4 H Members

THE 4-H slogan asks, "Are You Into It?" The Dayton 4-H Club answers with a resounding "Yes!" With a membership of more than 100, the Dayton 4-H Club is one of the largest in Howard County. It has been around for more than 25 years. While some clubs specialize in horses or dogs, Dayton 4-H is open to a variety of projects: beekeeping, forestry, creative writing, cooking, dairy, beef, swine, sheep, photography, rockets or bicycles. To be considered complete, each project must be presented to the community.

After the last ribbons are handed out at the Carroll County 4-H Fair, some serious money starts changing hands when county bigwigs open their checkbooks to bid two to four times market value on the steers, lambs, hogs and other animals that fetch about $179,000 a year.Some of the money raised in the livestock auctions that are the culmination of the fair is donated to the fair or scholarship funds, but most 4-H members keep at least enough to cover feed costs, which can easily reach $1,000, and to build their savings for college.

After the last ribbons are handed out at the Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair, some serious money starts changing hands when county bigwigs open their checkbooks to bid two to four times the market value on steers, lambs, hogs and other animals that fetch about $179,000 a year.Some of the money raised in the livestock auctions that are the culmination of the fair is donated to the fair or scholarship funds, but most 4-H members keep at least enough to cover feed costs, which can easily reach $1,000, and to build their savings for college.

Jason Vanisko, 7, a 4-H member from Ellicott City, likes to help his older sister take care of her sheep and looks forward to having a beef steer next year, but he started participating in animal shows with something smaller and perhaps more playful: rabbits. "The breed we have is hard to do because they have a lot of wool," Jason said. "It gets matted easily. You have to brush them every day. But it is fun because we have a lot of [rabbits], and it's really fun to play with them." The long-eared animals are growing in popularity as a 4-H project and might soon become the most numerous show animal at the Howard County Fair, which began yesterday and runs through Saturday.

The guys thought they were pretty good fighters. But when they came up against Carlos Bedoya, instructor for the Westminster Karate Academy, they had met their match. Amid screaming cheers and laughter, Mr. Bedoya demonstrated his craft yesterday to about 100 Carroll County 4-H campers by "fighting" with volunteers from the audience. Each punch and kick was delivered just inches from his targets, causing them all to duck and flinch. "Just do what I did -- run!" advised one of the boys as his comrade warily eyed the 28-year-old karate master.

A group of 4-H members will be competing in the Maryland State Fair in Timonium, Aug. 25 and 26."This is something they've all been working for. After competing in smaller local shows, going to the State Fair is the highlight for them," said Ginny Conover, curator of theAndover Equestrian Center.Carol Kaschner, Karen Hopkins and Donna Umberger, the leaders of the 4-H club, have been working with the children and teen-agers to prepare them and their horses for this event. The riders are signed upin the classes of grooming and showmanship, riding, jumping and flatwork.

With the opening of the Howard County Fair less than a month away, those hoping to exhibit are watering gardens, feeding animals, attending workshops and anticipating another fun fair week.Staging the fair each August is a major volunteer project of the Howard County Fair Board, which is "always in need of new blood, new participation, and new ideas" said board president Rob Moxley.4-H members and their families, and many folks who are just interested, spend fair week plus the weeks before and after helping.

THE MARYLAND State Fair is a cornucopia of giant pumpkins, prize-winning scarecrows, flowers, quick breads and needlepoint through its Labor Day conclusion. But other displays and events take place one time only or on a special schedule. The following is a sampling of those fair highlights that hard-core fair buffs won't want to miss.Tomorrow from 7 to 11 p.m. on the midway only, the State Fair gates open for Family Fun Night, when fair-goers pay $5 each to ride as many rides -- including the Giant Wheel -- as they want, play the midway's games, and sample the fare at food stands.

A Shipley couple and a South Carroll High School senior are breaking new ground in 4-H with a Carroll County club focused on singing, dancing, miming, acting and recitation.While animal science and home economics remain the focal points of many clubs, 4-H is much more than just "cows and cooking," said Ron Zepp, who leads the club with his wife, Debbie. "Our main interest area is the performing arts."The new 4-H Performing Arts Club, which currently has 15 members, is open to all Carroll County youngsters, from ages 8 to 19 years.