January 2019 4-H Newsletter

January 9, 2019 4-H News

4-H Happenings

A monthly newsletter for Hancock County 4-H Members

Download the PDF

Upcoming Dates to Remember

January 15 – 6:30 pm – Leaders’ Meeting – Extension Office
January 21 – Martin Luther King Day – Extension Office Closed
January 26 – 8:30 am – UMaine 4-H Unconference – See State News
January 29 – 4-H Page Day in Augusta

County News

New Year’s Resolution
Our 2019 New Year’s Resolution is to spread awareness of the impact of 4-H in Hancock County. Will you help us tell your 4-H story to others? Over the coming year you will see us collecting and sharing more stories, such as this infographic to the right. The data for this infographic came from all of the 4-H Club Leaders at re-enrollment time, when we ask them to tell us what their 4-H clubs have done throughout the past year. Then, we produce reports and stories to communicate the positive impact of 4-H in our community – we share them with people like the County Commissioners, local stakeholders, UMaine Cooperative Extension, National 4-H, and more! How you can help: talk about 4-H with friends & family, invite them to 4-H events, pick up a few brochures to hand out, visit our new website and check the calendar regularly, send us club reports/project updates for the monthly newsletter, share photos with us, post about your 4-H experience on social media (and tag @Hancock4H!), keep in touch with the 4-H staff in the Extension Office, and so much more! Thanks in advance for helping to spread awareness of 4-H Youth Development in Hancock County.

Happy New Year
The 4-H staff want to send a big THANK YOU to all 4-H members, volunteers, parents, and families! We are looking forward to 2019 and hope you are too! Here are a few of the fun things to get excited about in 2019:

Public Speaking – Hancock County continues to have some of the highest participation statewide, let’s make this the best year yet!
Photo Contest – you can enter photos from the ENTIRE year, so start snapping away!
National 4-H Trips – such as Citizen Washington Focus and National Summits are open to teens in Hancock County and are a great opportunity to travel and learn by doing in the 4-H way.
Scholarships – Being a member of Hancock County 4-H makes you eligible for lots of financial support (for college, 4-H Summer Camp, Leadership programs, and more)… learn about all of the opportunities this year and take advantage of them!
Special Interest Programs – such as the Egg Business Project and Aquaculture Projects happening around Hancock County. There are lots of ways to participate in 4-H!
AND SO MUCH MORE!!!! Stay updated by reading the newsletter, visiting our website and facebook page.

Leaders’ Meeting – the next Leaders’ Association meeting will be on January 15 at 6:30 pm. If you cannot attend in person – join the meeting by computer! Go to: https://maine.zoom.us/my/hancock4h or by phone 1-646-876-9923, then enter the meeting ID #207 667 8212.

4-H Public Speaking Reminder – Every 4-H member in Hancock County is encouraged to participate in Public Speaking! Youth choose a topic of their choice and then practice the important life skill of public speaking by giving presentations to their clubs, community, and at the county and state tournaments.

The Hancock County 4-H Public Speaking Tournament will be held on a weekend in March – the date will be chosen at the upcoming Leaders Meeting on January 15th and posted on our website and facebook page ASAP. ALL 4-H’ers are encouraged to practice their Public Speaking Presentations in January and February before the county tournament!

Get all the details – including tips for planning your presentation and registration for the 2019 county tournament – on the Public Speaking page on our new website! *Note: you can access this page and other programs/events under the “Programs” tab on the 4-H main menu.

NEW REGISTRATION THIS YEAR: Public Speaking participants are encouraged to register online for the county tournament instead of their club leader doing it for them – because it allows us to easily track your participation, guests, and more. However, if Club Leaders prefer, they can still register their members as a group online, or call/email the office to register as a group.

Don’t hesitate to contact any of the 4-H Staff with your Public Speaking questions!

Welcome New Dean of UMaine Cooperative Extension – We are looking forward to welcoming Dr. Hannah Carter as the new Dean of Cooperative Extension this spring! Here at Hancock County 4-H, we are most excited about her experience as a 4-H Alumna growing up in Aroostook County. Read more.

Egg Business Project coming to Hancock County 4-H
Are you interested in participating in the Egg Business Project that is coming to Hancock County 4-H this spring? Under the mentorship of a trained 4-H Leader, participants will learn about, understand, and follow state and local regulations for producing and selling poultry eggs in order to run their own Chicken Egg Business! The program is run in partnership with the Maine Small Business Development Center (Maine SBDC) at Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) in Ellsworth. There will be a kick-off meeting for all participants on Saturday, March 23 from 1-3pm at the Extension Office. For more information and to register, visit our website.

