Goodness Grows Bike Winners

Congratulations to Caleb Evans (L) and Dustin Creed (R) who each won a brand new bicycle and helmet through the Goodness Grows in North Carolina Secret Word Scavenger Hunt. Our two winners were chosen at random by a mystery judge from almost 30 correct entries that were submitted during this year’s Alleghany County Fair. Thanks to everyone who participated and be sure to find the Goodness Grows table at next years fair for your chance to win.

This symbol identifies Goodness Grows In North Carolina products. Whether it is produce, meat, seafood, plants or packaged items, if the GGINC logo is on it, it represents North Carolina grown agriculture.

State Council Conference & Ambassador Retreat Reminder!!!

Just a reminder that the deadline for registration for State Council Coference and Ambassador Retreat is Wednesday - October 29 at 5 pm. Cost for either event is $75.00. Payment is due to the Extension Office by November 14th. Registration forms can be picked up at Extension Office or will be sent to you by calling 336-372-5597.

4-H Helping Hands November Meeting

The 4-H Helping Hands Club meeting has been moved to November 12th at 9:30 am at the Crouse House. The program will be on Scrapbooking and the sport will be Flag Football (weather permitting). For more information about the Helping Hands 4-H Club, contact Felcia Joyce at 276-579-3075 or the Extension Office at 336-372-5597.

What is Food Show?

Do you like to cook??? Come learn how to share your talents with local and district 4-Hers through Food Show. You will learn how to make healthy choices for ingredients as well as how to create an eye appealing presentation of your dish for judges. We will also be going through some sample questions that you may be asked along with looking at sample judging sheets.

Where: 2nd Floor Conference Room, 90 S. Main Street, Sparta
When: Friday, October 24, 2008
Time: 6 pm to 7 pm
Ages: 5-19

**Please RSVP by contacting the Coopertaive Extension Office at 336-372-5597.

4th Grade Farm Safety Day Success!

Farms are a great place for children to work and play but they can also be places where they can be seriously injured or killed. Homes in general hold many dangers to youth including but not limited to fire risks, ATV safety and what to do when a stranger contacts you online or on the phone. One way Alleghany Cooperative Extension along with Ashe Cooperative Extension is addressing the need to help youth learn about staying safe and healthy is by offering a 4th grade Rural and Community Safety Day. This year 124 Alleghany County fourth graders attended the event where they learned about farm animal, water, gun, environmental, household chemical, fire and ATV safety as well as the dangers of strangers and farm equipment. According to pre/post test results, youth showed an 11% improvement. Adult evaluations showed that teachers agreed this was a learning experience and appropriate for their age level.

Sidesaddle Demo and Social

When: November 15, 2008. Noon – 4 pm. Gate opens at 11:30 am.
Where: Rohan Arabians, 853 Brookhollow Rd., Efland,
NC. 27243 (2 miles off I-40/I85 at Exit 160. Follow Signs to the Event)

http://www.rohanarabians.com/
Cost: $10/person ($8/person/group of 5.) Please preregister groups. Children 12 and under and all ASA and SEA members:HALF PRICE.
Presentations:
• Introduction to the Sidesaddle: What Are Those Horns For Anyway?
• Does This Make Me Look Fat? Fitting the Sidesaddle to Rider and Horse
• The Elegant Sport: Riding Aside in Any Discipline

• How Safe Is It? : A Training Demonstration

English Tea and Social: Roundtable Q&A , Door Prizes, Tea, Finger
Foods and Social. (Cost included in entry fee)

Youth Video Contest

Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists

Are you interested in the future of the environment and biodiversity?
Do you have new ideas about how to address the challenges to biodiversity ranging from climate change to habitat and species loss to globalization?

Share your ideas and solutions with us through the video contest, Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists, hosted by the National Council for Science and the Environment.This video contest provides a forum for the next generation to share their actions, perspectives, and passion for biodiversity as part of the 9th National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World December 8-10, 2008. The conference aims to develop a new conservation strategy for the 21st century. Winners will have the opportunity to share their ideas and perspectives with these individuals and other youth participants.

We invite individuals and small groups (up to 5 people) between the ages of 12 and 19 to submit a short video (up to 5 minutes) focusing on the unique perspective, solutions, and passion the youth of today have in regards to the current and future challenges posed to biodiversity. The video can involve anything from neighborhood or field projects to skits to oral presentations to picture productions displaying how you and other youth are, will, or want to:

§ Encourage individual and collective action to address biodiversity challenges,
§ Use or develop new tools and strategies to protect biodiversity,
§ Be engaged in addressing the loss of biodiversity,
§ Bring knowledge and raise public awareness about the biodiversity challenge.

Rules: The video submission must be no longer than five minutes from start to finish, have significant relevance to the theme, and must comply with all terms and conditions. Participants must mail a CD or DVD to:

National Council for Science and the Environment,

1101 17th St. NW, Suite 250,

Washington D.C. 20036

They should include a high quality version (if possible) as well as a web streamable version (no greater than 1GB). Submissions must be postmarked by October 31, 2008. Technical specifics and other details can be found online in the terms and conditions.

