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A-h-h the sights, sounds and smells of the Blue Hill Fair have come and gone but the memories linger on as we look forward to another year of 4-H. Challenge yourself to have something at the fair in 2009.

Justin in homemade go-cart

Brianna on Condesa

4-H Program Aide Norma Hardison’s pick of the Exhibit Hall was when Justin, Mix n’ Match, rolled into the hall under the power of his homemade go-cart. There was no mistake that this project was designed and put together by the young man himself. It was very creative and matches his “engineering mind.” Justin estimated he put in 80 hours on this project.

Horses and riders show their beauty and grace at the Horse Show. Brianna, Horse & Rider, follow the command of the judge on the back of Condesa.

Katherine working the food booth

Victoria winning the Razor Crosman Award

What’s a fair without food? This is Katherine, Jolly Juniors, handing out one of those super delicious hamburgers that everyone was raving about this year.

A happy Victoria, Mix n’ Match, runs back to help mom handle the goats after the announcement during the livestock parade that she had been chosen for the Razor Crosman Award. Left to right: Watching with great pleasure was Rob Eaton, president of the Fair Association, and Fair Directors Jimmy Leper and Mylon Staples. Congratulations, Victoria. It takes a lot of hard work. Work that you have no idea if it is being noticed or not. But win or lose all participants know in their hearts how much they have done.

Oct. 8	7:00 pm - Leaders’ Meeting - Hancock Ext. Office
Oct. 11	Pumpkin Daze at Simon’s Hancock Farm in Hancock
Oct. 13	Columbus Day - Extension Office Closed
Oct. 17	Cloverfest at Orland Consolidated School
Oct 23-26	2008 Northeast Regional Volunteer Forum
Oct 31	Entries due for Energy Contest - See 4-H News
Nov. 1	Maine 4-H Volunteer Forum - See State News
Nov. 12	Leaders’ Banquet
Dec. 31	Enrollments are due in the Extension Office - no exceptions

ime to Catch Up - Norma Hardison, 4-H Program Aide, will be making her yearly calls to 4-H leaders throughout the last of October and through November. She will be checking in to see how things are going, any questions, and anything she can help you with. She looks forward to catching up on the 4-H news with you and learning more about what helps you as a leader.

CLUB CHAT - With the start of the new 4-H year, Norma is preparing for her club visits. When she does these visits, she loves to see what the 4-Hers are doing or planning to do. It give her a chance to get to know the members a little better and see some of their accomplishments. She also gets to see creative ideas and the enthusiasm of the club leaders. She’ll come with her camera and be ready to feature you in the Club Chat section of the newsletter. Have something special going on that Norma can’t get to? Feel free to write up a short summary (or better yet, have one of the youth do it!) of your club’s activity and email a picture to the office so we can let everyone know about the great work that is happening in your club!

Special Thanks ~ You Are Awesome! To all our volunteers: enrolled 4-H volunteers, parents, youth, judges and people who just plain wanted to “help out a good cause”, THANK YOU for all you did to help make 4-H participation at the 2008 Blue Hill Fair a success! From the Exhibit Hall to the Food Booth, the Steer Raffle project to the livestock barns, the animal shows to the “helping out a fellow 4-Her” in need, we couldn’t do it without you. The hours not only during the event, but the time dedicated to preparation for the fair and the time to close down and clean up are many. Thank you so much for all that you did at the fair to make the best better!

Because You’re Special
(Author Unknown)

We sometimes take for granted
In the rush of all we do.
And forget to say a special thanks
To volunteers like you!
So we send this note to tell you
How much all you do means.
Your gifts of time and of yourself
Are special ones indeed.

Pumpkin Daze - Mark your calendar! Pumpkin Daze will be held on Saturday, October 11th at Simon’s Farms from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. The pumpkin drop will be at 4:00 pm this year. Rain date will be October 18th. This is a fun day and your opportunity to help make others aware of the neat things you do in 4-H. Contact Sue Baez at 667-8212 to let them know how you will be participating or if you have any questions.

Cloverfest 2008 - will be held on Friday, October 17th at the Orland Consolidated School from 6:00 - 8:30 pm. Be sure to bring your family to help us celebrate all the wonderful accomplishments of the year. More information will be mailed out soon.

Re-Enrollment - If any leader or any independent member has not received their packet or if you have any questions, please contact the Extension Office as soon as possible. Leaders please be sure to complete ALL paperwork by December 31st.
There will be no exceptions.

A Second Chance - If you missed the photo contest entries at the Blue Hill Fair you can still see them. They are now being displayed at the Ellsworth Public Library. A special thank you to Brenda Jordan for handling this project.