Maine Envirothon – Envirothon is a state and nationwide natural resource problem-solving competition for grades 9-12. Students compete outdoors in five natural resource areas: aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and a current national environmental issue. Regional and state competitions are held each spring, and the top Maine team qualifies for the North American Envirothon finals – an opportunity to compete against teams from across the United States and Canada. Hancock County 4-H’ers are encouraged to start an Envirothon team! More information can be found on the Maine Envirothon Website, or pick up a brochure at the Extension Office.

New & Improved Website – We encourage you visit our new & improved, mobile-friendly website soon! Our goal is for the new site to be the “go-to” place for information relevant to current 4-H’ers, as well as a resource for the general public to learn about what we do. We will add new features and content over the coming weeks and months, and we are asking for your feedback! Please fill out the feedback form on the site, or contact us to let us know about your experience with the new site. A big change coming this year is that you will be able to register for ALL 4-H events online – for example, Public Speaking, Style Revue, June Jamboree, etc. We will provide links to register for events when they are available, but feel free to poke around now to explore!

Leadership Scholarship Awarded – Congratulations to McKenzie Evans, Independent, the recipient of a Hancock County Leadership Award. McKenzie will be traveling to the 4-H Agri-Science National Summit this month where she will learn about the challenges facing agriculture, food security, and sustainability. Good Luck McKenzie and we are looking forward to learning about what you have to share from your experience!

*Note: Leadership Scholarships are available to all Hancock County 4-H’ers for their pursuit of leadership experiences. Visit our website and/or contact us if you are interested in learning more.

Peninsula Explorers – Ice Fishing Session – Ice Fishing is the theme of the upcoming session of the Peninsula Explorers 4-H Club with Blue Hill Heritage Trust. We will meet for two, 4-hour sessions covering a range of skills and safety tips used in ice fishing, taught by local experts: Jim Paulus (registered Maine guide), Adam Gray (ice fishing enthusiast), and trained 4-H Volunteers. Club sessions will meet at peninsula area locations, to be determined based on best ice conditions. This club is FREE and open to youth grades 3-8 (siblings under the age of 8 must attend with an adult), living in the seven towns of the Blue Hill Peninsula. Space is limited to 20 youth and is first come, first serve. To register and for more info.

Club News

Horse & Rider – members met at club leader Heather’s on Saturday, December 15 for our annual Christmas party. We went to Reny’s to buy gifts from the Angel Tree before going back to Heather’s for a cookie swap and play a game before the gift swap. Heather fixed pizza for us for lunch. Thank you Heather for a great Christmas party – submitted by Sally Jordan, 4-H leader

Jolly Juniors – Jolly Juniors started the holiday season off with our Annual Cookie Swap and more! A big thank you to Amy Folmer for leading our youth (and parents) in how to make a wreath and a center piece. Mercy Hardison and Jessica McDevitt led the crafts. As always we had lots of cookies to sample and plenty to take home and share with our families. Jolly Juniors making ornaments

The Cloverbuds enjoyed the Frogtown Puppeteers’, “Grinch” show at The Grand. To celebrate the holidays they made doggie “cookies” with Joni Hart and then swapped their homemade ornaments. Life skills galore – “Teamwork, Contribution to Group Effort, Sharing, Cooperation, and Learning to Learn.” And our dogs had a yummy treat!

The JJ1s (high schoolers) had fun at Acadia Bowling Lanes for their holiday celebration along with pizza, and swapping gift cards. It must be noted that their leader, Brenda, beat them all by a LOT the first string! Always a good time getting together with the high school group! Jolly Juniors bowling

The JJ2s (elementary group) enjoyed games, team work, treats, and a lot of laughs at their party. The highlight was the sock swap ~all different socks and appreciated by the recipients!

Even though it Jolly Juniors and Wreaths Across America was wicked cold, several of our club members and family attended the Wreaths Across America celebration held in Ellsworth. We were at the right place to observe every truck coming through with their wreaths ready to be delivered to Arlington Cemetery and other cemeteries between Ellsworth and Washington, DC. Our club is proud of our Veterans and the cold was bearable knowing we were honoring, teaching, and remembering their service. I think we’ve started a new tradition!

State News

1. Save the Date for 2019 Maine 4-H Days – Maine 4-H Days will take place July 19 – 21 at the Windsor Fairgrounds. If you are interested in helping to plan next year’s event, please contact Jessy Brainerd at jessica.brainerd@maine.edu or 207.581.3877.

2. Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee – July will be here before you know it, and we are looking for a few good volunteers to join the fantastic current Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee. Joining this committee gives you the chance to help come up with ideas and plans for one of our biggest statewide events! If you are interested in joining the Maine 4-H Days Planning Committee, or have general questions/comments/recommendations about the event, please email jessica.brainerd@maine.edu, or call 207.581.3877.