The winning videos will be showcased at the Voices and Visions from the Next Generation of Conservationists reception and award ceremony at the conference on December 9, 2008, at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Winning videos will be projected on the main screens as well as individual laptop computers throughout the reception room. Winners will receive one complimentary registration to the conference, a pass to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and select winners will have their video displayed during the 2009 DC Environmental Film Festival. Honorable mentions will have their videos posted on the NCSE website as recognition of their achievement. For more information please visit the website at:

www.ncseonline.org/conference/biodiversity

Kid's Science Challenge

Can you make a skateboard that can climb stairs? Can you make ice cream that's cold but tastes hot? In the Kids' Science Challenge, we'll see ideas like these turned into realities. Each student who submits a winning entry gets to visit and collaborate with a scientist.

The Kids' Science Challenge is a nationwide competition designed to engage 3rd to 6th-graders in practicing science––and discovering how much fun it can be. Students will be able to submit experiments and problems to real scientists in very exciting, kid-friendly fields and then follow along as scientists and engineers attempt to do the experiments and solve these problems.

One Grand Prize will be awarded for each Scientific Field: Each winner shall receive the grand prize associated with his/her submission, in one of the following categories:
(i) Water Ecology: Research voyage on San Francisco’s Marine Science Institute vessel
(ii) SETI: Tour of the SETI Institute
(iii) Flavor: Tour of the Cadbury flavor research laboratory
(iv) Skateboarding: Skateboard factory tour and a demo by professional skateboarders for the winner’s school.

At kidsciencechallenge.com http://kidsciencechallenge.com, you'll find online games, fun videocasts and great prizes. Plus, any kid can track the progress of the competition. There are also curriculum-based activities for classrooms and after-school groups to follow along. With online activities and free hands-on science kits to the first thousand entries, kids can:
• test their local water supply
• decode a "message" from outer space
• find out if they or any of their friends are "super-tasters"
• try their hand (literally) at doing a fingerboard "Ollie," and learn about gravity and friction while they're at it!

For official rules and entry form click here.

National 4-H Week - October 5-11

4-H youth from across the nation will be “Keeping It Green” as they celebrate 2008 National 4-H Week October 5-11 by raising awareness about environmental issues and initiating environmental projects that make a positive difference in their communities. During the week, you can help spread the word by wearing a 4-H shirt, inviting a friend to a 4-H meeting or just by spreading the word about 4-H. 4-H is a community of 6 million young people across America learning leadership, citizenship and life skills. National 4-H Headquarters, which operates out of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is the federal partner of 4-H programs implemented by the Cooperative Extension System of the nation’s 106 land-grant colleges and universities and in local communities through 3,150 county Cooperative Extension offices. Learn more about the 4-H by visiting the local 4-H office at 90 S. Main St., Sparta, NC or by calling Amy Lucas at 336-372-5597.

Hugh Shelton Leadership Scholarship

This is one of the USA's most prestigious scholarships for student leaders. It is awarded to an entering college freshman, valued at $10,000 per year, renewable upon satisfactory academic progress and leadership involvement. High school seniors should complete the application and mail it so that it arrives in the General H. Hugh Shelton Leadership Center office no later than 5:00 p.m. November 1 of each year. By December 1 the Gen. Hugh Shelton Scholarship Selection Committee will notify semi-finalists of the need to apply to the university admissions office and to complete additional information. (Students may wish to apply earlier to N. C. State). The Gen. Hugh Shelton National Student Leadership Scholarship Selection Committee will notify finalists by February 1, to participate in a personal interview in mid-February.

The General Hugh Shelton Leadership Endowment provides:
$10,000 annual NC State tuition and fees, housing, etc.
Annual enrichment funds up to $2,000 for student leadership enrichment experiences.
Leadership Retreats
Leadership and Ethics Seminars
LeaderShape® Conference
Wilderness Leadership Experience
Study Abroad
Community/Global Service - Learning
Shelton National Leadership Forum
Leadership Internship with Corporation/Agency

For more information and complete rules and guidelines click here.

The Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards

This is a challenge for high school students (or the equivalent home school level) to design products using science and technology. The competition includes areas of competition in personal spaceflight, lunar exploration and renewable energy. To compete, teams develop their concept, submit a business plan, and become public Ambassadors for their ideas. Students get to compete for over $120,000 of prize money as well as the opportunities to connect with leading scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. The awards create a long term community for students and teachers that provides the resources and opportunities needed to develop and incubate commercial products. The competition is just the beginning of this journey. For more information on the Pete Conrad Spirit of Innovation Awards go to: http://www.conradaward.com/. For official rules click here.

