POWESHIEK POST. Brielle Lang. P.O. Box 70, Montezuma, Iowa LEARN MORE AT

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1 POWESHIEK POST POWESHIEK COUNTY EXTENSION Coming Up This Month Feb. 22 Ice Fishing Workshop Feb. 27 Pillowcase/Blanket Tying Community Service Feb. 28 Sign up for Bucket of Junk March 1 Poultry Workshop March 1 Photography Workshop March 8 Birdfeeder Workshop March 13 Jr. Master Gardeners Informational Meeting March 16 Rabbit Workshop March 23 Birds and Birdhouses March 27 Pillowcase/Blanket Tying Community Service Yes it is cold!!! But only 50 days till spring!!! In the meantime, we have plenty to keep you busy and get you started on your 4-H projects for this year. Workshops are scheduled for learning to develop pictures, building bird feeders and birdhouses, starting your garden, decorating a room, sewing pillowcases, raising your rabbit or learning more about your Horse!! Become a part of the Photography program, come to the Robotics classes or take a look at the new Environmental Workshop programs. AND -We are once again offering the Bucket of Junk Project!! Learn a new skill and support the Poweshiek County 4-H Foundation Get the dates on your calendar and watch for registration dates! March 29 State Horse Jamboree March 29 Room Decorating Wkshp Cathy Lents Tammy Sutfin Brielle Lang Renny Crawford Vickie Beyer P.O. Box 70, Montezuma, Iowa LEARN MORE AT Iowa State University Extension programs are available to all without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, or disability.

2 ANIMAL PROJECTS Horse Jamboree Dates Horse Jamboree dates are March 29-30, with registration for the various events due ONLINE by March 1 and payment to be received no later than March 17. Registration information can be found here: Poultry Workshop Marion County Mark your calendars for the 2014 Poultry Workshop. The workshop will be held on Saturday, March 1st from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This is going to be a more informative and hands on workshop compared to workshops that have been held in the past. Some of the activities will include: Poultry themed games How to prepare your animals for show Hatchery vs. Breeder birds Avenue of Breeds Common illnesses/parasites Mini Show - Each youth is allowed to bring one bird to be judged. Door Prizes If you intend to exhibit your bird at the mini show, you will be required to have your bird pollorum tested prior to entering the building. We will begin testing birds at 9:30 a.m. at no cost to exhibitors. Annual Rabbit and Cavy Workshop The Annual Central Iowa Rabbit and Cavy workshop will be on March 16 th at the Poweshiek County Fairgrounds from 12:30 to 4. More information in next month s newsletter. AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS 2014 Injury Prevention in Agricultural Youth Grant PURPOSE: to prevent farm-related injury to youth. Nine grants of $500 each are available for youth to conduct a farm safety and/or health educational programs, campaign, or social media event. One of Iowa s projects will be selected to attend and present at the 2014 Midwest Regional Agricultural Safety and Health meeting usually held in mid- November. Up to $500 will be available for travel and lodging at the regional meeting. A final report for the project will be due September 30, For more details call the Extension office. DEADLINE: March 3, (Iowa s Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (I-CASH), The University of Iowa). IFAA Incoming Freshman Scholarships College-bound Iowa youth active in 4-H and/or FFA livestock and agricultural projects may apply for scholarships available from the Iowa Foundation for Agricultural Advancement (IFAA). The scholarships are available to freshmen entering any Iowa two- or four-year post-secondary institution this fall. Applicants must major in animal science or a curriculum in agriculture or human sciences that is related to the agriculture industry. Please call the Extension office for more information. Due May 1, 2014.

