Home Care In Elmira, CA

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Story courtesy of Josh Brown (The Record) | Photo by Dan Hickling/OHL Images

SCARBOROUGH — The distance.

That’s the first thing that crossed Brady Martin’s mind when the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds selected him third overall in Friday’s Ontario Hockey League draft.

“I was thinking it was a far drive,” said the 16-year-old, who splits time between hockey rinks and his family’s beef and dairy farm on the outskirts of Elmira.

“But they have a nice program, a great coach and a great fan base. It should be fun. I’m really excited to go to the Soo.”

The Waterloo Wolves captain became the highest Waterloo Region hockey player chosen in the draft since Cambridge’s Tim Brent went second overall back in 2000.

Martin was the sole player from a local league selected through the first three rounds, which ran Friday night. Several more are expected to go when the draft resumes on Saturday with rounds four through 15.

Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said Martin’s ability to will his team to victory and take over games stood out.

So too did his character.

“I think a lot of times when you’re talking to players, sometimes they’re 15 years old and you’re tyring to get a sense of who they are,” he said. “I think with Brady right away you see that maturity level. He knows exactly who he is as a person.

“He’s the total package and we’re super excited to get him to the Soo. I think he’s someone as a 16-year-old that is going to have an instant impact for us. It’s really cool that we get to put him in our lineup and take our group to the next level.”

Martin watched the online draft from OHL headquarters in Scarborough with parents Sheryl and Terry and older brother Joey by his side.

“They were excited and really happy to see me go in the top five,” he said. “We have a journey ahead of us.”

Martin grew up playing in Woolwich minor hockey before switching to the Wolves.

He led the pack to an Alliance championship this past season and a berth in the semifinals at the OHL Cup, where he was named to the tournament’s all-star team.

The two-way centre had 27 goals and added 29 assists in 23 games with the Wolves in his second season of Under-16 AAA hockey after playing up a level with the same squad last season.

The Kitchener Rangers would have loved to see the local lad fall to them at the 10-spot, but Martin’s stock was just too high.

But Sault Ste. Marie is a good landing spot.

The Greyhounds are a team on the come-up and bid, but lost, to host next year’s Memorial Cup. The team has a reputation of treating and developing its players the right way.

“I just want to get bigger and stronger and work on my skating and see how I do at training camp,” said Martin. “I just want to do my best and make the fans like me there and make a good name for myself.”

Raftis loves Martin’s versatility.

“I think he’s somebody that creates flexibility all over the lineup,” he said. “He can play on special teams and five-on-five. He’s just one of those guys that does whatever it takes. He has elite goal scoring and can create chances for himself. I think he’s going to be a threat at all times.

“There are a lot of good players that just play because they’re good but I think Brady is an exceptional player and he plays because he loves the game. You can just hear it in his voice when he’s talking. He has a passion for winning and it’s just something you’re hopeful is real infectious with the rest of your group.”

The Erie Otters selected blueliner Matthew Schaeffer with the first overall pick and the Niagara IceDogs took London forward Ryan Roobroeck second.

Correspondent

The process was labeled a “Hitler-like system,” the goal was described as “the wisest way for getting the most out of the tax dollar,” and a state official was “tickled pink by the decision.” The issue was the consolidation of 29 rural school districts with the Elmira City School District in June 1957.

Attorney Thomas J. Flynn, a former city school board president, was the leading opponent of the school merger plan. Dr. Milton Goldsmith, a school board member, spoke in favor, and Harry W. Langworthy, of the state Education Department, approved of the “wide margin” in the vote.

Out of a potential 9,000 eligible voters, approximately a third voted.

The Star-Gazette reported on June 21, 1957, that “the unofficial count showed 2,416 in favor of consolidation, 1,075 opposed and 17 void ballots.” While residents in the rural districts could vote, voters in the City of Elmira could not.

The consolidation plan was an outcome of a master plan proposed in 1947 by a Joint Legislative Committee on State Education. In 1956, the HEALD Commission (Temporary State Commission on Educational Finances) commented on school organization: “No school district which is not part of a taxing unit for the support of a high school is considered by the Commission to be a satisfactory school district regardless of the number of pupils involved.”

