erin Wycoff – 826-2106

Swine – Greg Strohm - 826-8856; John Goekler - 889-3339;

David Macke - 279-3629

Clark County Extension News

CAREER ADVANCEMENT WORKSHOP - The University of Illinois Extension and the Local Workforce Investment Area 23 are hosting a FREE Career Advancement Workshop on Thursday, February 23, from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Clark County Extension Office. Sessions will be held on Interviewing Skills, Resume Writing, and How to utilize Illinois WorkNet. The workshop is open to the public including recent and soon to be high school graduates. The FREE workshop is designed to assist the general public in how to look for jobs and effectively communicate their background and work experience, as well as enhance communication and presentation techniques in the interview setting. Please call the University of Illinois Extension at (217) 826-5422. A reservation is required to attend. Space is limited.

Horse Happenings

4-H HORSE & pONY TACK AUCTION – SATURDAY, february 18

The 9^th Annual Clark Co. 4-H Horse & Pony Tack Auction will be held on Sat. February 18 at the Clark County Extension Office. The doors will open at 3:00 PM with the auction beginning at 4:00 PM. 4-H'ers, don't forget to consign your used tack!

ALL-YOUTH HORSE JUDGING TRIALS – Eight Clark County 4-Hers will be participating in the All-Youth Horse Judging Trials to be held in conjunction with the Illinois Horse Fair held March 2-4. There will be Jr. and Sr. Division competitions. The contest will be held Saturday, March 3, registration at 7:45 AM, contest begins at 8:30 at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, in Springfield. The Clark County Horse committee has volunteered to pay the entry fee and hotel expenses of 4-H Horse Project members and the parents/volunteers attending this event.

HORSE BOWL & HIPPOLOGY – Clark County team members will be hitting the road for Mattoon on March 31^st for the East Central and West Central Regional Horse Bowl and Hippology Contest. Those that qualify will attend the State competition April 14-15 in Champaign. Members have been meeting each Monday since October to get ready for these competitions. Anyone still interested in joining may contact the Extension Office or Ruth. Good luck to those team members and Coach Ruth Stewart.

EQUINE CHALLENGE HORSE SHOW CANCELLED – Due to a slimming attendance and location change, it has been decided to discontinue the Equine Challenge Show at this time. We appreciate the learning experience this show has been for our horse youth and all the work of the volunteers these last several years.

OTHER UPCOMING HORSE EVENTS…

· March 8 – Horse Committee Meeting, 6:30 PM, M'ville Farm Bureau Office

· April 12-15 – Ohio Equine Affaire, Columbus, OH

· April 13-15 – Hoosier Horse Fair, Indy State Fairgrounds

· May 12 – St. Jude Benefit Trail Ride to Moonshine!

· June 2-3 - 2-Day Horse Camp, Martinsville Fairgrounds

Opportunities Beyond Clark County

4-H DAY WITH THE CARDINALS MAY 12^th -

All 4-H families have a special invitation to attend a game between the World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals and the Atlanta Braves at the 2012 4-H Day with the Cardinals on May 12^th. The game will begin at 6:15 pm and 4-H families should plan to arrive at Busch Stadium by 4:00 – 4:45 for the pre-game celebration.

Ticket information will be passed on as we receive it. Mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend!

THE GREAT DEBATE – ATTENTION HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Mark your calendar now! 4-H'ers from across Illinois are invited to come to the "Great 4-H Debate" to be held March 23 and 24 in Springfield to debate bills and learn about the legislative process. The program is for all high school age 4-H participants. During the two-day event, youth will experience the passage of bills while sitting in the chambers of the Illinois House of Representatives. Final details have not been received, but mark the date on your calendar and plan to attend.

ExplorACES OPEN HOUSE - U of I College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) will be hosting the ExplorACES on Friday and Saturday, March 9 and 10, 2012 on the U of I campus. The Open House will feature dozens of hands-on exhibits that are designed to show students the kinds of learning opportunities available at the College of ACES. Exhibits will be open from 9 am to 3 pm on Friday, and from 10 AM – 2 PM on Saturday. For more info, go to http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/ExplorACES.

4-H HOUSE COOPERATIVE SORORITY – If you are a female member of 4-H, interested in attending the U of I at Urbana-Champaign next year this might be the perfect home-away-from-home for you while attending college! 4-H House provides an economical, fun, relaxed living environment with other girls who, like you, have been active in 4-H related activities. If 4-H House sounds like it would be a great fit for you, contact Interviewing Chair, Hannah Henkel, at (217)344-4784 email at henkel1@illinois.edu . Be sure to check out 4-H House @ www.4hhouse.com!

C-C-E Happenings

DON'T MISS THESE UPCOMING WORKSHOPS. Sign up for one or both of these CCE 4-H Workshops!

4-H PHOTOGRAPHY/PHOTO EDITING WORKSHOP

Tuesday, February 28, 6:30 – 8:30 pm

Crawford County Extension Office

Ryan Pinkston, owner and photographer, of Hip-n-Humble will be presenting the youth workshop. Some of the topics to be covered are: camera settings, suggestions for taking pictures, and editing photographs. Participants are asked to bring their digital camera, photographs on a CD or flash drive and a laptop. Space is limited ~ contact the Crawford Co. Extension Office, at 618-546-1549, ASAP to register!

