AT THE COUNTY FAIR

Though many

kidsherein thecountrygeta realhigh

show-

ing theircattleand domestic

prowess

atfairs, there are others

who

gettheirs

smoking

grassand sniffingotheraddictive drugs.

Today,

28% Of Small Town Kids Are

Into

Big Town Drugs

It'strue.

Drugs have become

as big a

problem

hereasthey are

inlargercities.

Today some 28%

ofsmall

town

kidsareusingdrugs

likemarijuana, crackandcocaine.

To most

ofthem, it's

no

bigdeal.

They

getit

from

theirfriends and useit

wherever

theyare...

acornfield, a

washroom,

afoot- ball

game.

When

^it

comes

todrugs, nokidor

town — no

matter

how

bigor

how

small

—

is

immune.

That's

why you need

tohave an honest conversation with yourfriendsaboutdrugs. Without confrontation. Withoutyelling.

Talkingisthe only

way

toget answers.

And

to give information.

Remember,

if

you

cancreate an environment

where

your friendscantell

you

anything

—

they'vegotten

more

thana blue ribbon.

Partnership For A ^Drug-Free

America

Gary

Eastman

taps amapletree.

Making

_haslong^and_been^marketinga tradition^mapleatStock-^syrup bridgeValleyCentralSchool.Ag-

ricultural students, parents and agricultureteachershave been involved inthe collecting ofmaple sapand the makingofmaplesyrupsince1983.

Intheprocessofmaking maplesyrup, students areabletodevelop

many

skills that willbeuseful inthe futuresuchas handlingandprocessingtherawmaterials andpackagingand marketingthefinished product. Students learn about quality controlandgrading.Safe handling ofhot syrup and consumer-safe packaging of theproductareemphasized.

Technology has given maple syrup makingarebirth.Plastic linesarehooked righttothetrees tocollect sap. Stockbr- idge Valleyhasa pre-heatertosavefuel oilandto increase the efficiencyofsyrup making.

The1990maplesugaringseason con- tinued the tradition forover50 members oftheStockbridge Valley

FFA

Chapter.

Maple Syrup Time

A ^{Tradition For}

Stocl<bridge Valley FFA

By

Nathan Jacobs and

Dan

Cordell

Twenty

FFA

memberssignedoutmaple sapbucketsandplastictubingtocollect sapfor the

FFA

chapter.Studentstapped treesontheir

own

farmoronthefarms of neighborsandfriends.

An

additional20 studentshelpedtocollectand evaporate themaplesapduringafterschoolhours, nights,andweekends.

The

FFA

membersboiledtheir first saponMarch4thandfinished theseason March23.

Students operated the maple syrup projectwithsome workingas

many

as

150hoursforthe entireseason.Theevapo- ratorwasoperatedduringandafterschool and on weekends. "It is odd being at schoolaftermidnightonaweekend"says ChadBarriger, a seniorinvolvedinthe project.

Thechapter's"SugarHouse"isanold log cabin,whichwasdonatedtothechap- terbythenearbyvillageofCazenoviain 1983.

More

than60membershelpedtore- locate thecabintotheschoolgrounds.

The maplesyrupprojecthasbeenthe sourceof

many

lessonplansrangingfrom plant science,productionandprocessing, conservation,mechanics and technology.

Maplesyrup has proventobethe"sweet harvestofeducationandknowledge"at StockbridgeValleyCentralSchool. •••

Ray

Lighthall, chapter advisor,

measures

the U| ^{•"•^}

j^

^,

temperature of

^ ^{'^^•wt^}

the thickening

'^

maplesap.

Gary Eastman,left,and Nathan Jacobs collect sap the old-fashioned way.

Plastictubing

now

transportsthe sap, reducing the needforbucketstotfie

sugar house.

FFA members

produced 100 gallons this year. Stockbridge Valley Maple Syrup has beensoldtopeoplefrom 38 statesandfiveforeign countries.

34 FFA NewHorizons

Lean On Me

With her father injured and unable to run the family farm, Beth Reason rose to the task.