None of the 29 districts had a high school. In fact, $200,000 was being paid to the Elmira City School District in tuition charges.

In an effort to speed up consolidation, the legislature and Gov. W. Averell Harriman, “acting on the recommendation of the Commission revised the formula for allocating state aid cutting off or curtailing aid in about 1,000 districts by a total of five million dollars.”

The Elmira Study Committee on Consolidation cited school population growth as an argument favoring consolidation. According to its figures, there were 11,300 children in the consolidated area, compared with 13,340 children in 1961. In the brochure — titled "Elmira Consolidation: The Plan For Progress. The Best Education For The Children At The Least Cost," published by the committee — a capital construction program of $7.7 million was proposed (that would be nearly $65 million in today's dollars). The projects listed were Broadway area elementary and junior high school at one location, a Pine City elementary school, a West Elmira junior high school and a West Elmira senior high school, along with alterations in many other buildings."

Elmira residents opposed to consolidation noted that new construction was outside the city limits. Flynn challenged figures presented in the brochure and pointed to a similar consolidation plan in Ithaca, where costs soared above projections.

W.H. Tuttle, of West Second Street, wrote in a letter to the editor, “Sure the plan says somebody way off somewhere, somebody in Albany or Santa Claus land will pay most of the bill. But where does Albany get its money? Chemung County folks pay more into Albany than Albany ever pays back.”

The issue of an “advisory referendum” was one that inflamed passions. Addressing the Elmira School Board on June 25, following the vote by the rural districts and prior to the board vote on the matter, attorney George H. Winner, a former Elmira corporation counsel, stated that “an investigation of consolidation laws failed to reveal any provision for an advisory referendum of city voters." He added that an unofficial vote taken on such an issue is “usually unsatisfactory.” At the same meeting, Mrs. Winner, representing the League of Women Voters, told the board that the League favored consolidation “very much.”

Opposition to school consolidation outside the city was led by the Hendy Avenue School Board. The West Elmira area had about 30 percent of the population in the 29 rural districts involved in the plan. They pointed to the heavy cost of new buildings and claimed that preliminary costs had been “underestimated as much as 100 percent.”

The Hendy Avenue School Board believed they could support their own school system and “do it just as economically as under consolidation.” They did not oppose consolidation if they were left out.

A leading spokesman was Hendy school board member William Schweizer, who argued that alternative methods of organization should be considered by the state but were not.

On June 25, 1957, the Elmira School Board voted unanimously for consolidation. Under state law, there was no breakdown according to involved school districts; only an overall total was made known.

According to the Star-Gazette the day after the vote, “it was learned unofficially that a little more than 1,000 voters were counted at Hendy Avenue School."

The Sunday Telegram on June 23, three days after the vote, expressed some consternation with what had transpired: “Not in many years has a local problem been given as thorough an airing as the proposal to consolidate 29 school districts lying in the east, south and west of Elmira, with the city schools system. … It is a striking commentary that two out of each three persons possessing a right to vote refrained from doing so. The decision of this one-third thus becomes the decision of the entire bloc of qualified voters. School matters are too important to thus shrugged off ... ."

Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.

The process was labeled a “Hitler-like system,” the goal was described as “the wisest way for getting the most out of the tax dollar,” and a state official was “tickled pink by the decision.” The issue was the consolidation of 29 rural school districts with the Elmira City School District in June 1957.

Attorney Thomas J. Flynn, a former city school board president, was the leading opponent of the school merger plan. Dr. Milton Goldsmith, a school board member, spoke in favor, and Harry W. Langworthy, of the state Education Department, approved of the “wide margin” in the vote.

Out of a potential 9,000 eligible voters, approximately a third voted.

The Star-Gazette reported on June 21, 1957, that “the unofficial count showed 2,416 in favor of consolidation, 1,075 opposed and 17 void ballots.” While residents in the rural districts could vote, voters in the City of Elmira could not.

