Dear 4-H Families:

This is the time of year when 4-H clubs are meeting monthly, members are selecting projects, and events are being planned for the coming months. It is also a time to think of all the things we are thankful for.

Is your club planning a community service activity, with the holidays coming up? If not, try to think of one to suggest at your next meeting.

Thanks to all of our 4-H leaders, other volunteers, and members in the Fulton County 4-H Program. We welcome many new 4-H families to our program this time of year. This newsletter is our way of communicating with every 4-H family in Fulton County. Please read it, and make note of dates that apply to your family. As always, call us at 547-3711 if we can help you in any way to get more out of 4-H.

Share your time, talents, and resources, and continue to "make the best better" in 4-H. Have an enjoyable holiday season with those you care about most.

Everyone is invited to attend the 4-H Achievement Program on Sunday, November 8, at 2:30 p.m. at the Lewistown Community High School Auditorium. Many 4-H awards will be presented, followed by the year-end music and slide show! Homemade pies and cakes, pop, milk, and coffee will be served afterwards in the cafeteria.

Even if you think you're not getting an award of any kind, come and enjoy the afternoon, look for yourself in the slide show, and have some tasty refreshments!

If you receive an award at the Achievement Program, please remember to write and send your thank you note to the sponsor, using the addressed thank you note provided. It is important that these people know you appreciate their support of 4-H.

The next 4-H Federation meeting will be on Monday, November 23rd, at 5:30 p.m. at the Extension Office in Lewistown. We will make pizzas, eat them, have our meeting, and watch a movie. We will be done by 8:15 at the latest. If you are coming, please bring a pizza pan if you have one.

The Fulton County 4-H Federation had election of officers at its October 26th meeting. Clay Crouse was elected President, and Hannah Lotz was elected Vice President. Kayla Hammond was elected Secretary, and Shawn Chaffin was elected Treasurer. (left to right in picture above)

Other 4-H Federation members present were Samantha Smith, Vanessa Smith, Courtney McCombs, Maggie White, Molly White, Ellie Nolan, Keara Adams, Kaycee Roberts, Terra Easley, Austin Tarter, Cassidy Tarter, Ryan Spangler, Kaitlyn Spangler, Caitlin Suter, Shelby Postin, Micah Lotz, Logan Beard, Camden Beard, Sarah Holmes, and Cecily Burnham.

Federation also began making plans for this year's activities, with more discussion to follow at its November 23rd meeting. Federation will continue its program of assisting individual 4-H clubs financially with their community service efforts.

Additional Federation meeting dates set for this 4-H year are —

December -- no meeting

January -- no meeting -- YMCA Party is January 9th

February 22nd meeting -- watch newsletter for details.

March -- no meeting -- Bowling Party on a Saturday

April -- no meeting -- help at Super Saturday, April 3

May 25th meeting -- watch newsletter for details.

Summer months -- help at 4-H events; outing will be

planned later…possible July meeting.

October 25, 2010 -- first meeting of the 2010-11 4-H Year

4-H Federation is open to any 4-H member age 12 and over. Federation members plan countywide recreational, educational, and community service activities for 4-H members.

We are still planning to do a Fulton County 4-H Cook Book as a fundraiser. We only received about 100 recipes by our deadline in August, so the project was postponed. We are still accepting recipes now, so please send us some in the mail or email (jblout@illinois.edu). We would like to have all recipes submitted by January 1, 2010.

4-H Federation will sponsor a countywide party on Saturday, January 9th, at the Canton YMCA, 1325 East Ash. All 4-H members, leaders, and families are invited to attend.

The party will start at 6:30 p.m. (DO NOT ARRIVE EARLY) and end at 9:30 p.m. Parents must pick up their children by 9:30. Activities will include swimming (7-9 p.m.), volleyball, and board games. Members are encouraged to bring their own board games to play.

There is no charge to attend. However, Federation members ask that you bring money to donate. This year the donations will go to the Children's Hospital of Illinois. A donation can will be at the check-in table -- any amount is fine.

Each club participating should have at least one chaperone present. Each family attending should bring snacks to share with the group. Drinks and the cost of the YMCA will be paid for by 4-H Federation.

The Lewistown High School Family and Consumer Science (Home Economics) department is in need of fabric donations for use in two classes with sewing projects. If you have any fabric that you would like to donate, please call Nancy Williams at 547-2288 or 926-7341 (100% cotton or cotton/polyester blend is preferred).