Election Results for the Leaders’ Association - Elections were held at the last Leaders’ Meeting. Slate of officers:
President: Terry Swazey
Vice-President: Joey Wilbur
Treasurer: Barbara Hopkins
Secretary: Lisa Carney
Board: Wendy Hesketh, Brenda Jordan and Dwight Sargent
We’re all looking forward to an exciting new 4-H year!

List of 2008 Food Booth Volunteers - We’d like to thank all those who helped at this year’s Blue Hill Fair Food Booth. Workers from the following clubs were: Lock Stock & Barrel, Horse of Course, Independents Sherri Davis and crew, Union River Valley, Jolly Juniors, 4-H Wranglers, Mix n’ Match, Horse & Rider, Barn Critters, and Handy Hands. There were many helpers outside of 4-H which were: Edward Petravicz, Gloria Moores, Diane Voss, Vicki Adams, Eileen Adams, Kortney Coombs, Krystin Coombs, Ashley Lawry, Bea Jordan, Debbie Clement, Myrtle Pendleton, Ralph Remick, Peter Remick, Rita Bulter, Amanda Bulter, Don Clark, Sandra Nason, and Zelma Watson. A special thank you to the Jolly Juniors for taking extra shifts. Your help was truly appreciated.
And a very special thank you to Methel and Joey Wilbur and Barbara Hopkins for their many, many hours of work.

Beef Steer Ticket Winner - Congratulations are extended to Jean DesJardin from Eastbrook. She was the lucky winner. Jean opted to take the beef!

We have all heard it before, read it in magazines, saw pictures, might even know someone who knew someone. But allow me to tell you first hand; this was my decision, my choice, my life it changed. I have no use for drama and no time for exaggerations so as you read the rest of this account please bear in mind it contains only facts and actual events that happened to me personally.

I got a phone call telling me the cows were out. Systematically I headed for the barn deciding whether to use horse or 4 wheeler to chase the cattle. I choose to get my horse whom I'd had since he was 3 months old. I choose to ride him bareback and I choose to wear my helmet. Deciding to wear a helmet at that time was not a life saving decision, but to impress upon the young rider (who would have said something to me anyway) that helmets should be habit forming, the first thing you do after entering the barn.

I hate helmets, they are uncomfortable, tight, hot and often give me headaches ! But in the interest of my young assistant helping out and, admittedly, after she “reminded” me I had forgotten to put it on I reluctantly went back to the barn and grabbed the nearest one I could find.

We headed for the woods and was met by 12 Angus running straight for us. Needless to say our horses took off running and my baby boy (now 6) decided to execute a turn on the haunch, a few bucks and I think a jump; I can not be sure as this was about the same time I lost consciousness.

After an ambulance & life flight ride, a few cat scans, a day of vomiting and one heck of a headache that lasted for days I was able to look at the helmet that I had reluctantly placed on my head at the last minute.

The helmet's styrofoam has a crack (1/8 inch) all the way through from the base to the

center top with hairline cracks throughout the hat. It did not take an EMT, Doctor nor Nurse to tell me my hap-hazard decision saved my life; although all of them were quick to agree; the helmet saved my life as I know it now. We all agreed the helmet saved me from a vegetative state if not death itself.

The next time you find yourself heading to the barn, let the following questions run through your mind:

Remember the question is not about how the accident affects you, but the people around you. Is the decision not to wear a helmet worth the suffering others will have to bear ? It took the look in the eye's of my loved ones to realize the decision to a helmet is not about me, but about the ones around me.

If I'm "preaching to the choir"...GOOD.. keep wearing your helmets and let me be the

reminder! If talking to someone who believes in free choice, you are right! You have made a choice, now ask yourself if your exposed independent head is worth your loved ones potential suffering.

I still have a hard time realizing the weight & effects my split second decision made. Thank

Augusta, ME –- October is Energy Awareness Month and to kick it off, Maine Governor John Baldacci is calling on the State’s school children to be leaders in efforts to conserve energy.

The Governor’s Office of Energy Independence and Security and the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s Efficiency Maine program are sponsoring the sixth annual Energy Saving Tips Contest for students in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades.

Governor Baldacci is encouraging students to submit one or two tips on how to save energy in their homes or schools. He will present the winners with a solar-powered iPOD Shuffle at a special award ceremony in December.

“We want to inspire students to talk about saving energy in their homes and schools, and also learn how simple changes can help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” the Governor said.

“The earlier we get our students focused on these issues and what they can do, the better the outcome will be for Maine and the world. Their children and grandchildren will be living with the consequences of energy decisions made now,” the Governor added.