The consolidation plan was an outcome of a master plan proposed in 1947 by a Joint Legislative Committee on State Education. In 1956, the HEALD Commission (Temporary State Commission on Educational Finances) commented on school organization: “No school district which is not part of a taxing unit for the support of a high school is considered by the Commission to be a satisfactory school district regardless of the number of pupils involved.”

None of the 29 districts had a high school. In fact, $200,000 was being paid to the Elmira City School District in tuition charges.

School districts resist mergers despite benefits

In an effort to speed up consolidation, the legislature and Gov. W. Averell Harriman, “acting on the recommendation of the Commission revised the formula for allocating state aid cutting off or curtailing aid in about 1,000 districts by a total of five million dollars.”

The Elmira Study Committee on Consolidation cited school population growth as an argument favoring consolidation. According to its figures, there were 11,300 children in the consolidated area, compared with 13,340 children in 1961. In the brochure — titled "Elmira Consolidation: The Plan For Progress. The Best Education For The Children At The Least Cost," published by the committee — a capital construction program of $7.7 million was proposed (that would be nearly $65 million in today's dollars). The projects listed were Broadway area elementary and junior high school at one location, a Pine City elementary school, a West Elmira junior high school and a West Elmira senior high school, along with alterations in many other buildings."

Elmira residents opposed to consolidation noted that new construction was outside the city limits. Flynn challenged figures presented in the brochure and pointed to a similar consolidation plan in Ithaca, where costs soared above projections.

W.H. Tuttle, of West Second Street, wrote in a letter to the editor, “Sure the plan says somebody way off somewhere, somebody in Albany or Santa Claus land will pay most of the bill. But where does Albany get its money? Chemung County folks pay more into Albany than Albany ever pays back.”

Dirigible California Arrow flew over Elmira in 1906

The issue of an “advisory referendum” was one that inflamed passions. Addressing the Elmira School Board on June 25, following the vote by the rural districts and prior to the board vote on the matter, attorney George H. Winner, a former Elmira corporation counsel, stated that “an investigation of consolidation laws failed to reveal any provision for an advisory referendum of city voters." He added that an unofficial vote taken on such an issue is “usually unsatisfactory.” At the same meeting, Mrs. Winner, representing the League of Women Voters, told the board that the League favored consolidation “very much.”

Opposition to school consolidation outside the city was led by the Hendy Avenue School Board. The West Elmira area had about 30 percent of the population in the 29 rural districts involved in the plan. They pointed to the heavy cost of new buildings and claimed that preliminary costs had been “underestimated as much as 100 percent.”

The Hendy Avenue School Board believed they could support their own school system and “do it just as economically as under consolidation.” They did not oppose consolidation if they were left out.

A leading spokesman was Hendy school board member William Schweizer, who argued that alternative methods of organization should be considered by the state but were not.

Elmira history: Odd local laws from 1830s and '40s

On June 25, 1957, the Elmira School Board voted unanimously for consolidation. Under state law, there was no breakdown according to involved school districts; only an overall total was made known.

According to the Star-Gazette the day after the vote, “it was learned unofficially that a little more than 1,000 voters were counted at Hendy Avenue School."

The Sunday Telegram on June 23, three days after the vote, expressed some consternation with what had transpired: “Not in many years has a local problem been given as thorough an airing as the proposal to consolidate 29 school districts lying in the east, south and west of Elmira, with the city schools system. … It is a striking commentary that two out of each three persons possessing a right to vote refrained from doing so. The decision of this one-third thus becomes the decision of the entire bloc of qualified voters. School matters are too important to thus shrugged off ... ."

Jim Hare is a former history teacher and mayor of the City of Elmira. His column appears monthly in the Star-Gazette.

Seventeen 4-H'ers won gold medal showmanship awards recently at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day.

