November/December 2010
Klamath Clover Co-Op
Klamath County 4-H Department
Your 4-H Newsletter Has Arrived!!
4-H Staff
Jed Smith
Misty Buckley
[email protected]
[email protected]
Agents and Office Staff
Willie Riggs
Karen Hottman
Patty Case
Brian Charlton
Claudia Tosh
Chanda Engel
Stacey Bennett
Kristy Weidman
OSU Klamath Basin Research & Extension Center
3328 Vandenberg Rd., Klamath Falls, OR 97603
phone: (541) 883-7131 ● fax: (541) 883-4582
Website: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/kbrec/
Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, Family and Community Health, 4-H Youth, Forestry
& Natural Resources, and Extension Sea Grant programs. Oregon State University, United
States Department of Agriculture, and Klamath County cooperating. The Extension Service
offers its programs and materials equally to all people.
Jed’s Journal
Here we are already at the end of yet another fall. The school year and
4-H year are off to a good start and it is time for the holidays. Winter
has hit us quickly in the Basin, making Thanksgiving weather seem
more like Christmas weather.
A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of seeing several of our beef
members at a workshop - what a great group of young people and
adults supporting them all. In the coming months there will be a
couple of similar classes/workshops for the other market animal
species as well.
There are a couple of things that have come to mind lately and I will
share them here. I invite leaders, members, parents, and other
interested parties to feel free to provide your opinions as well. The
first thing that came to my mind just the other day was the idea of
youth representation on a larger scale within the county program. My
idea finally came down to this: what if we had a county 4-H
“ambassador” for each project area and these young people help the
youth representatives on the Executive Council in being the youth
voice for the county. All of these youth would have a direct, hands-on
way of interacting with the management and direction of the program.
Please have the members discuss this during the next club meetings
you have and leaders also consider this at your next division meeting.
We all are involved with 4-H to provide youth with greater opportunity
to achieve great things; let’s be proactive and provide more
opportunity for youth to be our equal partners.
May you each have a happy Thanksgiving,
and remember all we have to be thankful for.
If you are traveling, I wish you a safe journey.
JED
“The larger the system the more powerful
it’s smallest player.”
- Prof. J. Keith
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
Have you found us on Facebook yet? If not, we invite you to check it
out! Facebook won’t replace our other communications but it is a fun
way to keep in touch with those who like this social network.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Klamath-County-4-HOregon/132746166772672
If you are a Facebook user, enjoy this new
way we are reaching out to our 4-H
community!
Notes from Jed:
Record Book Committee
It is time to rebuild the record book committee as
a steering body. As in the past, we will need
representation from each area of focus, so I ask
the leaders to be thinking of who within your
project area may be helpful to the group. This will, of course, be a
steering committee to aid faculty in improving the system.
Constructive criticism and feedback is always a valuable tool in any
organization; while negative, non-productive forms of criticism are
never helpful and only create animosity and angst.
Record books and the lessons learned from critically looking at a
project provide very valuable life skills for youth, additionally it may be
used as sort of a lesson plan for the leaders as well. The items
contained within the record set are all seeds for lessons to be learned.
So this will be an agenda item at the next all-leaders meeting. Each
division will need to appoint someone to be on the committee by the
end of business the night of the 17th of January 2011.
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
Fresh Christmas Wreaths for Sale
The Creative Kids 4-H Club is making and selling fresh Christmas
wreaths as a fundraiser to send 5 of their members to Washington DC
this summer to participate in Citizenship Washington Focus.
Your generous support will help send our delegation of five 4-H
members to Washington DC next June. Through hands-on educational
workshops and sightseeing tours in the living classroom of
Washington, D.C., we will learn about the history of our nation, the
leaders who have shaped it, and how we can apply the leadership and
citizenship skills we learn during Citizenship
Washington Focus when we return home.
If you are interested in purchasing a wreath
please contact Laurie Edmonds at 541-892-7717.
Please leave a message with a contact number
and a member will call you back. We will take
orders thru December 5th.
Thank you,
The Creative Kids
E-Mail
Do you get the e-mail update messages from the
Extension office? These messages are sent with
time-sensitive information that needs to go out
between newsletters. If you are not getting these
messages and you would like to, send an e-mail to
[email protected] and ask to be
added to the e-mail list! Members & parents can have multiple e-mail
addresses associated with your name to help keep you informed.
As an enrolled member or volunteer you can expect bi-monthly
newsletters in the mail and frequent e-mails from us. If you aren’t
receiving this correspondence from us, please let us know so we can
make sure your enrollment is accurate.
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
TRAILBLAZER NIGHT
Check out Portland Trailblazer night, Friday, March 25,
2011, against the San Antonio Spurs. This is the 4th year
this event has been available and it’s a lot of fun. We hope
to see many of you there!
http://oregon.4h.oregonstate.edu/portland-trailblazers-4h-night
Twenty 4-H'ers will again have the opportunity to greet the Blazers as
they enter the court. If you are interested in this opportunity please
contact Sara Miller in the State 4-H office at
[email protected].
Attention 4-H Leaders
When you completed the enrollment packet, included was a position
description. We all know that not everybody reads every part of every
thing we sign, so here are some highlights we want to bring your
attention to. Leaders must:

Attend a minimum of 50% of Divisional and All-Leaders meetings

Submit a minimum of a biannual financial statement of club
funds/assets to the county Extension office