Winning suggestions in prior contests have ranged from “Don’t use lights when it is sunny because the sun will light the room,” from Josie Ford, a fifth grader at Bangor Christian School, to “Use sensor lights in schools to save money,” from Brian Allen, a 4^th grader from Hall-Dale Elementary School in Hallowell.

“Maine’s students are enthusiastic about energy efficiency; they get it,” said Sharon M. Reishus, Chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission. “This contest is a way to channel their creativity and help raise awareness among Mainers about simple steps to reduce energy consumption.”

To help students come up with ideas for the contest and to learn about the “energy hogs” found in most homes, they can visit http://www.energyhog.org/childrens.htm. Contest entries must be postmarked by Friday,October 31st to:

Joy Adamson, Efficiency Maine Educational Program Manager, Maine Public Utilities Commission, 18 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0018

Entries must include the student’s name, the school’s name, school address, teacher and grade level. There are two entry categories: 1) Tips For Saving Energy In Your Home; and, 2) Tips for Saving Energy at Your School.

Winners will be chosen on Friday, November 14th. The Governor will present the awards in December.

Efficiency Maine is a statewide program of the MPUC that promotes more efficient use of electricity, helping Maine businesses and residents reduce energy costs, and improving Maine’s environment.

For further information on the contest, contact Joy Adamson at (207) 287-8350 or at joy.adamson@maine.gov.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission is committed to ensuring that consumers have access to safe and reliable service for public utilities and that the rates for these utilities are just and reasonable. M PUC programs include Maine Enhanced 911 Service, Dig Safe, and Efficiency Maine.

1. VOLT Training Corner
On Saturday, October 11, 2008 a VOLT training will be held in Penobscot County from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. Please bring your lunch, completed application forms, and a $5.00 fee for the notebook and materials. No one will be turned away for lack of money. Location will be in Bangor at the Penobscot County Cooperative Extension office, 307 Maine Ave. Register ahead of time by calling 942-7396 and speaking with Stacy, Barb, or Theresa.

The 2008 Northeast Regional Volunteer Forum will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, New Hampshire from October 23-26, 2008. For more details, a promotional flyer is available on our website at:

http://extension.unh.edu/4H/4HVol/08NEVF.htm

3. Funding Opportunity for Ag Projects
The Farm Service Agency offers youth loans to finance modest, income-producing, agriculture-related, educational projects for members of 4-H, FFA, or similar organizations. The project must be related to the business of agriculture. Youth ages 10-20 who live in towns with a population of fewer than 50,000 people are eligible to apply. The maximum loan amount is $5,000 and terms can vary up to seven yrs. based on the type of operation. Funds may be used to pay expenses associated with the approved project. The current interest rate is 3.875%. Please visit http://www.fsa.usda.gov for more information and county office contacts or contact the Maine State Office at 990-9140 to locate an office near you.

4. Annie’s Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship
Annie's Homegrown Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship Program is open to full time undergraduate and graduate students studying sustainable/organic agriculture. Students who are beginning or returning to an accredited two or four year technical or college program or graduate school in the U.S. for the 2009/2010 school year are encouraged to apply. Applications must be postmarked by October 30th, 2008. Final decisions will be made by March 3, 2009, and funds will be dispersed on or around June 15, 2009. See the Application and Guidelines at www.annies.com/scholarshipapplication

The 4-H Equestrian Team participated at the Big E September 17 to 21. Maine sent 18 riders to this New England Regional competition, as well as two drivers. Four teen leaders also went to represent Maine.

Other horse teams will be traveling too. On October 19, these teams: Communications, Horse Judging, and Quiz Bowl will compete against other New England States at the regional competition in Burlington, Vermont.

Then these same teams will travel to the Eastern National 4-H Round Up in Louisville, Kentucky the weekend of November 7 to 9, 2008. Hooray for the Maine Equestrian Teams!

6. Register Now for the Maine 4-H Volunteer Forum and Animal Science Committee Meeting
4-H 2009: Your Best Year Yet! Saturday, November 1, 2008 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Maple Hill Farm in Hallowell (just outside of Augusta) All Maine 4-H volunteers are invited to come join the fun! The Maine 4-H Volunteer Forum will combine with the Fall Animal Science Committee meeting to offer sessions of interest to both animal science committee members and club volunteers involved in non-animal projects. Animal Science Committees will have plenty of time to meet while other participants engage in a variety of hands-on workshop sessions. A delicious lunch included and an Eco-Tour of the farm will be offered. For more information including an agenda for the day, workshop descriptions and directions to the conference center, go to http://www.umext.maine.edu/4h/vol/forum.htm. Registration is required. Call the State 4-H Office at 1-800-287-0274 or 207-581-3877 by Friday, Oct. 17^th to reserve your space today!