The Smithsonian National Zoological Park has a great website, where you can see live webcams of a lot of different animals — pandas, flamingos, octopus, leopards, and much more. Here is the website, and from the home page just look around for the "web cam" areas —

http://nationalzoo.si.edu

THANK YOU to the eight Fulton County 4-H Clubs that prepared window displays or bulletin boards during Fulton County 4-H Week, October 19-23.

These displays were located throughout the county and surrounding area, in Lewistown, Bushnell, Bryant, Cuba, and Fairview.

These displays were judged for originality, appearance, unity, and for how well they attract attention. The winning display was prepared by the Jolly Workers 4-H Club. Their display was located at Christy's Mercantile and Tea Room, on the square in Lewistown. The winning club receives a traveling trophy, and is the club that will be asked to coordinate Fulton County's project display at the Illinois State Fair next year.

Second place was a tie between the Country Kids 4-H Club and the Country Wranglers 4-H Club. The County Kids' display was located at the Cuba Elementary School Library. The Country Wranglers' display was located at the former hardware store in Cuba. Other clubs that participated, in no particular order, were Big Ten (Cuba Post Office); Checkrow Volunteers (at the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Bushnell); Fairview Huskies (Fairview Insurance Agency); Monterey 4-Hers (at the Bryant Village Hall); and Country Bloopers (Jasper's Salon and Laundromat, Lewistown). The Fulton County 4-H Program appreciates these businesses and organizations allowing the displays to be at their locations.

All of these 4-H clubs will receive special recognition for their 4-H promotional work at the 4-H Achievement Program.

The 4-H statewide website has been updated quite a bit in the last few months. If you have not visited it for awhile, take a few minutes to see all that it has to offer —

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/state4h/

The following projects have a January 4, 2010 deadline. All other project enrollments and changes are due May 1, 2010. They will not be accepted after this date.

Beef (for production animals)

Dairy (for production animals)

Goat (for production animals)

Horse (for production animals)

Poultry (egg production)

Sheep (for production animals)

Swine (for production animals)

Basically, any livestock project where production is the main focus needs to be enrolled in by early January each year.

However, be aware that a young person may join 4‑H at any time of the year, but in order to show at the 4‑H Shows, the above deadlines are in force.

The dates for steer tattooing will be listed in the January/February Newsletter. None are set at this time, although we will try to have the Fairview Steer Weigh-in on the first Saturday in February.

Here's a great website for learning more about livestock breeds —

http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/

Listed below are the dates by which animals must be owned and personally cared for by the exhibitor in order to be shown at the County 4-H Shows and State Fair.

BEEF

Steers - February 1, 2010 (calved on or after 1/1/09)

Cows - January 1, 2010 (born before 9/1/08)

Heifers - June 1, 2010 (State Fair — birthdates from

1/1/09 to 3/31/10; County Fair — birthdates from

1/1/09 to 12/31/09)

DAIRY

Calves and Heifers - June 1, 2010

Cows - January 1, 2010

DAIRY GOATS

Kids and Yearlings not in milk - June 1, 2010

Milking Does - January 1, 2010

MEAT GOATS

Kids and Yearlings not in milk—May 15, 2010

Wethers—Must be registered and tattooed in the

name of the exhibitor only by May 15, 2010 (must

be born on or after October 1, 2009)

SHEEP

Breeding Sheep - June 1, 2010

(Yearling Ewes = birthdates 1/1/09-8/31/09)

(Ewe lambs = birthdates 9/1/09 and after)

(Ram lambs = birthdates after 1/1/10)

State Fair Wethers - May 15, 2010 (lambed on or after 1/1/10)

SWINE

May 1, 2010 (for County Fair)

June 1, 2010 (for State Fair)

(State Fair gilts must be farrowed on or after 1/1/10; County Fair gilts must be farrowed on or after 1/15/10)

(For State Fair, all barrows must have been farrowed on or after January 15, 2010 and must be the property of the exhibitor since June 1, 2010. Premier barrows must have been farrowed on or after February 10, 2010. For County Fair Rate of Gain, barrows must have been farrowed on or after February 10, 2010.)

POULTRY AND RABBITS

June 1, 2010 (or out of stock owned prior to June 1)

HORSES — Ownership and/or lease forms must be on file with the Extension Office by May 1st each year.

Note that these are ownership, not enrollment deadlines. Livestock enrollment deadlines, in most cases, are prior to the ownership deadlines.

The 12-14 Conference will be held at the Nauvoo Family Inn and Suites (in Nauvoo, Illinois) on February 12-13 (5:30 p.m. Friday through 1:15 p.m. Saturday). Cost is $55 if registered by January 15th. After that, cost is $60 until the final deadline of January 22nd. It is possible that all available spots will be filled before that time.

