HEADLINES:
4-H Club News Born to Show
Bruce Baessler’s 34th Year In Conservation
Claverack Elects Three To Board
State Approves Harford Fair Improvement Grant
Megan Karhnak Attends Penn State Beef Camp
PNB Wins Literacy’s Scrabble Tournament
4-Hers In County Speak Out Night
Class Of 07-08 Library Story Hour Graduates

4-H Club News Born to Show

The Born to Show 4-H club held their last meeting July 20 at Bonavita’s farm. The meeting was called to order by President Abbey Puzo. Reminders were discussed by leader Steve VanKuren about sponsors, health charts, show papers and important dates. The club voted on a theme to decorate at their 4-H Round-up. Each member signed up to bring an item or two to help decorate. After the meeting was adjourned the club had a cookout and enjoyed the pool.

The club has been very busy this year, attending various activities held in our county. In early May, a few members took part in a Diabetes Walk. The club gave a donation to the organization. Some members also helped in the Holstein Club Sale in May with taking care of the animals. Our fundraiser this year was a success; each member sold hoagies to their family and friends. The club assembled the hoagies with the help of the Bonavita family. Another activity the club took part in was painting the cow barn over at the Harford Fairgrounds. Nearly every club member attended the two-day 4-H Dairy Camp held at the Harford Fairgrounds.

The next meeting will be held at the County Dairy Round-up on August 1. The club will have a picnic that evening and everyone is asked to bring something to pass.

News Reporter: Abbey Puzo

North Jackson Ag

The North Jackson Ag 4-H Club met on July 8 and began with pledges led by John Valentine and Evan Cook. Keep an eye out in all of your newsletters for all of the upcoming events. Demonstrations at that meeting were done by Shawn Carey, Samantha Valentine, John Valentine, Eddie Gorick, and Dustin Gorick. The next meeting was held on the 21st at Pavelski’s.

At the next meeting on July 21 at Pavelski's members began with pledges led by Kacie Gorick and Chelsea Saam. The treasurer's report was read and approved. A big Thank You to all of those who helped paint the dairy barn. July 26 was horse round-up day. Entries have to be in the fair on August first for the livestock kids. Don't forget about getting your buyers. Any volunteers for farmer for-a-day would be greatly appreciated. Next meeting is at Walkers on August 7 at 7:00 p.m. August 2 is the food sale. People need to start showing up around 6 a.m., however they will be there all day. The meeting came to a close with demonstrations by Kacie Gorick, Chelsea Saam, Kaitlyn Flor, and Rick Klim. The meeting was then adjourned.

News Reporter: Troy Carey

Sizzlin’ Steaks

The Sizzlin Steaks 4-H Club met on July 21. Christina Zick began the meeting by having members say the American Flag and 4-H pledges.

The secretary’s minutes were read with no additions or corrections.

Members discussed the Adopt a Tree projects. Some 4-Hers were almost finished with their tree project.

For a group activity, we thought about playing miniature golf at Creek Bend outside of Montrose. We will discuss this activity at a further date.

We had some very good demonstrations.

Evan Clarkson did a demonstration on caring for rabbits.

Abbie Stalter did a demonstration on taking care of horses.

Rebecca Gardner’s demonstration was on wildflowers. She passed around some excellent wildflower pictures that she had taken.

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Bruce Baessler’s 34th Year In Conservation

Bruce Baessler is the District Conservationist for the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Office in Susquehanna County. Mr. Baessler has worked as a Soil Conservationist and a District Conservationist for the federal government for 34 years, with an additional three years as a Soil Scientist for the state of Ohio. Mr. Baessler’s soil conservation work has taken him to the Pennsylvania  counties of Westmoreland, Bradford, Tioga, Luzerne, Northumberland, Dauphin, Schuylkill, Lackawanna, Wayne, and Susquehanna. He has also worked in Iran and Ecuador.

District Conservationist Bruce Baessler inspects part of an 800’ water catching diversion on the Allen Scott farm in Franklin Township.

