 April 2009Newsletter Editor: Associate Editor: Anna Potts Contents:
State 4-H Fair 2009 Patch Design Contestby Tom Gwin, State 4-H Fair Manager The State 4-H Fair Board is currently asking for designs for it's 2009 Patch Design Contest. Contest rules and judging criteria may be round on the State 4-H Fair website. Entries are accepted only from current 4-H members and are due by May 1. The winning design will be made into this year's commemorative fair patch and sold as a fair novelty. The creator of the winning design receives a basket of 4-H and fair novelties. For more information, call the State 4-H Fair Office at 253-445-4630 Know Your Government Jayme Hunt, Washington State 4-H Ambassador (center back) Photo taken at the KYG Legislative Breakfast. 
click on the image on the left to enlarge. For more info and to register, go to this web page. Meet the Staff
Each month we will highlight one of our WSU Extension staff to give you a better insight as to who we all are and what we do. With this information, we hope that you will be more familiar with Extension and what goes on behind the scenes to keep it all working smoothly. Sarah Martin
Sarah Martin has been the WSU IC Extension Beach Watchers Coordinator for almost a year and enjoys the dynamic educational environment of WSU Extension. At work, she most enjoys the diverse personalities in Beach Watchers and serving the different areas of Beach Watchers: education, stewardship and research. Her favorite activity in Beach Watchers so far has been night tidepooling. It's the next best thing to being in outer space! Sarah is a mom of two beautiful kiddos--Samantha Martin (10) and Luke Martin (7--but almost 8!). Together, they enjoy art, writing, swimming, running, gardening, playing together outside, and of course . . . long walks on the beach! They have two dogs, a very emotional black lab mix named Othello, and a miniature dachsund named Sparky. They go by other names, too: Black Dog and Brown Dog, Truffle Pig and Milk Dud, and most recently, Heathcliff and Pinneped. Instead of getting new dogs, the Martins rename them! Samantha would like very much to join 4H and looks forward to having chickens and more dogs, a horse, and a pig at some point. Luke just wants to grow up and play football! But Sarah didn't start out as a grown up mom with two kids! She started in Cleveland, Ohio, in a family of artists, went to West PoInt and served in the Army, worked in Provence, France at an art school, wrote environmental publications for a time, taught 6th through 12th grade art, English, economics and study skills, and worked as a deputy coroner. Whew! Besides living in Ohio, she has lived in New York, Virginia, Missouri, Hawaii, Alaska, Germany and France, and now Washington. Coupeville is the perfect blend of all those other places! And she is grateful to be here with WSU Extension. Sarah looks forward to meeting more 4H's as time goes on. Sarah EW Martin Gleaning Project
Good Cheer Food Bank has announced the 2009 Hello Good Cheer GardenersWater lines Is the spring weather finally here? Let’s hope so! We know the rains will pause one day, and our new plantings need water, so it’s great news that the water lines have been installed!
Soon the water will be hooked up to the main and we will set up the irrigation! Many thanks to the South Whidbey Lions, who trenched 500 ft. of line, laid the pipe, assembled the hose standpipes and put it all together! For more on this project click here. Planting We now have 10 beds planted with starts and seeds: lettuce, chard, kale, bok choi, spinach, carrots, radishes, peas, beets, and parsley.