The theme this year is "Who Did It? CSI." Those who attend will learn skills of investigating, exploring, examining personal traits, etc. This will be an interactive, fun-filled overnight stay with hotel accommodations, food, and entertainment included — swimming, games, movie, pizza. For more information, or for registration materials, call the Extension Office at 547-3711, or email Janis Blout at jblout@illinois.edu .

At the Leaders' Meeting in October, 4-H leaders were given information on a Regional Officer Training class for 4-H members. It will be held on Saturday, November 21st, from 9 a.m. till noon at the Crossroads Methodist Church in Washington, Illinois. Deadline to sign up is November 12th. For a registration form, contact your 4-H leader or the Extension Office, 547-3711.

High school age 4-H members are invited to attend The Great 4-H Debate, to be held February 12-13 in Springfield. They will debate bills, learn about the legislative process and Illinois government, meet with legislators and lobbyists, and have the opportunity to debate, amend, and vote on bills while sitting in the chambers of the Illinois House of Representatives. They will meet new friends from across Illinois, and have fun at events on Friday night. The fee will be between $60-$75. If you would like more information and registration materials when available, call the Extension Office at 547-3711.

What you as members and leaders can do to make your 4-H club even stronger!

· The club will hold at least six meetings (The ideal club meets regularly throughout the year.)

·Club will have an average attendance of 75% of the members at regular meetings (Consider this when planning monthly meeting day and time.)

·Club will have 75% of the members complete their projects and records.

·Each member will have a job and feel needed.

·Recreation will be included at each meeting.

·Club activities will be planned in areas of interest to members, such as health, safety, camping, careers, citizenship, judging, intercultural opportunities, conservation, and community service.

·A recognition program or club tour will be held at the end of the club year. Invite parents and guests. Exhibit projects and recognize members and volunteers for their hard work.

·Invite new people to join the club.

·Develop greater family participation.

·Participate in community functions.

·Make every member feel important to the club.

·Enable every member to receive parent and leader assistance.

·Provide a service to the community.

·Learn more about a specific project or subject.

·Develop a positive self-concept and social skills.

·Get to know more about each person in your club.

·Become better listeners to one another.

This award program is sponsored by the Illinois Farm Bureau, for 4-H members age 17 or above as of 12/1/09. LCP stands for Leadership, Citizenship, and Professionalism. Each county may submit two nominees for state judging. For more information, call 547-3711. The deadline is December 5.

At approximately 6:03 a.m. every Sunday, WBYS radio in Canton provides a service to us by allowing us time to promote 4-H. Our "4-H On the Air" program is carried on 1560 AM. Sometimes the air time has to be adjusted due to their schedule. 4-H clubs are scheduled for the program every third week, and Janis Blout, Extension Community Worker, records the program on the other weeks.

Key leaders receive a letter at least one month before their club is scheduled to record a program. We depend on each club to take its turn preparing this radio program. The way we have the schedule arranged, a club is asked to do a program just once in a 4-H year. If for some reason you are unable to prepare your program, and need to schedule a different date, please call the Extension Office and let us know, so WBYS will not be left without a program for our time slot on your assigned date.

The radio program can be recorded at either WBYS Radio Station in Canton or at the Extension Office in Lewistown.

If you are recording at WBYS, it must be done on Monday through Thursday, and you need to call ahead of time for an appointment (647-1560). At WBYS, there can be no more than three people reading your script. If you record at the Extension Office, you can use more than three people if you wish. This should be done no later than the Thursday before your Sunday air date. If you want to record at the Extension Office, call and make an appointment with Janis, 547-3711.

Thank you to those who participate in our 4-H radio programs, and for sharing with the listeners the good things that are going on in our 4-H Program. We are grateful to WBYS and the sponsors of our program for their support.

If you are a 4-H member who would like to do an extra radio program, on your own or with another 4-H member, call Janis at the Extension Office, 547-3711.

The 4-H Federation continues to sponsor a Community Service Program for Fulton County 4-H clubs. Each 4-H club may receive $25.00 upon completing a community service project and reporting on it to the 4-H Federation. A club may receive no more than two of these $25.00 grants in one 4-H year.

Guidelines:

1. Project must involve at least half of your club members.

2. Your club must spend money on the project.

3. Club must send a written report of what it has done to the Extension Office, to include the following information:

- What the Community Service project was

- When the project was done

- Names of club members who helped

- How many people your project served

- How much money your club spent on this program

The 4-H Horse Committee will meet on Monday, December 7th, at 7 p.m. at the Extension Office. For information about participating on the 4-H Horse Committee, call the Extension Office.