7. Horse Study Sessions
4-H Horse Members! Study sessions for horse knowledge.
Starting October 21, study sessions will begin for any interested 4-H horse club members. Study sessions will be done by video conference at various high schools throughout the state on the third Tuesdays of each month October through May from 6-8pm. The study sessions will be held at eight different high schools around the state: Hampden Academy, Lewiston HS, Sanford HS, Oxford Hills HS, Houlton HS, Nokomis HS in Newport, and Hall-Dale HS in Farmingdale. Find one close to you and come join us!
Who should attend? Anyone who would like to learn more about horses, or might be interested in the Eastern States Equestrian Team, the Communications Team, the Hippology Team, Horse Judging Team or the Horse Quiz Bowl Team. These will be interactive study sessions with other 4-Hers from all over the state!
Updates and cancellations will be on the website at http://www.umext.maine.edu/4h/resources/horse/study.htm or contact Kate Slattery at slatterk@sad44.org or 836-3217.

Come and join the fun at Hippology’s 9^th Annual Fun Show. What is Hippology? Hippology is the study of everything about horses. This horse show will be held at Pittston Fair Grounds on Saturday, October 4^th, to start at 9:00 am, with equine games to follow. This event is open to everyone of all ages and abilities.
All of the funds raised will go to the 2008 Maine 4-H State Equine Programs. For more information contact Cathy Thomas at hippology@verizon.net, or by phone at 582-1266.
The complete registration packet as well as more information is available on the 4-H Horse web page at: http://www.umext.maine.edu/4h/resources/horse.htm.

9. 4-H Fun Rodeo
Keep October 18^th open for the second annual 4-H Fun Rodeo to be held, this year, at Topsham Fair Grounds. More information will be available soon; keep watch for announcements. Contact Penny Ebberts by email at pebberts@gwi.net with any questions. Proceeds support the Maine 4-H Equestrian Teams.

10. Animal Science Committee Nominations
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Maine 4-H Animal Science Committee is Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008 in Hallowell. It is time for 4-H volunteers who wish to serve on those committees to be nominated or re-nominated for a three-year term. You can visit our website at http://www.umext.maine.edu/4h/manual/partb/b18.htm to learn more about serving in this position. You can find a nomination and re-nomination form at http://www.umext.maine.edu/4h/forms/ASCnominationform.pdf. Deadline to send nomination forms to State 4-H Office is October 15, 2008.
Membership to the Animal Science Committees is gained by a nomination and re-nomination process. Nominations can be made by an extension educator/professional, any member of the committee, and/or the nominee him/herself and occurs prior to the Fall ASC meeting. Nominations will be reviewed and voted on by each committee. Successful first-time nominees will be sent a welcome packet and an invitation to the Fall Animal Science Committee meeting. It is recommended that teenage 4-H volunteers be given seats on the Animal Sciences committees. Teen members will follow the same membership process as adults.
If you have any questions about the animal science committees or the nomination process, please contact Michaele Bailey at mbailey@umext.maine.edu or Donna Flint at dflint@umext.maine.edu.

11. Notice of Incidence of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Maine
A horse has recently died and tested positive for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) in Lebanon, in York County, Maine, according to a Maine CDC release on 9-19-2008. Because there is a risk of human transmission of EEE from infected mosquitoes to people in the area of EEE-positive animals, the Maine CDC is alerting health care providers to be aware of the symptoms. In humans, symptoms usually appear 4-10 days after the bite of an infected mosquito, and range from mild flu-like illness to sever central nervous symptoms, coma and death. People most at risk are: 1) residents of, and visitors to endemic areas, 2) People who engage in outdoor work and recreational activities, 3) People over age 50 and younger than age 15 seem to be at greatest risk of developing severe disease.
In horses, EEE and the clinically similar West Nile Virus (WNV) are both preventable by vaccination. Due to the high number of mosquitoes in many areas of Maine, vaccination of horses for these diseases is recommended.
The Maine.gov website has more information at http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/ddc/arbovirus/index.htm.
Source of notice: Anne Lichtenwalner DVM PhD, Assistant Professor, Director, Maine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Dept. of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, (207) 581-2789 E-mail: alicht@umext.maine.edu.

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm. The flag was saluted and the 4H pledge was recited.