Patch Staff

Madisyn McCrary of the Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, explains how to shoe a horse. She won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beau Westad of the Suisun Valley 4-H Club explains his project, "Reeling in Channel Catfish." He won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Alissa Mauldin of Elmira 4-H Club answers a question about skin and eye problems in pigs. She won a gold for her work. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jonny Tiernan-Lang (back) of the Elmira 4-H Club talks about his project, "AKC Toy Breeds." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Addelyn Widmer of the Suisun Valley 4-H Club explains camera settings during her photography presentation. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Celeste Harrison of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, talks about how she trained her Doberman pinscher. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

James George, Suisun Valley 4-H Club, awaits evaluators for his presentation, “Event Planning.” He won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Grace Kemble, Suisun Valley 4-H Club, explains how to “take a perfect picture.” She won gold for her handcrafted display (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Miriam Lafitte, Vaca Valley 4-H Club, won a gold award for her improv presentation at Solano County 4-H Presentation Day (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In an interpretative reading presentation, Kailey Mauldin of the Elmira 4-H Club reads from, “The Secret Life of Bees." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — They presented everything from “How to Take a Perfect Picture” to “The Secret Life of Bees” to “Anything is Pawsible: How I Trained My Doberman pinscher.”When it was all over, 17 4-H’ers, including seven from the Suisun Valley 4-H Club, won gold medal showmanship awards at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held recently in the Sierra Vista K-8 School, Vacaville.

The presentations included demonstrations, educational displays, illustrated talks, an interpretative reading and a cultural arts offering.

The 4-H’ers followed a four-pronged process involving research, organization, graphics and sharing of knowledge, said Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H program representative. Adult evaluators, all involved with the Solano County 4-H Youth Development Program, asked the youths questions and scored them on their knowledge and presentation.

Twenty-six 4-H’ers, representing eight of the county’s 11 clubs, participated.

In the junior educational display talk category, ages 9- 10, the gold winners, all from the Suisun Valley 4-H Club, were: Grace Kemble, “How to Take a Perfect Picture”; Daniel Taliaferro, “Perfect Pizza Pans”; and Beau Westad, “Reeling in Channel Catfish.”

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the intermediate educational display talk category, ages 11-13, evaluators selected six gold winners: James George of the Suisun Valley 4-H, “Event Planning”; Celeste Harrison of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, Vallejo, “Anything Is Pawsible: How I Trained My Doberman Pinscher”; Irma Brown, Suisun Valley 4-H, “Elements of a Movie”; Madisyn McCrary of Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, “How to Shoe a Horse”; Alissa Mauldin, Elmira 4-H, for “This Little Piggy Has…” and Darren Stephens, Sherwood Forest 4-H, “Can Chickens Get Maggots?”

In the senior educational display talk category, ages 14-19, three took home the gold: Hanna Stephens, Sherwood Forest 4-H, “Living Life as a Guide Dog Puppy”; Jessica Carpenter, Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, “How to Trim Goats and Sheep Hooves” and Alexis Taliaferro, Suisun Valley 4-H, “College Tours: A Glimpse Into the Future.”

In the intermediate illustrated talk category, ages 11-13, gold awards went to Julietta Wynholds, Sherwood Forest 4-H, for “The Basics of Animation”; and Braddison Beathem, Tremont 4-H, “Let’s Talk Tack: How to Tack a Horse in English Tack.”

Senior demonstration, ages 14-18: Zoe Sloan of Elmira 4-H, for “Bomb Voyage”

Senior/Interpretative Reading, ages 14-19: Kailey Mauldin, Elmira 4-H, “The Secret Life of Bees” by author Sue Monk Kidd

Intermediate Culture Arts, ages 11-13: Miriam Lafitte, Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, “Total Improv”

The winners are now eligible to compete in an Area 4-H Presentation Day, a qualifying event for the California State 4-H Field Day. Area Presentation Days will take place in Antioch, Jackson and California Polytechnic Institute (Cal Poly), all on March 23. Other Area Presentation Days will be held in Siskiyou County on April 6, in Mariposa County on April 14; in Walnut on May 4; and in Tehama County on May 11.

Solano County 4-H Ambassador Natalie Greene of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, served as the emcee.

The newly formed and soon-to-be-chartered Heritage 4-H Club of Vacaville won the participation award for having the greatest percentage of participants. The club is affiliated with the Heritage Christian Academy, Vacaville.

