Opinion

4-H summer travel opportunities

Monday, March 22, 2010

One of the most common remarks heard from current and former Putnam County 4-H'ers is how awesome their camp experiences were while in the 4-H program. Several deadlines are approaching in the 4-H program area.

Foremost, 4-H enrollment is due April 1 to the Extension Office. That is critical to being eligible for programs and opportunities.

Youth interested in camp must be in grades three through six as of Jan. 1, 2010. Camp occurs at Shakamak State Park. Departure is noon, June 5 with a return of noon, June 8.

Youth learn lifelong skills, have a great time, and make new friends. The deadline for youth to enroll for camp is April 23, and registration must be submitted to the Purdue Extension-Putnam County office. Health forms must also be completed. The cost is $75 for the entire event.

One can click on the 4-H link of the Purdue Extension-Putnam County Web site www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam to download forms.

Those interested in applying to be camp counselors must be enrolled as Junior Leaders for this year. Camp counselor applications are due April 16 to the Purdue Extension-Putnam County office. Training dates for counselors will be May 13 and 18, where successful applicants must be present.

Cost is $55 and, once again, the application and necessary health forms are on the extension Web site mentioned above.

Several travel opportunities to 4-H Science Workshops and other events occur throughout the summer at Purdue and other venues. Examples include aerospace, plant science, animal science, electrical and computer science workshops.

Other events include 4-H Band or Chorus and Ambassador Program, to name a few. Also, 4-H Roundup is one of the opportunities. A trips and awards application is also on the local extension Web site.

The Putnam County 4-H Council will assist with 50 percent of the cost of many of these trips. The trips and awards forms for consideration of 4-H Council assistance is due April 5 at the extension office.

And finally, for high school youth who will be traveling to college in the future, don't let any of the scholarship opportunities go un-awarded. There were several scholarships last year undistributed due to no applicants.

The March-April Herald 4-H newsletter references scholarships and scholarship information may also be found on the local extension Web site.

Visit our Web site at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local Purdue Extension Office by calling 653-8411 for more information regarding this week's column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time.

Upcoming Events

April 1: 4-H Enrollment forms due

April 2: Good Friday, Extension Office Closed

April 5: 4-H Trip, Award and Workshop Interest forms due

April 5: Small Farms Work Group, County Annex, 6-8 p.m.

April 10: Fiber Event, Putnam Fairgrounds

April 15: Tax Day

April 16: Putnam County 4-H Scholarships Due

April 17: Dairy Feeder Steer Weigh-in and Tagging, Fairgrounds, 8-10 a.m.

April 26: Pond Workshop