3. Eastern States Exposition Horse Intents – 2019 Eastern States Horse tryouts intent to participate is available at: AGE CHANGE for 2019, youth who are aged 13-18 (as of December 31, 2018) are eligible to try out as a rider/driver or teen leader. Please contact Kristy Ouellette (kristy.ouellette@maine.edu) if you have any questions. Intent to participate forms must be post marked by 2/1.

4. Citizenship Washington Focus – Citizenship Washington Focus (CWF) Start making plans now to visit our Nation’s Capitol during the week of June 29 to July 6, 2019. CWF is a leadership program conducted by the National 4-H Council for high school youth ages 14 to 18. Delegations of 4-Hers from across the country spend six days touring the city and attending leadership skill-building workshops. This summer, the Maine delegation will travel down on Saturday, June 29 and travel home Saturday July 6, 2019. You will stay at the National 4-H Conference Center just outside Washington, DC. Visiting the most popular sites in Washington, DC will be a part of the trip, including spending the 4th of July in our nation’s capitol. There is a mandatory orientation for Maine delegates on April 27th, 2019. For more information. Contact your county 4-H office for details about how to be a part of this experience if you don’t hear from them very shortly. All county offices have different criteria/dates to apply, so please contact them ASAP. Websites are currently being updated. For specific questions, please contact Heidi Palmer, State Activities Coordinator at: heidi.thuotte@maine.edu.

5. National Trips – National 4-H Trip Applications Are due March 8th, 2019 (Conference and Congress) National 4-H Trips are excellent opportunities to meet 4-H members from across the nation. Participants learn about many career options, and learn through educational workshops at Congress or become a part of a team making recommendations to National 4-H Council at Conference. To learn more about these trips, visit. Websites are currently being updated. For specific questions, please contact Heidi Palmer, State Activities Coordinator at: heidi.thuotte@maine.edu

6. UMaine 4-H Unconference – not your average volunteer forum!
UMaine 4-H Unconference – a volunteer forum led by 4-H volunteers for 4-H volunteers. UMaine 4-H Unconference will be an organized forum for 4-H volunteers, club leaders, afterschool providers, teachers, parents and teens leaders to gather. UMaine 4-H Unconference is intentionally designed to have YOU teach and learn from each other. There is no agenda – you come with 4-H ideas and topics you want to talk about or learn more about, and we’ll guide the process to get folks into groups where YOU are the experts. All experience levels are welcome and no one person has all the answers. Door prizes will be given at the end of the day.
Register online.
Join us for one or both of these awesome dates! Registration begins at 8:30 and door prizes will be drawn by 3:00.
Lewiston – Saturday, January 12, 2019 (snow date January 19, 2019)
Orono – Saturday, January 26, 2019 (snow date February 2, 2019)

2019 Engineers’ Week Expo – Every year, near George Washington’s Birthday, engineers across the country celebrate National Engineers Week, as George was a civil engineer who founded our nation. Here in Maine, our custom is to hold a huge “Expo” for all those young engineers (people who explore ingenuity) to visit and get to know us better. Our next Expo will be in southern Maine at USM in Gorham, with a banquet event the night before in Portland. Those of you who’ve come, already know how intense and fun it can be! We hosted over 3,000 last time it was at USM!

Our Expo will be from 9:00-2:00 Saturday, March 2, 2019 in the Field House at USM’s Costello Sports Center. Snacks will be available, with souvenir tee shirts. Campus tours will be available. See for general information. Depending on our sponsors, some busing costs will be available.

Please provide feedback on Project Records!Click the following link to take the survey. https://umaine.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bP1iUM659wuRVrL
You are invited to participate in a statewide research project being conducted by Kristy Ouellette and Jennifer Lobley, Extension Educators at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension. 4-H volunteers and staff from all over Maine will participate in this study.
Purpose of this research project: We recognize the value of our 4-H volunteers. As a state we have rolled out new 4-H Project Records. We want to have a better understanding of your beliefs and understandings of the function of these records. What will you be asked to do? If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete an on-line survey with questions pertaining to your attitudes and beliefs regarding 4-H project records in Maine. The survey will take you approximately 20 minutes to complete. Risks: Except for your time and inconvenience, there are no foreseeable risks to you in participating in this study. Benefits: You will be eligible to enter into a raffle for a $25.00 gift card to Hannaford. Confidentiality: As a participant you will be anonymous. Investigators or a student will enter data into a computer. Data will be kept on a secured computer with only the investigators or a student having access. Data will be kept for a period of 5 years. Voluntary: Participation is voluntary. If you choose to take part in this study, you may stop at any time during the study. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer. Participation in the on-line survey implies consent to participate.
Contact Information: If you have any questions about this study, please contact Kristy Ouellette at 207.353.5550 or kristy.ouellette@maine.edu If you have any questions about your rights as a research participant, please contact Gayle Jones, Assistant to the University of Maine’s Protection of Human Subjects Review Board, at 581.1498 (or e-mail gayle.jones@maine.edu).

