The 4-H program in Lincoln County is growing, according to Hayley Gloeckner, the Community Based Instructor 3 with the UNR Extension Office in Caliente.
“We have had a real surge in the number of kids that have enrolled in 4-H and in the number of brand new leaders,” Gloeckner said. “There are 187 kids and 13 new leaders. There has been a high increase in the Pioche and Alamo areas. Caliente and Panaca have pretty much stayed the same, but in total, I have 28 clubs in the county right now.”
She added the increase in the number of clubs has a lot to do with, “a new generation of younger moms and dads that are seeing that their kids can qualify and seeing that there might be a lack in a given area. There was no cooking or sewing going on down in Alamo, and the next thing I know I’m getting phone calls left and right. I was so tickled.”
There is a process to be certified as a leader, she explained. “They have to be fingerprinted and cleared through the FBI. It’s quite a process. With the world we live in right now, we really need to be certain to protect our kids.”
“In Alamo, Kate Stewart and Angela Hagfeldt have stepped into sewing, Morgan Foremaster is doing cooking, Heidi Leavitt is doing wood burning. In Pioche, Eva Donohue is doing Cloverbuds, a program for 5-8 year olds and Laura Lynn Lamb is doing cooking. In Panaca, Katy Cornejo and Leslie Jackson are doing Cloverbuds. Becky Graf is doing wood craft in Pioche.
In addition to new leaders, Gloeckner said there are a number of long time leaders. Janine Woodworth in Pioche has switched from photography to mosaic tile. Stephanie Thornock in Panaca, Steve and Debbie Meldrum in Alamo have been leaders for 14 years or more.
“I have two kinds of leaders,” Gloeckner explained. “I have those that come in and have stayed, and others might go on for a couple of years, take a couple of years off, then come right back on. These children have been very fortunate.”
She says when she is asked by others in the state why Lincoln County is doing so well with 4-H, she replies, “It is not me, we have amazing leaders in this county. They really care about the kids. The parents and grandparents come out and share their talents, and the kids just have a blast.”
Horsemanship is only being done in Dry Valley at the present time under the leadership of Tara Clark. “4-H horsemanship has many restrictions,” Gloeckner said. “They require helmets and a lot of kids don’t like that, and rodeo seems to be more popular for many of them.”
She added, “In livestock, Robin Heaton is the summer program leader and getting the kids ready for the Southwestern Livestock Show in Cedar City in September, and Jennie Mathews is the leader during the school year and gets the kids ready for the Clark County Fair in April in Logandale. In Pahranagat Valley, it is Debbie Meldrum and Sue Higbee.”
For anyone interested in being a 4-H leader or helper, you are asked to call Hayley Gloeckner at the Extension Office in Caliente, 775-726-3109 or her cell number 775-962-1087.