Six 4-H’ers participated in the primary educational display talks category, ages 5-8. The primary group is not evaluated. Receiving participation certificates in that category were four Heritage Club members Dale Harder, “The Perfect Picnic,” Sunny Harder, “Camping”; Christopher Parks, “Model Trains”; and William Parks, “Dog Man: My Favorite Book and How to Draw the Characters. Certificates also went to Nevaeh Tiernan-Lang of Elmira 4-H, “How to Build a Christmas Tree” and Alia Wynholds of Sherwood Forest 4-H,“On the Trail.”

Receiving participant certificates in the junior educational display talk category, ages 9-10, were Addelyn Widmer of Suisun Valley 4-H, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Photography”; and Jonny Tiernan-Lang, Elmira 4-H, for “AKC Toy Breeds.”

In the intermediate educational display talk, ages 11-13, Heath Moritz of the Westwind 4-H Club, Fairfield-Suisun, received a participation certificate for “Watch Me Now.”

During the Presentation Day, attendees also had the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, including designing and launching a paper rocket through the STEM activity; making slime at the Slime Station, as well as learning how to sew a blanket, “Cuddle Me Close,” for hospital patients.

Solano County has 11 4-H clubs, with a total membership of 400:

The Solano County 4-H Youth Development Program, part of the UC Cooperative Extension Program, follows the motto, “Making the Best Better.” 4-H, which stands for head, heart, health and hands, is open to youths ages 5 to 19. In age-appropriate projects, they learn skills through hands-on learning in projects ranging from arts and crafts, computers and leadership to dog care, poultry, rabbits and woodworking. They develop skills they would otherwise not attain at home or in public or private schools. For more information, contact Valerie Williams at [email protected].

Story contributed by Kathy Keatley Garvey

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Seventeen 4-H'ers won gold medal showmanship awards recently at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day.

Patch Staff

Madisyn McCrary of the Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, explains how to shoe a horse. She won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beau Westad of the Suisun Valley 4-H Club explains his project, "Reeling in Channel Catfish." He won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Alissa Mauldin of Elmira 4-H Club answers a question about skin and eye problems in pigs. She won a gold for her work. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jonny Tiernan-Lang (back) of the Elmira 4-H Club talks about his project, "AKC Toy Breeds." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Addelyn Widmer of the Suisun Valley 4-H Club explains camera settings during her photography presentation. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Celeste Harrison of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, talks about how she trained her Doberman pinscher. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

James George, Suisun Valley 4-H Club, awaits evaluators for his presentation, “Event Planning.” He won a gold award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Grace Kemble, Suisun Valley 4-H Club, explains how to “take a perfect picture.” She won gold for her handcrafted display (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Miriam Lafitte, Vaca Valley 4-H Club, won a gold award for her improv presentation at Solano County 4-H Presentation Day (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In an interpretative reading presentation, Kailey Mauldin of the Elmira 4-H Club reads from, “The Secret Life of Bees." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

SOLANO COUNTY, CA — They presented everything from “How to Take a Perfect Picture” to “The Secret Life of Bees” to “Anything is Pawsible: How I Trained My Doberman pinscher.”When it was all over, 17 4-H’ers, including seven from the Suisun Valley 4-H Club, won gold medal showmanship awards at the annual Solano County 4-H Presentation Day, held recently in the Sierra Vista K-8 School, Vacaville.

The presentations included demonstrations, educational displays, illustrated talks, an interpretative reading and a cultural arts offering.

The 4-H’ers followed a four-pronged process involving research, organization, graphics and sharing of knowledge, said Valerie Williams, Solano County 4-H program representative. Adult evaluators, all involved with the Solano County 4-H Youth Development Program, asked the youths questions and scored them on their knowledge and presentation.

Twenty-six 4-H’ers, representing eight of the county’s 11 clubs, participated.

In the junior educational display talk category, ages 9- 10, the gold winners, all from the Suisun Valley 4-H Club, were: Grace Kemble, “How to Take a Perfect Picture”; Daniel Taliaferro, “Perfect Pizza Pans”; and Beau Westad, “Reeling in Channel Catfish.”