The Illinois 4-H Program is introducing Shooting Sports as a subject area, with special requirements and guidelines. For Fulton County, this will likely take effect some time in 2010. Before anyone can sign up for it, a group of adult volunteers must attend special trainings. We plan to develop this group of volunteers over the winter months. The next trainings available would be in March, possibly in the northern part of the state. If you are an adult who would commit to attend these three-day trainings to become certified, contact the Extension Office to be added to the list. Volunteer trainings are available for the role of coordinator, and for the specific disciplines (archery, shotgun, and air rifle/.22).

To attract new members, 4-H clubs may want to put a notice of their upcoming meetings in the newspaper, so potential new members would know. For instance:

"The Happy Helpers 4-H Club will meet on Sunday, December 15th, at 2 p.m., at the Farm Bureau Building in Lewistown. New members are always welcome. For more information, call the leader at 547-3712."

You would need to send this in to your local newspaper about two weeks before your next meeting, and doing it every month would be a good idea. This task could be assigned to your club reporter, or to an older member in your club.

There is a website,

http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/4horientation/

created to help orient new 4-H leaders. The site helps new 4-H leaders learn the basics of 4-H, information on the 4-H mission, policies, and program implementation. It helps leaders understand the various volunteer roles and how University of Illinois Extension is organized. If you do not have computer access, but would like to receive the materials provided on this website, contact the Extension Office and we will get them for you.

It is important to note that 4-H members and volunteers involved in a sanctioned 4-H event are covered by the University's liability insurance. However, liability does not cover accidents caused by you or an unforeseen event. Liability coverage only comes into play when someone sues you for wrongdoing.

The University of Illinois has liability insurance coverage for county-wide 4-H programs, individual club programs, and meetings. However, the insurance coverage from the University only covers the excess cost after the person's own insurance has paid.

We strongly encourage you to purchase daily medical/accident insurance for special club events where there may be accidents. Application forms for taking out 4-H Club insurance are available at the Extension Office. One policy you can purchase is to cover accidents during club meetings. A second policy is for short-term programs that your club may be sponsoring.

Any new 4-H leaders must complete a set of three forms related to Volunteer Screening, and submit them to the Extension Office. Each key leader received several of these sets with their club packets this fall. No one can be enrolled as a 4-H leader until these forms have been submitted and approved.

Thank you for the tremendous turnout at the recent 4-H Leaders' Meeting — WOW! — 35 leaders present!

November

1 Jolly Workers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

8 4-H Achievement Program, 2:30 p.m., Lewistown Community High School

10 Deadline for nominations for 4-H Leader and Volunteer of the Year

22 South Fulton Lion Tamers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

23 4-H Federation Meeting, 5:30 p.m., Extension Office

26-27 Extension Office closed for Thanksgiving holiday

December

7 4-H Horse Committee Meeting, 7 p.m., Extension Office

13 Busy Bees 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

24- Jan. 1 Extension Office closed for Christmas and New Year's holidays

January

3 Spoon River Clovers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

4 Extension Office reopens after the holidays

4 Enrollment deadline for most livestock projects -- see article!

9 4-H Party at the YMCA, 6:30-9:30 p.m. -- see article

18 Extension Office closed for Martin Luther King Day

24 Fairview Farmers 4-H Club Radio Program, 6:03 a.m.

The Fulton County Extension Office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It is closed during the lunch hour, 12 noon to 1 p.m. The voice mail system is left on when we are out of the office, or when we are away from the phone. Our office is located in the lower level of the Farm Bureau Building, on the north edge of Lewistown.

If you are a person who needs a reasonable accommodation to participate in any of the listed programs or events, contact Janis Blout at University of Illinois Extension, Fulton County Office, phone 309-547-3711.

The Extension Office will be closed for the following holidays:

Thanksgiving - November 26 and 27;

Christmas/New Year's -- December 24 through January 1.

The office will be open again on Monday, January 4, 2010.

The office is always closed on the weekends.

Eleven year 4-H member Katie Chaffin of Ipava was recently named Miss Rodeo Illinois for 2010. She will compete in a national pageant in Las Vegas, Nevada. An event is planned at VIT High School on Saturday, January 2, 2010, (4:00-10:00 p.m.) to help Katie raise funds for the travel and other expenses she will incur. The event will include a meal, silent auction, live auction, kids' penny carnival, live entertainment, and the official coronation of Katie as the 2010 queen. If you are interested in attending the event, email Janis Blout at the Extension Office, jblout@illinois.edu for a copy of the reservation form. You may also purchase tickets at the door.

For more information, contact Cindy Chaffin at 309-333-6284.

Fulton County 4-H congratulates Katie for receiving this honor!