In the 50+ years of the NRCS having a field office in Susquehanna County Mr. Baessler is only the fifth District Conservationist to lead the local office. He follows well known District Conservationists, J. Heilman Schooley, P. Harvey Pinkerton, C. Wayne Ray, and Robert Hotchkiss. Mr. Baessler has been the District Conservationist in Susquehanna County since 2004. When asked what he most enjoys about his work with the NRCS Bruce stated, “Listening to farmers talk of their lives, and seeing the pride they have in their farms.”

Bruce and his wife, Eileen, who is a Montrose Area High School teacher, reside near South Montrose. They have one daughter, Elizabeth who is attending Brandeis University.

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Claverack Elects Three To Board

Claverack Rural Electric Cooperative members voted in one new director and re-elected two incumbents at the utility’s 2008 annual meeting, held Saturday, July 19.

Although there were no contested director election races at either cooperative this year, Claverack did seat a new director, Dr. Robert Faux of Tunkhannock. Faux assumed the Zone 2 post that had been held by Albert J. Wyda of Harvey’s Lake for 24 years. Wyda resigned from the post in April.

Incumbents Kevin B. Barrett of Towanda and James W. Zick of Kingsley were re-elected to serve Zones 1 and 3, respectively.

Claverack seats three of its nine board positions annually. Directors are elected to three-year terms.

Approximately 2,500 people turned out for the meeting to hear election results and business reports from the cooperative’s management team and directors.

During a reorganizational meeting immediately following the annual meeting, Thomas J. Elliott of Towanda was re-elected chairman; Steven T. Sliwinski of Troy won re-election as vice chairman; Michael Coleman of Montrose was re-elected board secretary/treasurer, and Kevin Barrett was elected to his first term as vice secretary/treasurer.

Claverack is a non-profit organization, owned by its consumer-members. A democratic organization by nature, the cooperative conducts an annual meeting each July to update consumer-members on the progress made during the year.

Annual meetings also provide consumer-members with the opportunity to offer input and voice concerns before the board of directors and management staff.

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State Approves Harford Fair Improvement Grant

Many Pennsylvania county and community fairs will be able to improve and expand facilities with a state investment of more than $620,000, Governor Edward G. Rendell said.

Under the capital improvement matching grant program, fairs receive funding for maintenance and improvement projects. Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff chairs the Fair Advisory Board, which approves the grants – part of the larger, $3.9 million Pennsylvania Fair Fund.

The fund helps the state’s 117 county and community fairs with annual operating costs, and offers financial support to youth organizations with agricultural missions.

The board has approved 62 project applications for funding in the 2008-09 fiscal year, including the Harford Fair, which will receive $3,200 to improve the main parking lot.

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Megan Karhnak Attends Penn State Beef Camp
Submitted By Michelle Kowalewski, Dairy Ag/Enterprise Educator

Megan Karhnak of Springville recently participated in the 2008 Penn State Beef Cow Camp held June 22- 26 at Penn State University. Megan is a tenth grader at Mountain View High School, and is the daughter of James and Marcia Karhnak. This marks her seventh year as a 4-H member in Susquehanna County’s Elk Mountain Community 4-H Club and Wyoming County’s Endless Mountains 4-H Club.

Megan Karhnak is pictured with her Shorthorn Market Steer that she'll be showing this summer at the Harford Fair.

During the five-day beef camp, Megan and the other 30 youth participants had the opportunity to learn a lot about the beef animal from reproduction system, nutrition, body condition scoring, to showmanship and fitting. According to Megan, “The camp was an awesome experience; I learned everything about beef animals, both inside and outside the show ring.”

The participants also had the opportunity to enjoy some Penn State traditions while at the camp; they toured Beaver Stadium and went to a State College Spikes baseball game.

This summer Megan will be showing a market steer, market lambs, and market hogs at the Harford Fair for her Susquehanna County 4-H projects, and market goats at the Wyoming County Fair for her Wyoming County projects. Megan also plans to exhibit a market steer at the 2009 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

For more information about the Susquehanna County 4-H program, contact Penn State Cooperative Extension in Susquehanna County at 278-1158.