9. 2019 Maine State Science Fair – It’s time to announce the 2019 Maine State Science Fair, to be held Saturday, March 23 at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. Prizes and awards include 12 four-year, full-tuition scholarships to The University of Maine (including admission to the UMaine Honors College), and major scholarships from University of New England, College of the Atlantic, and Husson In 2018, MSSF awarded over $1 million in scholarships and awards. Other scholarships may be announced in the coming weeks.
The Maine State Science Fair is open, without cost, to all Maine high school students who complete their own research or engineering project individually or in teams of 2-3. The purpose of MSSF is to present, learn, and discuss science with peers and STEM professionals from across Maine. Projects are invited from across all STEM disciplines: life sciences, agriculture, mathematics, computer sciences, psychology, energy, physics, marine science, environmental sciences, ecology, chemistry. All STEM projects are considered!
Important dates for this year’s MSSF:
– January 18 – student registration deadline.
– February 1 – research plan deadline.
– March 1 – preliminary research results deadline.
– March 23 – Maine State Science Fair.
More information can be found online.

Note: Gas cards are available to help with the cost of transportation. Contact Hancock County Extension Office to request one!

10. 4-H Page Day in Augusta – January 29, 2019 – UMaine Day at the Legislature, Tuesday, January 29, is approaching. It’s a day where Cooperative Extension gets to highlight our awesome programs, and 4-H is one of the best! Since legislators like to see 4-H members from their districts, 4-Hers (age 13 or older) are encouraged to serve as Honorary Pages. The Maine 4-H program has up to 30 slots for Honorary Pages.
What does a page do? Legislators are constantly communicating and making decisions while in session and pages make that communication possible. Pages hand out information packets or place the paper information on their desks. Pages will also run communication and documents directly from legislator to legislator.
If you are interested in serving as a page, please contact Diana at 207-622-7546 or diana.hartley@maine.edu.
NEW: Expanded Page Day: Explore American Civics even more in Augusta!
Afternoon tour and activities with the newly opened First Amendment Museum. After lunch we invite participants of Page Day to explore this new museum experience located in the Gannett House, next door to the Blaine House, on State Street, in Augusta. From 1:30-2:30pm on January 29 the First Amendment Museum will showcase displays as well as have interactive experiences to explore the “Five Freedoms” guaranteed by the First Amendment. There may be limited space for this tour, please indicate when you RSVP for Page Day whether you and your chaperone plan to join.
We would love to have pages from all over the state represented. Slots, representing different state senators and representatives, will be filled in the order they are received, but the final deadline is January 20th. If the slot for your legislative district has been filled, your name will be added to a wait list in the order it is received. If you are leaving a message, please be sure to say “I am interested in serving as a 4-H Page at the Legislature on January 29”. Your slot will be reserved if you leave this complete information:
– Full Name
– Age
– Mailing Address
– County
– Phone Number
– Email Address (this is how we will confirm you)
– Name of your School
– Name of your 4-H Club
– Name of your Maine State Representative
– Name of your Maine State Senator
– Name of your Adult Chaperone
– Adult Chaperone’s cell phone number
4-H Honorary Pages will be in the Capitol from 8:30am– 3:00pm. A parent or 4-H volunteer must provide transportation and chaperoning. If you have questions, please let Alisha know at alisha.r.targonski@maine.edu.

11. $1,000 scholarship to the University of Maine in Orono – The inaugural Maryann Hartman Scholarship Essay Contest provides an opportunity for Maine high school students in grades 10-12 to recognize an influential Maine feminist with a personal essay developed in response to this prompt: What Maine feminist has inspired you? Deadline: January 31, 2019, Open to Maine high school students in grades 10-12. Learn more and submit essay here.

Cooking with Kids

Soft Pretzels
Serves: 12 | Serving Size: 1 pretzel

Ingredients:
1 package active dry yeast 11⁄2 cups warm water
1 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon sugar
3 cups white flour 1 cup whole grain flour
Vegetable oil or spray 1 egg, beaten
Coarse salt (optional)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a mixing bowl, add yeast to warm water.
3. Mix salt, sugar, and both flours into yeast and water until dough is formed.
4. Roll dough into a circle.
5. Cut dough into 12 portions with pizza cutter or sharp knife. If children are helping you prepare the pretzels, give each child a ball of dough to roll and twist into any shape. Alphabet letter shapes are fun to make.
6. Lay pretzel dough on lightly greased cookie sheet.
7. Brush or spoon beaten egg on pretzels.
8. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired.
9. Bake at 425°F for 12-15 minutes.

Variations
Dough can be sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic salt, grill seasoning, etc. Table salt may be substituted for coarse salt (sprinkle lightly). To lower sodium, omit salt.
University of Maine Cooperative Extension Eat Well

Cooperative Extension in Hancock County