   Members Present (11):
    President Terry Swazey, Vice President Joey Wilbur, Treasurer Barbara Hopkins, Secretary Lisa Carney, Norma Hardison, Methel Wilbur,
    Wendy Hesketh, Dwight Sargent, Gail Sargent, Lore Lipkvich, Carolee Tully and Jen Lobley.
   Secretary’s & Treasurer’s Reports:
The July Secretary’s Report was accepted as written. Please note that there was a timed agenda for the meeting. The Treasurer’s Report for

July was accepted as read; preliminary estimates suggest that the BHF Food Booth did about as well as last year.

   Club Reports:
   The Mix n’ Match goat club showed at the Blue Hill Fair; Joey noted that they were always willing to help out at the food booth whenever they
   were short handed. After a few weeks off they plan to organize a petting zoo at the Down East Health annual Cow Chip Bingo fundraiser. Member
   Destiny Hesketh received the high point trophy at her latest AQHA horse show.
   Horse of Course hosted the Blue Hill Fair 4-H Horse Show. There is some discussion of advertising earlier or making it an open show next year

due to low attendance. They will be signing up for the next 4-H year in the next few weeks.
Old Business:
Steer tickets- a total of $3229 was raised on steer tickets this year. The lucky winner was Jean Desjardin, who elected to take the beef. Dwight

   responded to a question about how profitable the steer is after costs by saying it is still quite profitable. There was a suggestion that we think
   about raising a pig instead (lower costs, faster maturation time, easier for youth with limited space to raise) but it was felt that more people
   prefer beef and the steer is very traditional. Jen will ask Rob Eaton about the feasibility of having a pig at the fair.
   Food Booth- went well. The new larger hamburgers were a hit, even if they took longer to cook. We still need more warm bodies to help out.
   Exhibit Hall- Methel stated that there were 198 exhibits, 50 more than the previous year. They were equally divided amongst age categories.
   Brenda told Terry that the judging was very good this year, with lots of thoughtful comments and no white ribbons.
   New Business:
Pumpkin Daze- will be October 11^th. Sue Baez would like to have entries come to her attention at the Extension office.
   Cloverfest- tentative date is Friday, October 17^th from 6-8pm. Possible venues include the Surry Elementary School, which Lisa will inquire about

, and St. Josephs in Ellsworth which Wendy will enquire about. An advantage of St. Josephs is the proximity to Angelo’s Pizza. Some ideas for

entertainment and enlightenment for all ages included a montage of videos and pictures, a history of the Razor Crossman Award given by Justin

Lipkvich, having stations set up to explain and profile programs such as portfolios, CWF, Eastern States, EDGE, Hippology, project records and

The State of Maine 4-H program is short the funding it needs to send all qualified applicants to National 4-H Congress and Conference; they

asked all of the Leaders Associations if we could help. We will have at least one youth attending (Amberosity Davis). A motion was made to give

them $1000; seconded and passed.
New officers for 2009- after the ballots were counted, we shall continue with Terry Swazey as President, Joey Wilbur as VP, Barbara Hopkins

as Treasurer, Lisa Carney as Secretary, and Brenda Jordan, Wendy Hesketh, and Dwight Sargent as Board of Directors.
Jen presented the results of the Leaders Meeting Survey and broke us into groups for brainstorming. The conclusion we came to was to keep

meetings on Wednesday nights from 7-8:30. We would like to hold regular meetings every other month starting in January. Alternate months

would be Board meetings. Workshop training would be proposed during the regular meetings, and a sign up deadline proposed. If there proved

   to be enough interest in a workshop it would be open to everyone and held during the Board meeting slot.
   Meeting adjourned 8:59
   Respectfully submitted, Lisa Carney, Secretary

Cooking With the Kids

Pizza Flavored Popcorn

· Step 1 - Get 1 Package low-fat (light) microwave popcorn, or even better, is the hot-air popcorn.
· Step 2 - Pop the popcorn.
· Step 3 - Place in a large bowl or clean food storage bag.
· Step 4 - Spray a few times with a fat-free “butter-flavored” spray.
· Step 5 - Add a few shakes of the following herbs:
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
Basil
Oregano
And Parmesan Cheese
· Step 6 - Mix well and Enjoy!

Maine 4-H Youth
Development Mission
To educate and empower Maine youth through hands-on and community-based experiences.

Maine 4-H Youth
Development Vision
Maine youth acquire the knowledge, life skills, leadership abilities and attitudes to help them succeed now and in the future through effective collaborations, hands-on experiential education and self-directed learning.

Member of the University of Maine System
Last Modified: 10/14/09
These pages are currently being maintained from the
Hancock County Office, University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Send comments, suggestions or inquiries to jfortier@umext.maine.edu