For those small and hard to plant seeds like carrots and lettuce, seed tape is a great way to get proper spacing, reduce thinning, and make planting easier. Go to Garden Tips. Hoophouse
Master Gardener interns are making progress on the hoophouse! Next is preparing the soil, installing the end walls, putting up the plastic, and we’ll be growing tomatoes and basil! Fence
Soil Sifting 
Last but not least is our soil sifting project. Leon Shordon, Island County Juvenile Court, and his Alternatives to Detention crew did great work sifting two more beds on a (finally!) sunny day. We’ve been falling behind on getting the soil prepared due to the rainy weather, and all those grass clods in the unsifted beds are starting to sprout! Help Join us if you can at our weekly work party, every Wednesday, 9 am – 4 pm. Picnic at noon. Come anytime, for as long or short as you’d like. We appreciate your help! Wish list: 4-8 cinder blocks to raise the new worm bins off the ground. You can keep up with the latest news and information on our garden website. Thanks so much, and see you in the garden, Cary Peterson Coming Events
Holland Happening Parade - April 25, 11:00am, Oak Harbor Spring Show - May 16, Saturday, Island County Fairgrounds Beef 4-H Spring Show - May 16, Saturday, WSU Rodeo Grounds, Oak Harbor Alpaca 4-H Spring Show - May 23, Saturday, M-Bar-C Ranch, Freeland Memorial Day Parade - May 23, Coupeville Regularly Scheduled Meetings
Island County Fair Association Scholarship
Each year the Island County Fair Association awards a $500 scholarship to a graduating student which can be applied towards tuition costs to attend a community college, technical school, or 4 year university. The criteria in considering applications include completeness and neatness of application packet, and community service/involvement (especially Island County Fair involvement). For additional information, please contact the Island County Fair Office at (360) 221-4677 or Club Reports
Kool Kats
On March 29th members from the Kool Kats volunteered at the Whidbey Island Marathon as part of their community services. Julia Beumer, Emma Blanchette, Adi Gribble, and Irene Gribble of Coupeville along with Holly Fisher of Oak Harbor handed out water bottles, bagels, and fruit to the runners and walkers after they finished the race. The Kool Kats stayed until the very last marathoner crossed the finish line then help with the taking down and clean-up of the area. Adrianna Gribble Central Whidbey Cattlemen Committee Reports
Livestock Sale Committee The Livestock Sale Committee is sponsoring a pig raffle again this year. Tickets are on sale now, contact Jay Kidder or Vicki Lawson for tickets and we will put some in the office at the counter for sale as well. The funds go to support the livestock sale auction held at the fair and other costs in our committee budget. We are actively planning the auction and will plan to have a dress rehearsal of the auction to make sure it runs smoothly. We are planning still on a vaccination and judging workshop for the livestock project kids and others that are interested and will publicize the dates when they are determined. Dog Committee The new grass is starting to come up very nicely in the dog arena. We won't be using the area for Spring Show, but it should be in great shape for the fair. Some of the other improvements we are hoping to make in the dog barn are to install ceiling fans to help with circulation in the hot weather and a speaker system for both the barn and the bleacher area. We are also going to be having a plant sale fundraiser for the dog leaders on Saturday, May 2nd at Cenex in Freeland. We are trying to raise money for our trophies for the fair, as well as raising money to by new decorations for the state fair. Stop by between 10-2 to get some great deals on a wide variety of plants. Looking Back
As I sit here trying to recall all of the events that happened in the past few weeks, I am amazed at how the time has flown! On March 10th we organized a small group of volunteers to help trim back the shrubs around the 4-H Building at the fairgrounds (it looks great) and participated in the Whidbey Gardening Workshop with the Master Gardeners on March 15th. For now, I prefer to look ahead towards spring…a time for new beginnings, new changes, fresh air and sunshine. Take time to notice the little things around you and grow together as a club, strengthening friendships and relationships throughout all of Island County 4-H. Jackie Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men. Chinese Proverb Food For Thought
With renewed interest and assistance from 4-H Leaders Lois Fisher and Sarah Cassatt, we should have updated news regarding "Food for Thought" in our May newsletter. Thank you ladies! WSU Extension Program Updates
Master Gardeners Beach Watchers Fun and education for the entire family and it's free – 2009 Swinomish Earth Enhancement Celebration! Click here to see the flyer, or go to their website for more information. Waste Wise Go to the WSU Extension programs website and Advertisements
None this month. Advertisement submissions should be sent to 4-H is in the business of growing kids! We do this by working in our community to offer a wide range of opportunities for K-12 youth. Our goal is to support kids as they discover their talents and interests and then provide them with experiences to help them deepen, strengthen, and use those talents and interests! In addition to the club structure that many are familiar with, we also offer activities for families that can be done outside of a commitment to a club, and resources for educators to use in their classrooms. |
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