3 EVENTS & ACTIVITIES 2014 Iowa 4-H Youth Conference: Ticket to Success Save the dates June 24-26, 2014 for a great three-day adventure. This year s theme is Ticket to Success. The state conference is open to any youth (not just 4-Hers) who has completed 8 th 12 th grade. More details as they become available. Shed Hunting Program Curt Cable, Poweshiek County Naturalist will be leading a free program at the Foster Center on March 1st from 9 a.m. till 11 a.m. that will focus on how to hunt for whitetail deer antler sheds. Learn why Whitetail deer lose their antlers and even practice hunting for a few sheds. Contact Curt at curtcable@poweshiekcounty.org for more information. Preregistration required County Fair Theme This year s fair theme will be Barnyard Mardi Gras- save your decorations from your Mardi Gras Party! Birdfeeder Workshop 3 rd grade Clover Kids and 4-H members and adults are invited to the Foster Center at Diamond Lake on March 8 th to build your own Bird Feeder. The workshop will run from 9 to 11. Please bring $10 to cover the cost of the material and if you are in 3 rd or 4 th grade, please bring an adult to help you. Class size is limited to 15, so call early to register. Please register by February 28 th. A snack will be provided. Pillowcase and Blanket Tying Community Service Last month several 4-H members participated in Ricochet: An extreme Leadership Program. As part of that program they are organizing two county wide community service projects. They are asking for volunteers to join them on Thursday, February 27th from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Poweshiek County Extension Office. for the first of these workshops. Participants will be tying blankets and sewing pillowcases to donate to local hospitals. Call by February 21st to the Extension Office if you plan to attend. PROJECTS Photography Workshop This month the photography workshop will be at Faulconer Gallery at Grinnell College on Saturday, March 1st. From 2 till 3:30 p.m. Our focus this month will be on developing and printing photos. Tilly Woodward will be showing us the process of printing and enlarging black and white photographs and then we will have the opportunity to develop our own pictures! Sign up by February 26th by calling the Extension Office. Decorate Your Room and/or The Roomless Room Workshop Join Jessica Long, from Village Decorating on Saturday March 29 th from 9a.m. to12p,m. at Village Decorating in Grinnell. Jessica will lead you through the basic steps of designing and decorating a room. You will get to create your own Design Box. You are welcome to use their samples or bring your own. This is a great opportunity to pull together all the elements of a room you may be considering designing. If you do not have a room to redecorate, make one up and come anyway to learn how the TV hosts pull together their designs. Pre-register by March 26 th by calling or ing the Extension Office. This can be a great exhibit for county fair!!

4 Environmental Workshops for 2014 Exciting News!!! - We are partnering with Poweshiek County Conservation Board in a series of Environmental Workshops offered throughout Join Curt Cable, Poweshiek County Naturalist, as we cover everything from Ice fishing to Dutch Oven cooking, bird watching to geocaching. Here is the tentative schedule for the year. Flyer will be up soon on the website! This is open to others beyond 4-H so let your friends know! All programs will be at the Foster Center and/or Diamond Lake. Pre-register with the Extension Office by the Wednesday prior to each workshop. Feb. 22nd, Sat. 1 3 p.m. Ice Fishing and Safety March 23 rd, Sun 1 3 p.m. Birds and Birdhouses April 26 th, Sat (Earth Week ) Recycling, Campground Clean-up May 10 th, Sat Orienteering and Mushroom Hunting June 28 th, Sat Water water bugs to watersheds! August 23 rd, Sat Fishing and Outdoor Cooking Sept. 20 th, Sat More Orienteering and Geocaching Oct. TBD Bats and Night Hike Halloween Nov. TBD Harvest Supper, Potluck (we are looking for old poles for the ice fishing workshop on February 22 nd. Please contact Renny at the Extension Office or by if you have an old one that you would like to donate) Bucket of Junk We will once again be offering the Bucket of Junk Project. Do you enjoy welding, or would like to learn how to weld? The Bucket of Junk Rules are listed below. If you are interested in participating, please call the Extension Office. We will take reservations for participation in the project starting on February 28 th. There are limited buckets available, so if you sign-up please be sure that you want to participate in the project. Rules: 1. Each team will be made up of one 4-H member and one adult. 2. If you are a youth that would like to participate but do not know of an adult who can help you, please contact the Extension Office and we will help find an adult who knows how to weld to help you. 3. Each team will get one bucket. Each bucket will have the same junk. 4. There are limited buckets available. The first members to contact the Extension Office will be given a bucket of junk. 5. The goal is to use the items in your bucket to create a sculpture or lawn art piece. 6. You will be asked to name your creation when you turn in the final exhibit. 7. You may clean, sand, weld, glue, cut, bolt, fasten, bend, shape, paint or finish the items that you are provided, but do not add pieces. 8. All entries must be completed by June 1 st. A photograph of your sculpture will need to be submitted electroni cally to the Extension Office. Sculptures will be exhibited throughout Poweshiek County until Fair. Teams will be responsible for transporting them to and from exhibit location and county fair. 9. All entries will be judged on the day of regular 4-H/FFA indoor judging on July 12th at the fairgrounds. 10. Entries will be judged on artistic merit, technical merit, and the member s exhibit write-up. 11. All exhibit rules apply to this project. 12. These projects will not be eligible to advance to the State Fair. 13. The finished products will be auctioned at the Poweshiek County Fair. Proceeds will go to Poweshiek County 4-H Foundation to support 4-Hers in Poweshiek County

