HOG HEAVEN
Fri, 2017-01-13 05:00
News Staff
Local youth competing at county fair
By BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
The annual Coryell County Youth Fair started this week and opened to the public with the Home Economics items on display Wednesday night at the Gatesville Civic Center.
Students had to bring in their Home Economics projects, which could range from baked goods to canned items to textiles to photography or paintings all the way to furniture, by 10 a.m. Wednesday so judges could begin judging at noon. The Home Economics selection of projects were open to the public for viewing after 5:30 p.m. at the fair’s Country Store, where people could purchase baked good items that had been judged.
The annual Coryell County Youth Fair, held the second week of January, provides an opportunity for Future Farmers of America students and 4-H students to bring their project, either Home Economics or Animals or both, to be judged and then possibly go to sell at auction, according to one of the fair board director Gretchen McWhorter.
McWhorter, who is also on the Copperas Cove Buyer’s Club, has a daughter, Abby, who is in the Copperas Cove FFA and is showing two pigs, Wine Cup and Primrose, this week.
Abby’s two pigs include the granddaughter, Wine Cup, of the first pig she ever showed, Rosie. Both of her pigs were weighed in Wednesday evening and made Market.
Copperas Cove has three different student groups competing- the Copperas Cove FFA, the Copperas Cove 4-H Club and the Five Hills 4-H Club. The Copperas Cove FFA is
Several Copperas Cove students placed in the Home Economics department, such as Gage McAnally, a member of the Five Hills 4-H, who won Reserve Grand Champion in Home Accessories for a framed glass and resin piece made using old glass lids. Mikayla Wilson, also in Five Hills 4-H and showing five goats and a rabbit this week, won first place for a refinished buffet and second place for a fireplace mantle adorned with turquoise made from an old saddle rack. Caden Secrest, another Five Hills 4-H student, who goes to House Creek Elementary, won Reserve Grand Champion for a repurposed corner shelf made from an old wooden door and will be showing his two rabbits, Bentley, a French Lop; and Root Beer, a Holland Lop this week.
Five Hills 4-H is only in its second year this year, according to Heather Valdez, group leader. They started last year and have grown exponentially and have nearly 30 if not more kids competing at the Fair this year, she said. Valdez said the group was started to cater more towards public school students, especially ones who live inside city limits. The group does more than raise animals, she said. They also do lots of community service, such as helping with the Howl-o-ween Dog Walk in October and most recently committing to making Valentines cards for the Valentines for Veterans project by Little Mister Rabbit Fest Raidyn Atkinson.
Neva Sjule, 15, competed as a member of the Copperas Cove FFA. This year, she is showing rabbits, two Holland Lops, a French Lop and a Netherland Dwarf. She also entered five projects for Baked Goods: Kentucky butter bundt cake; California raisin maple pie; a blueberry banana bread; coconut chocolate cookie bars; and maple ginger fudge. She hadn’t checked to see if any of them had placed yet Wednesday evening.
Sjule said that FFA was probably one of her favorite programs at school. She has been involved in FFA since the 4th grade, she said.
“It actually teaches a lot of other good things, too, like outside of SAE which is this, the supervised agricultural experience, you have CDEs and LDEs, which are career development events and leadership development events which can help you develop skills for not only agriculture but like business skills, communication skills, and everything, really,” Sjule said.
Judging commenced for cattle, Angora goats, breeding sheep, market lambs and rabbits on Thursday. Today, judging commences for poultry, commercial and market goats, and breeding and market swine. On Saturday evening, the buyer’s auc-
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