By

DianneL.Beetler

After

_mer,^{her father}Beth Reason, of Buffalo^{wasinjuredlastsum-}Prai- rie, Illinois, became responsible forthefamilyfarm.

On

hersixteenth birthday, Bethwas helpingtoclearhedgetreesfrompasture ground

when

herfather,DaveReason,44, sawed

down

atree thatunexpectedlyfell toward him.

He

suffereda chest injury thatpreventedhim from working onhis 600-acrefarm with250feeder calvesand

1,200markethogs.

Beth andhersister,Laura, 14,both

FFA

members,took over withtheassis- tance oftheir sister,Jenny,9,andtheir mother, Kathy. Laura'sallergieslimited heroutdoor work,soBethdidmostofthe choresandfieldwork, exceptforplanting andharvesting.

Every daysheconsulted with herdad,

who

relied on her observations ofthe livestockandmachinery.

Althoughthephysical laborwastiring, the biggest job was setting priorities, evaluating livestockandmakingdecisions, Bethsays.

"Sometimes I gotdiscouraged," she admits."ButItriednottothinkaboutit.

Thefarmcomesfirst."

Shedid take threeweeksofftoattend the state

FFA

convention, the Illinois Agricultural Youth ^Institute, and the Washington Conference Program. Her mother andsisterstookoverthechoresto allowBethtoattendthese events.

AlthoughDave Reasonhasrecovered fromhischest injury,itapparently trig- gered a severedust allergy thathasre-

ducedhislungcapacitybyone-half.His abilitytoworkislimited,and Bethand Laura continue to handle

many

chores afterschoolandonweekends.

Beth wants to study bio-technology and work with genetic engineering in

Dave

Reason, right, usually wearsa

mask when

workingwith livestock but leaves

much

of that

work

todaughters Laura,left,andBeth.

animals.

"I'vehadbadexperiences withfarm- ing," sheadmits. "I've seen

my

dad's healthruinedbecause ofit.ButIreally likethe

way

oflifeandplanonlivingon afarminthe future." •••

Help With Hugo

A South Carolina FFA chapter and

^its

community rebuilds with the help of a Tennessee FFA chapter

after a devastating hurricane.

When

through^HurricaneSouth Carolina

^Hugo

^sweptlast September,itsdevastationwas

feltallthe

way

toTennessee.

Warren

County

FFA

Chapter from McMinnville, Tennessee, adopted the Lincoln

FFA

ChapterlocatedinMcClen- nanville.SouthCarolina.

McClennanvilleis a shrimping/fish- ingcommunity45 milesnorthof Char- leston.Drivingwindsand20feetofwater destroyedtheLincolnagriculture depart- ment and

many

ofthe students'homes.

Members

oftheWarren Countychap- June-July,1990

ter

made

an exploratory visit to South Carolina in February to see

how

they couldbest aid the agriculturedepartment andcommunity.Theydecidedtofocuson three projects.Thefirstwastocontactall the

FFA

chapters inTennesseetoraise fundsandcollectsupplies tohelprebuild the agriculturalmechanicsprogramatthe school.

Thechapteralsoaskedfordonationsof appropriate equipment from

Warren

County industries. Most recently, they collectedtreesandshrubsdonatedbyabout 400 commercial nurseries in Warren County, whichpromotes itselfas"The NurseryCapitaloftheWorld."

InApril18,15membersoftheWarren Countychapterand advisorRussellWat- sonleft

home

withatractor-trailerloadof treesandshrubberytoreplacethose de- stroyedbythehurricane.

The

PTA

membersplantedtreesand shrubberyatthehighschool,siteofthe

new

townhall,elementaryschool, veter-

ansmonument,post officeandotherpublic areas.

"We

wish

we

hadthe resourcesand timetodomore,but

we

earnestlyhope

thissmalleffortwillhavesomesignifi- cant effect," saidWarren Countyadvisor Watson. "I think the friendships

made

throughthecooperation oftheCharleston County andWarren Countypeoplewill prove tobe atleastas valuableas the

materialresults." •••

35

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