Read 4-H newsletters and literature from the county Extension
office and keep members, parents and other volunteers informed
and up to date

Participate in two or more volunteer development opportunities
each year

Inform members and parents of project evaluation requirements
and dates

Inform members and parents of deadlines pertinent to the program
and make certain they are met
Please contact Jed Smith if you have any questions about these policies.
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National 4-H Congress
Atlanta, Georgia
Accept the Challenge, and be the best person
that you can be! The National 4-H Congress
experience provides a great opportunity for
4-H members from the across the country to
come together and learn about community involvement, culture
diversity, and service to others while meeting new friends. Held each
Thanksgiving weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, over 1,300 4-H members
from all 50 states and Puerto Rico attend Congress. At Congress,
delegates hear inspirational speakers, participate in cultural
workshops, a large-scale community service project, and other fun
activities. Oregon Congress trip winners typically demonstrate a
considerable breadth and depth of 4-H experience.
If this piques your interest, and you would like to be in Atlanta this
time next year, please contact Jed Smith for further information how to
start planning for this amazing adventure!
BRRRRRRR...
As our winter temperatures begin to dip and have
suddenly became very frigid, those with animals
(livestock as well as small animals, pets & birds!) need
to be sure you are providing proper care for the
animals to help them through this time.
Water is an important but not-so-obvious concern;
drinking too-cold water not only lowers the animal’s
body temperature but increases the caloric level
needed for maintenance. For further information you can refer to this
great article on winter livestock care at
http://smallfarms.oregonstate.edu/sfn/winter08winterlivestock+ and
realize the information is also applicable to our other critters as well.
If you have any questions about how best to care for your animals,
large or small, through the winter please give us a call!
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
2010 SPOOKTACULAR HORSE SHOW
This 4-H sponsored open horse show takes place annually, as close to
Halloween as we can get it. The 4-H Horse Leaders
do lot of fun and gaming classes as well as some
railwork classes. The money raised at this show
goes to the Michael Howard Scholarship Fund and
we then award scholarships to outstanding
individuals in the 4-H Horse Program. Mark your
calendars: next year’s Spooktacular will be on
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 29th, 2011.
A special thank-you this year goes to Leslie and Kris Allen from
Amazing Saddles for putting all the candy together for the prizes!
2011 High Desert Leadership Retreat
Eagle Crest Resort, Redmond, Oregon
Friday, January 14 - Monday, January 17, 2011
The High Desert Leadership Retreat is a Positive Youth Development
Program developed by the Central Oregon 4-H programs in Crook,
Deschutes, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake and Wheeler counties and the 4-H
program of Warm Springs. This annual youth conference is held over
the Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend. During the four days, youth from
throughout Central Oregon gather at the Eagle Crest Resort to
challenge their minds and bodies by engaging in skill building and asset
development.
The cost is $150 IF registered by December 17, 2010 and scholarships
are available. The scholarship deadline is December 17, 2010.
Contact Jed Smith today to get involved!
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
Klamath Clover Co-Op Newsletter
The Clover focuses on events, trainings, general information and deadlines. We mail one copy to each enrolled household of everyone involved in Klamath County 4-H. It is important to share the newsletter
with others in your home.
We encourage clubs and individuals to submit photos and articles. All
information must be received in the 4-H Office by the 2nd Wednesday of
odd-numbered months and may be submitted to:
[email protected].
4-H Youth Recognition Night
2010
Klamath County 4-H Youth Recognition Night was held October 28,
2010. There were so many people there that we had to set up more
tables and chairs! That’s awesome!
State Fair exhibitors were recognized, as well as County Fair Herdsmanship and Round Robin showmanship winners. 4-H scholarships were
announced, certificates were presented for market beef and lamb
Carcass of Merit, and County Medals were awarded. This dessert
banquet is a great opportunity for younger youth to learn about the
opportunities that await them as they progress through the program.
Congratulations to five lucky returning 4-H members who won a free
enrollment sponsored by the OSU Klamath Basin Research & Extension
Center. This was our way of saying ‘thank you’ to everyone who took
the time to attend the awards ceremony.
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Klamath Clover Co-Op
It is once again time to wrap up the old year and
prepare for the new 4-H year. A parent can also be
a 4-H leader, this is not new. But many parents do
not take advantage of this opportunity, or don’t feel
comfortable with the role, or for whatever reason
they just choose not to. However, as we make a
fresh start we would like to remind
everybody
that this can take some of the burden off of the
main club leaders and help keep more parents in the loop if they want
to complete the process of becoming a 4-H volunteer. The cost to enroll as a leader is still only $1 ($2 for horse leaders) which covers the
accident insurance premium. How the clubs choose to incorporate
additional leaders will still be left up to the individual dynamics of each
club; so really nothing will change except that more people will be
given the chance to get more information from our office. Please discuss this with the parents in your club and let them know this is a way
for them to be more involved.
We have scheduled a new leader’s training on Wednesday, December
15 at 5:30 p.m. at the Extension Office Conference Room. We would
like to encourage all interested parties to attend this training and help
get the new year off to a positive start! Pre-registration is not
required, however we would appreciate it so we can prepare the
needed materials. Please call 883-7131 or e-mail
[email protected] to sign up!
Meetings
Does your club need a place to hold their business meetings? Contact
us to inquire about reserving the auditorium or conference room. It’s
easy and is available at no cost for 4-H clubs.
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