4-H Paper Clover Promotion

National 4-H Council is thrilled to announce that 4-H has once again partnered with Southern States Cooperative retail stores to run the “4-H Paper Clover” campaign, an exciting fundraising promotion where consumers purchase a paper clover at the register for $1. From Sunday, October 5 to Sunday, October 19, Southern States Cooperative will be selling paper clovers to their customers for $1 at the register at select Southern States locations. Fifty cents from each $1 donation will go to the local 4-H program and the remainder will go to National 4-H Council.Southern States stores in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia will be participating. For a list of all the participating stores click here.

Help choose ice cream flavor for 4-H Centennial

It's official -- the Top 10 flavors in our North Carolina 4-H Centennial Ice Cream Cone Test have been selected! In partnership with the NC State Creamery, North Carolina 4-H wants your help in selecting the flavor that will be featured as 4-H celebrates its centennial in 2009.

The top three flavors will be made in small batches at the creamery for a final taste test, and the Grand Champion will be announced this spring, just in time for a North Carolina heat wave and all the 4-H Centennial birthday parties across the state.

To help us choose, please follow the link to the survey below and select the flavor that sounds like winner to you.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2J7JtyKpmtaKAIuPULwqXg_3d_3d

The survey will be open until Oct. 31, so pass this link along to your faculty, staff, youth, volunteer leaders, friends and family. The more votes we have, the closer we will be to finding a flavor everyone is sure to enjoy.

With more than 60 entries, this was a tough job for the selection committee. Sarah Kotzian and Sarah Ray would like to thank Gary Cartwright, Carl Hollifield and Randy Kotzian for all their hard work!

Congratulations to the counties who are in the Top 10. Though the ice cream flavors are not listed by county name, the Top 10 flavors suggestions were submitted by the following counties, in alphabetical order: Buncombe, Chowan, Gates, Henderson, Johnston, Lenoir, Madison, Orange, Tyrrell and Union. At the end of the voting, we'll reveal what counties submitted the winning flavors.

The Top 10 flavors are:* Centennial Pie A la Mode (Apple Cinnamon Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Bits and a Caramel Swirl)* 100 S'more Years (Chocolate Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Pieces and Marshmallow Cream Swirl)* Centenimint (Vanilla Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Pieces and Mint Swirl)* Clover Crunch (Chocolate Ice Cream with Caramel Crunch Pieces and a Butterscotch Swirl)* Centennial Clover de Mint (Vanilla Ice Cream with Oreo Cookie Crumbles and a Cream de Mint Swirl)* 4-H Cinnamontennial (Vanilla Ice Cream with Apples and a Cinnamon Swirl)* Centennial 4-H Mint Blast (Mint Chocolate Ice Cream with Oreo Chunks and Marshmallow Cream Swirl)* NC 4-H Centennial Sweet Tea (Tea Flavored Ice Cream with Mint Tea Cookies and Lemon Swirl)* 4-H Campfire Delight (Graham Cracker Flavored Ice Cream with Hershey Bar Chunks and Marshmallow Cream Swirl)* Mint 2 Be Green (Mint Ice Cream with Brownie Chunks and Fudge Swirl)

West Central District Leader’s Fall Day

The WCD Leaders Fall Day will be held Saturday, November 8 at the Iredell County Extension Center. Workshops include: Lead by Example, Explore the World of Letterboxing, 4-H Poultry Science Opportunities, Water Watch, Building your Blueprint: The Nuts and Bolts of DNA, 4-H Service Learning Opportunities and 4-H Centennial Opportunities. This event is open to all Alleghany County 4-H Volunteers and Parents! It’s a great opportunity for new ideas and to meet other volunteers and parents from the new West Central District.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the day concludes at 2:30 p.m. To register, call Amy Lucas at 336-372-5597 by Friday, October 31! Space is limited in the van so if you would like to carpool please let me know. If riding, we will meet at the Extension Office at 7:30 a.m.

NC 4-H Ambassador Retreat

The NC 4-H Ambassador Program strengthens and expands upon a 4-H’ers current leadership abilities so that they may serve as positive role models for younger youth. To participate in the program youth must be at least 13 years old and have been a member of 4-H for at least two years. 4-H’ers may earn Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald Ambassador levels by completing workshops and a portfolio for each level. A retreat will be held November 15-16 at the Raleigh Convention Center and the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. The cost for the weekend is $75, which includes 3 meals, lodging, workshop materials and transportation. If you are interested, call the Extension Office (336-372-5597). Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 29.

State Council Conference

State Council Conference (SCC) will be held November 15-16 at the Raleigh Convention Center and the Sheraton Raleigh Hotel. SCC is open to youth ages 13-18. Workshops will focus around the new state theme which is “We Are 4-H” and leadership. In addition to workshops, there will be a banquet and a dance on Saturday evening. This year, you will also be participating in a service project to help those 4-H families that were affected in Texas as a result of Hurricane Ike. The cost for the weekend is $75, which includes 3 meals, lodging, workshop materials and transportation. If you are interested, call the Extension Office. (336-372-5597). Registration deadline is Wednesday, October 29.