Red Ribbon

Seventy-seven youth recently presented speeches at the annual Clark County 4-H Speech Contest. Youth were encouraged to write and present speeches on any topic of their choice. Three classrooms, Mrs Pelayo (Trapp), Mrs. Sallee (Pilot View) and Mrs. Green (Providence) had 100 percent attendance from their classes. Up to two champions from each age group will advance to the Bluegrass Area Communication Festival on the last Saturday of April in Fayette County. Congratulations to the following individuals for their excellent work and efforts.

Fifteen Clark County youth participated in the Bluegrass Area Communications Festival last weekend in Powell County. Participants presented speeches and demonstrations in the eight county contest. Congratulations to the following individuals for an excellent job! Champion youth will compete in the State Communications Contest in Lexington Saturday, July 13. Speeches 9-year-olds: Payton Losh and Kaitlyn Wiseman, blue ribbons 10-year-olds: Hayden Turley, champion and blue ribbon: Hannah Brandenburg, blue ribbon 11-year-olds: Kasey Embry and Channing Mae Taulbee, blue ribbons 12-year-olds: TJ Svoboda, champion and blue ribbon 14-year-olds: Dahlia Svoboda, blue ribbon 16-year-olds: Alexa Turner, champion and blue ribbon 17-18-year-olds: Cory Parr, blue ribbon Demonstrations Junior Foods: Breanna Burkhead, champion and blue ribbon Junior General: Bethany Mohr, champion and blue ribbon Junior Horticulture: Abby Rank, champion and blue ribbon Junior Presentation Software: Maddy Williams, red ribbon Three Senior Mock Interview: Alexa Turner, champion and blue ribbon Senior Performing Arts: Seth Turner, champion and blue ribbon.

Congratulations to the following individuals: Speeches 9-year-olds: Abigail Rank, blue ribbon 10-year-olds: Dahlia Svoboda, champion and a blue ribbon; Shamren Wyatt, and a blue ribbon 11-year-olds: Katie Kagin, blue ribbon, Jordan Menchen, blue ribbon 12-year-olds: Courtland Watson, blue ribbon; Jessica Arambul, blue ribbon 14-year-olds: Haley Flannery, champion and a red ribbon 16-year-olds: Katie Ullery, blue...

HARRODSBURG - Anyone familiar with the results of the Floral Hall at the Mercer County Fair and Horse Show will recognize the names of Linda Cloud, Darlene Tyler and Tamme Schroeder. None of them can count the number of blue ribbons each has won over the years, but their Mercer County homemakers' club has led or been second in the number of ribbon winners for 23 of the last 24 years. The three women have more than just crafts, the Dixie Belles Homemakers and Floral Hall entries to hold them together.

The Clark County 4-H sewing group has finished another great year. Members have been working hard and learning new skills in the area of project construction using new sewing techniques. Youth could complete a variety of projects including clothing and non-clothing options. Beginner sewers completed laundry bags, backpack purses and pajama bottoms while more advanced youth learned how to sew anything from duffle bags to dresses. Youth not only learned how to construct their projects but were allowed to show their creativity by picking colorful fabrics, adding embellishments or coordinating outfits with accessories.

Niki Martin and Jonathan Burton were married Saturday, December 8, 2007, by the Rev. Alan Sutherland in a ceremony at the Thoroughbred Center in Lexington at 2:30 p.m. The former Miss Martin is the daughter of Robert and Suzanne Martin of Winchester. Mr. Burton is the son of Gerald and Virginia Burton of Lexington. The new Mrs. Burton is a 2004 graduate of George Rogers Clark High School and is employed as an advertising coordinator at Landmark Communications. Mr. Burton graduated from Lafayette High School in 1999 and is employed by Forever Communications as program director for Star 103.7 in Frankfort.

Illa Carey has learned that when it comes to the state fair, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. A quilt with a poinsettia pattern that she entered in the 2003 fair received a red ribbon in the category of pieced applique. But when she put it in the holiday category of this year's fair, it earned a blue ribbon. "They say you have to know what category to put them in," says the 74-year-old Carey, who does her needlework in her home on Black Pike near Moreland. Carey selected her pattern from one she received while in a pattern club.

Members of the Clark County 4-H Sewing Group have spent the last year learning new skills in the area of project construction using new sewing techniques. Those skills have been put to the test as judges evaluated their works. For the last year leading up to the competition, sewing group members could complete a variety of projects, including clothing and non-clothing options. Beginner sewers completed laundry bags, backpack purses and pajama bottoms, while more advanced youth learned how to sew anything from duffle bags to dresses.

If you drive by McDowell Place, you might notice the profusion of flowers at various spots around the stately assisted living center. You might think that the facility's management has spent a lot of green to turn the outside into a garden paradise. You would be right about your observation of the prettiest gardens this side of Babylon. But you would be wrong if you think it was planted and maintained by professionals. Part of the paradise is the product of two residents, Catherine Wilson and Edna Lankford.

With every passing year, it is getting harder for me to tell if I'm working at the Boyle County Fair or working for the fair. This year, perhaps, I've just become the carnival. It's hard to explain the draw. There are the dizzying Ferris wheel lights, the sweet smell of the Optimist Club ribeye sandwiches, and the motorcross smog. More intoxicating for me, however, is the idea of how the county fair started. People separated by vast stretches of farmland coming together to show off their quilts, jams and jellies.