4-H ELECTRICITY WORKSHOP

Thursday, March 15, 6:30 PM

Edgar County Extension Office

This 4-H Electricity Workshop will be a great way to learn some basics of electricity while making a small circuit board and an Extension Cord. Registration will be limited and a small registration fee will be charged. Call the Edgar County office at 465-8585 for more info.

AG EXPO

Thursday, February 16, 8:45 AM

Richards Farm Restaurant, Casey

This fun and educational day will include speakers on the topic of cover crops, vendors, an excellent meal and the WILL Radio 580 Marketing Panel. The cost for the day is $6.00 per person. Registration begins at 8:45 AM. The speakers begin at 10:00 AM.

There are a LOT of upcoming opportunities in the CCE Unit! Check out our website or call your office for more information on these programs.

Cartha's Corner

♥ Is your club looking for a fundraising opportunity? The Clark Co. Farmer's Market would like to partner with you! Last year a Clark Co. 4-H Club set up a bake sale at the Farmer's Markets in Martinsville and were able to pay for members to attend 4-H camp from those proceeds. If your club is interested please let the Extension Office know and the Farmer's Market Committee will work with you to coordinate a date. It doesn't have to be a bake sale, other options may include Pork Burger drive thrus, car washes, etc. Be sure to visit with the Health Dept. if you will be preparing foods for sale on rules that may apply. Call the Extension Office for dates!

♥ The Jr. Leadership Retreat WAS A HUGE SUCCESS…! The first Clark, Crawford, Edgar County Jr. Leadership Retreat was AWESOME! Twenty six 4-H'ers from our three county unit attended the retreat which was held at the Holiday Inn, Terre Haute. The 4-H'ers learned their true "Colors", leadership skills and information about regional, state and national 4-H events from the state 4-H Youth Leadership Team. They also learned about some great food science experiments to conduct with their own clubs. The 4-H staff loved the opportunity to meet members from all three counties. Thanks for the great participation!

♥ DOG OBEDIENCE SCHOOL SET FOR MARCH – An organizational meeting for Dog Obedience will be held March 26 at 6:30 PM at the Clark Co. Extension Office. The schedule for the 10 weeks of training will be decided at the first meeting. Watch the March newsletter for more details!

♥ IL STATE FAIR EXHIBITORS - Watch March's newsletter for the ISF website for Livestock classes and entry information. ALL Jr. Livestock Exhibitors are responsible for sending their own Entry forms before the deadlines to the ISF.

♥ INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE ~ 4-H members - Are you interested in spending part of the summer in Japan, Australia, or Norway? You can find application forms and the info at http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state4h/members/international.cfm .

♥ FARM CREDIT SCHOLARSHIPS ~ FCS of Illinois is offering 25 $1,000 scholarships to current high school seniors planning to pursue an agricultural-related curriculum at any college this fall. Download scholarship applications and information at http://www.fcsillinois.com (Select "Scholarships 2012"). Application deadline is March 2.

2012 Fair Changes

STATE FAIR GENERAL PROJECTS UPATE

Clark, Crawford, and Edgar County 4-H'ers will exhibit their general projects at the Illinois State Fair on Friday, August 10^th. To be selected to exhibit at the State Fair, 4-H'ers must be 10 years of age by September 1, 2011 and be chosen as a State Fair delegate at the county fair.

The following projects will not have exhibit classes at the State Fair this year:

Service Learning

Be the E!

Clothing Decisions (Fashion Revue only)

Financial Champions & Consumer Savvy

Club Action Presentations

Extempore Speaking and Demonstration

Geospatial (My 4-H Project Map online only)

State Fair classes were added for the following projects:

Leadership Skills You Never Outgrow III

Exploring Your Environment 1 and 2

CLARK CO LIVESTOCK EXHIBIT CHANGES for 2012.

GOATS: 4-H'ers exhibiting goats will be required to pay a $10 fee at the time of weigh-in at the 4-H Fair for each pen used to house their goats. The pen fee will be returned to the 4-H'er at the conclusion of the fair if the goat superintendents determine that the pen has been appropriately cleaned by the end of clean-up on Thursday morning.

The Goat show will begin following the Sheep Show, but no earlier than 2:30 PM.

RABBITS: Combine the Other Commercial and Crossbred Breed Classes

HORSES: Reverse order of Showmanship and Horsemanship classes to - Sr, Interm, & Jr. Also move the English Pleasure to class 9.

POULTRY: Split clean leg and feather leg into separate classes if large enough class size.

Check out your county 4-H Handbook for exact exhibit requirements or call the Extension office for more information.

Clark County 4-H Attendance Policy

HEY, 4-H'ERS……REMEMBER OUR CLARK COUNTY 4-H ATTENDANCE POLICY!

· Youth that enroll in a 4-H Club must attend three club meetings, club tours or club activities before July 1 to be eligible to take part in the 4-H exhibitions at the Clark County 4-H Fair, receive 4-H premiums, 4-H Auction or other 4-H awards or recognitions.

· 4-H members enrolled in college must attend at least one club meeting, tours or club activity.