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PNB Wins Literacy’s Scrabble Tournament

The team from Peoples National Bank out-spelled all other contestants in the recent Susquehanna County Literacy Program’s Scrabble Tournament. Pictured (l-r) are: seated – Nina Lake, Michelle Lake; standing – Sam Lyon, Elaine Lyon. Tournaments were held at both Montrose Area High School and Blue Ridge High School. Team members stated that placement of tiles and knowledge of two-letter words were key to their success. Plans are already underway for a Scrabble Tournament in the fall in the Susquehanna area. All proceeds benefit the Susquehanna County Literacy Program in providing life skills, education, and life long learning to residents of Susquehanna County.

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4-Hers In County Speak Out Night

On July 24, three members of the Oasis 4-H Club participated in the county-wide Speak-Out night, held at Emerson Apartments in Hallstead. 4-H members were invited to prepare a speech, demonstration, or presentation on their 4-H project, and deliver it to the residents of Emerson Apartments. The participating members were Danay Holbrook, Sydney Decker, and Stacy Pearson. Each girl presented a 4 ½ minute to 7 ½ minute presentation on various topics.

Pictured (l-r) are Speak-Out Night presenters Stacy Pearson, Sydney Decker, and Danay Holbrook. They spoke on Japanese culture, rabbits, and the meaning of pictures.

Sydney began the evening with a PowerPoint presentation on her rabbit, Luna. She spoke about caring for a rabbit and being a responsible rabbit owner. The next presenter was Danay Holbrook, who gave a presentation on some of the photographs she had taken, and what they meant to her. The evening was wrapped up with an informative speech from Stacy Pearson on several aspects of the Japanese Culture.

The presentations were evaluated on the quality of the introduction, the content, the conclusion, and the delivery of the speech. Judges for the evening were Mrs. Bonny Onyon, local 4-H Club organizational leader and Mrs. Michelle Kowalewski, the Dairy/Ag Educator in the Penn State Extension Office. The placings for the evening were as follows: third place – Danay Holbrook, second place – Sydney Decker, and first place – Stacy Pearson.

Oasis is a county 4-H program that focuses on getting members interested in the various projects, and is run in cooperation with Susquehanna County Trehab. The members were assisted by Mrs. Traci Decker and Ms. Lee Maston.

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Class Of 07-08 Library Story Hour Graduates

The Pre-School Story Hour Program at the Susquehanna County Library in Montrose held graduation ceremonies on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 3 and 4. Children received diplomas certifying attendance during the '07-'08 school year, enjoyed refreshments, and sang along with singer/guitarist Corky Staats.

Pictured (l-r) at the Tuesday Story Hour Graduation on June 3 are: Jason Farley, Cassidy Beeman, Mrs. Amy Johnson, Elijah LaRue, Payton LaRue, Titus Rose, Ian McGranaghan, Holden Frystak, Breana LaRue, Mrs. Karen Braker-Reed, Declan Giannone, Allison Griffis.

Pictured (l-r) at the Wednesday Story Hour Graduation on June 4 are: Krista Jones, Zachery Carrier, Kassie Wilber, Margo McVaugh, Mrs. Karen Braker-Reed, Azurae Hall, Ashley Torres, Elizabeth Chidester, Anthony Torres, Tangi Smith, Mrs. Amy Johnson, Angelo Scarfalloto, Riley Weida.

Story Hour at the Montrose Branch of the Susquehanna County Historical Society & Free Library Association runs each year from September through May. For an hour each week, 3 1/2 to 5 year olds listen to a story, watch a movie, play games, and make a craft to take home. There are two sessions, Tuesdays or Wednesdays. Special programs during the year celebrate holidays and occasions like National Library Week. "Story Hour is often a child's first introduction to group activities," said Amy Johnson, Story Hour Director. "It's wonderful to see how much they change and grow over the year. We all have a lot of fun."

This past spring, special visitors came to Story Hour; Dr. David Rechlicz – dental health; Ryan Tator and Shawn Frampton – Montrose Minute Men Emergency Medical Services; Doug Lotten, Ben Hinds, and Ryan Tator – United Fire Company. Katherine Ayers, author of “Up, Down, and Around” also visited the Tuesday class.

Registration for the '08-'09 Story Hour program, which runs during the school year, will begin on August 11 at the Library.

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