4H reports to Board of Supervisors that 1,100 youth and teens are participating in programs

Botetourt County’s 4-H program is moving along nicely, Tyler Painter, 4-H extension agent, told the Supervisors at the May 24, 2022 meeting.

The program has approximately 1,100 students participating in a variety of programs that include clubs such as livestock, robotics, horse, shooting education, teen leadership, 4-Honey (honey bees), and outdoor skills. The clubs are not held on school grounds; they meet at the Fincastle Community Center.

There is also an archery class at Central Academy Middle School, Painter said.

The programs involve 11 of the county’s schools and 75 percent of all fourth and fifth grade students, Painter reported.

Painter said the programs offered are related in some way to the SOL requirements and are part of the Character Counts program.

One student gave an enthusiastic reading to the Supervisors, a dramatic reading skill developed as part of the 4-H programs.

Many of the students plan to participate in the Botetourt County Agriculture Fair in Buchanan on August 5 and 6, Painter said.

                                                                                          — Anita Firebaugh, Special to The Botetourt Bee