Find out what's happening in Dixonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the intermediate educational display talk category, ages 11-13, evaluators selected six gold winners: James George of the Suisun Valley 4-H, “Event Planning”; Celeste Harrison of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, Vallejo, “Anything Is Pawsible: How I Trained My Doberman Pinscher”; Irma Brown, Suisun Valley 4-H, “Elements of a Movie”; Madisyn McCrary of Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, “How to Shoe a Horse”; Alissa Mauldin, Elmira 4-H, for “This Little Piggy Has…” and Darren Stephens, Sherwood Forest 4-H, “Can Chickens Get Maggots?”

In the senior educational display talk category, ages 14-19, three took home the gold: Hanna Stephens, Sherwood Forest 4-H, “Living Life as a Guide Dog Puppy”; Jessica Carpenter, Pleasants Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, “How to Trim Goats and Sheep Hooves” and Alexis Taliaferro, Suisun Valley 4-H, “College Tours: A Glimpse Into the Future.”

In the intermediate illustrated talk category, ages 11-13, gold awards went to Julietta Wynholds, Sherwood Forest 4-H, for “The Basics of Animation”; and Braddison Beathem, Tremont 4-H, “Let’s Talk Tack: How to Tack a Horse in English Tack.”

Senior demonstration, ages 14-18: Zoe Sloan of Elmira 4-H, for “Bomb Voyage”

Senior/Interpretative Reading, ages 14-19: Kailey Mauldin, Elmira 4-H, “The Secret Life of Bees” by author Sue Monk Kidd

Intermediate Culture Arts, ages 11-13: Miriam Lafitte, Vaca Valley 4-H Club, Vacaville, “Total Improv”

The winners are now eligible to compete in an Area 4-H Presentation Day, a qualifying event for the California State 4-H Field Day. Area Presentation Days will take place in Antioch, Jackson and California Polytechnic Institute (Cal Poly), all on March 23. Other Area Presentation Days will be held in Siskiyou County on April 6, in Mariposa County on April 14; in Walnut on May 4; and in Tehama County on May 11.

Solano County 4-H Ambassador Natalie Greene of the Sherwood Forest 4-H Club, served as the emcee.

The newly formed and soon-to-be-chartered Heritage 4-H Club of Vacaville won the participation award for having the greatest percentage of participants. The club is affiliated with the Heritage Christian Academy, Vacaville.

Six 4-H’ers participated in the primary educational display talks category, ages 5-8. The primary group is not evaluated. Receiving participation certificates in that category were four Heritage Club members Dale Harder, “The Perfect Picnic,” Sunny Harder, “Camping”; Christopher Parks, “Model Trains”; and William Parks, “Dog Man: My Favorite Book and How to Draw the Characters. Certificates also went to Nevaeh Tiernan-Lang of Elmira 4-H, “How to Build a Christmas Tree” and Alia Wynholds of Sherwood Forest 4-H,“On the Trail.”

Receiving participant certificates in the junior educational display talk category, ages 9-10, were Addelyn Widmer of Suisun Valley 4-H, “Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Photography”; and Jonny Tiernan-Lang, Elmira 4-H, for “AKC Toy Breeds.”

In the intermediate educational display talk, ages 11-13, Heath Moritz of the Westwind 4-H Club, Fairfield-Suisun, received a participation certificate for “Watch Me Now.”

During the Presentation Day, attendees also had the opportunity to participate in hands-on activities, including designing and launching a paper rocket through the STEM activity; making slime at the Slime Station, as well as learning how to sew a blanket, “Cuddle Me Close,” for hospital patients.

Solano County has 11 4-H clubs, with a total membership of 400:

The Solano County 4-H Youth Development Program, part of the UC Cooperative Extension Program, follows the motto, “Making the Best Better.” 4-H, which stands for head, heart, health and hands, is open to youths ages 5 to 19. In age-appropriate projects, they learn skills through hands-on learning in projects ranging from arts and crafts, computers and leadership to dog care, poultry, rabbits and woodworking. They develop skills they would otherwise not attain at home or in public or private schools. For more information, contact Valerie Williams at [email protected].

Story contributed by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.