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Candidate for 4-H position to speak The Carroll County Extension Office will hold a presentation by a candidate for the open 4-H educator position at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at 700 Agriculture Center, Westminster. Time will be given for questions from the audience. This part of the interview process is open to the general public, and anyone with an interest in Carroll County 4-H is encouraged to attend. The committee will adjourn with the candidate for a closed session interview around 7:30 p.m. Anyone planning to attend is requested to contact the Extension Office at 410-386-2760 for planning.

Nearly 500 bidders drove the price of a loaf of bread up to $110. An excavating contractor paid $3,000 for a cake judged grand champion. Colorfully iced replicas of a farm, a tractor and popular cartoon characters each sold for close to $300. The annual cake auction at the Carroll County 4-H FFA Fair sparks lively bidding among friendly competitors, high prices willingly paid for prize-winning baked goods and smiles all around from contestants eager to show off their culinary creativity.

The first of nearly 20,000 exhibits arrive Thursday at the fairgrounds in Westminster. Tractor operators compete on an obstacle course Friday morning as 4-H members submit their fowl for judging. By evening, a popular country and western artist will have crowds singing and feet stomping in the horse ring. The 108th Carroll County 4-H & FFA Fair, which opens Thursday and will run through Aug. 5, will be filled with the event's signature "ag-citement." Visitors to the Ag Center, home to the fair, will see mules jumping and pulling, pigs racing and swimming and the county's premier livestock groomed to perfection and competing for prizes.

Equine enthusiasts will ride and walk in a variety of activities July 23 at the Howard County Fairgrounds to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The event is sponsored by Howard County 4-H horse clubs -- the Centaur; and Spur and Stirrup 4-H clubs -- and the American Cancer Society. Participants will be at the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for Ride for Life, a family-oriented event for people of all ages that is to include rides around the ring, walks for individuals or teams of two, a yard sale and flea market in the six shaded cow barns, old-fashioned candy and food.

The Baltimore County 4-H program will sponsor five free baby-sitting workshops this summer. Classes will be held from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. June 23 and 30, July 21, and Aug. 5 and 19 at the Baltimore County Extension Office, 1840 York Road, Suite J, Timonium. Each class is limited to 20. Participants should pack a lunch. Maryland law requires that someone must be at least age 13 to care for younger children. Participants must be 13 within two weeks of the date of a class. Registration: Extension Office at 410-666-1025.

The Carroll County Agricultural Center is moving forward with plans to build a rabbit barn with funds donated in memory of a young woman dedicated to ideals of 4-H and to the care of animals. The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission yesterday reviewed details for a 3,520-square-foot barn set for construction at the center in Westminster. The building, slated for completion next summer, will be within easy walking distance of the Danele Shipley Memorial Arena, which opened in July.

The Carroll County Agricultural Center is moving forward with plans to build a rabbit barn with funds donated in memory of a young woman dedicated to ideals of 4-H and to the care of animals. The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission yesterday reviewed details for a 3,520-square-foot barn set for construction at the center in Westminster. The building, slated for completion next summer, will be within easy walking distance of the Danele Shipley Memorial Arena, which opened in July.

Carroll County seniors entered numerous exhibits in the Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair's Senior Day. The Bureau of Aging presented ribbons to all entries in more than 20 categories, as well as therapeutic submissions from members of the Senior Inclusion Program for disabled adults. The results are: Westminster Senior Center, Senior Inclusion Program: Becky Myers: Blue Pencil Holder and Ceramic Red Calico Cat, Blue and Reserve Champion Ribbon; Ceramic Snowman Plaque, Blue Ribbon; Oil Painting of a Flower, Blue and Grand Champion Ribbon.

Running the 107th Carroll County 4-H/FFA Fair, opening the new $5.5 million arena, overseeing 75,000 visitors and 16,000 exhibits, with more than 1,000 of them live animals, and trying to help his children show their entries proved too much for Barry Lippy. The 57-year-old retired teacher, who has managed the past four county fairs, is stepping down from the job. Although he has not submitted his resignation to the Carroll County Fair Board, he has told its members that he plans to resign.