5 Robotics A robotics class will be offered late February through Mid- March for 5th 8th graders. A total of six sessions will be held on Mondays, starting February 17 th March 10 th and Thursdays March 6 th and 13 th at the Montezuma elementary school immediately after school. Registration forms can be found on our website or by calling the Extension Office. Please pre-register by February 12 th. Class size is limited to 12, so register early. Cost of the class is $35 for 4-H members, $45 for non-4-h members. Robotics offers youth an opportunity to experience success in programming and engineering through interactive hands on, minds-on activities using the LEGO Mindstorm robots and software. Participants will build and program robots, complete fun challenges and gain an insight into the various careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and Robotics. (this is a beginner level program) 2014 Junior Master Gardeners Informational Meeting for this year s Junior Master Gardeners will be March 13 th at the Poweshiek County Fairgrounds at 6:30 p.m. We will then start meeting on Thursdays beginning March 27 th from 3:30 till 5 at the fairgrounds. The Junior Master Gardeners plan and grow a vegetable garden at the fairgrounds, maintain an herb and flower garden at the fairgrounds and another vegetable garden at the community gardens in Grinnell. They design, plan and maintain the gardens under the direction of Betsy Cranston. Produce will be able to be shown at the Poweshiek County Fair and the Iowa State Fair. Last year s exhibitors did awesome at the state fair, bringing home several first place ribbons in various classes. CLUB INFORMATION Focus on Seniors Clayton Scurr, member of the Mighty Golden Clovers 4-H Club for nine years,has served on the Core Development team for the Poweshiek County Land & Livestock Project 4-H Club. He has taken an active role in many community service projects his club participates in, and held various club offices. Clayton is on the Poweshiek County Council and attended the State 4-H Conference in 2013 as a delegate for the Animal Science Round-up. He has exhibited in several project areas at the Poweshiek County Fair and have been fortunate enough to have some of his projects advance to the State Fair level. Clayton, along with his brother and family, raise meat goats and has exhibited several at the County Fair and Iowa State Fair. A senior at Grinnell High School, he participates in basketball, soccer, football, FFA and has played percussion in band for 3 years. He is active in the Grinnell UM Youth Group.. After graduation Clayton plans to attend Iowa State University focusing on agriculture and animal sciences. Focus on Programs: Citizenship 4-H has four Program Priority Areas: STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math); Citizenship/Leadership; Communications and the Arts; and Healthy Living. This month we will focus on Citizenship. February is a month that may be the shortest of all 12 months with only 28 days but it has many things to celebrate: February 2, is Ground Hog Day ( we hope we don t have six more weeks of winter!) February 14, is Valentine s Day and February 22 is President s Day. As a good citizens see if you can find the answers to the questions below and share them at your next Club meeting. In what year did the United States establish President s Day? Who was the 16 th President of the United States and was born on Feb 12? Which President took the oath of office in 1789 and has a birthday in February What is the purpose of President s Day?