Fair Funding


    One-third of all fairs in Washington State could disappear within the next two years. This would be due to the devastating budget cuts that the state has imposed because of the McCleary Decision, which had begun as a lawsuit between the state of Washington and the Network for Excellence in Washington Schools. This resulted in the court ruling that the state was not filling its requirement to properly fund much of the school system. Because of this ruling, various state departments were forced to cut their budgets by 15 percent to make up the difference in education funding. The Washington Department of Agriculture, specifically, chose to suspend much of the state's fair funding, as well as some funding for food banks, on the account of the fairs "not having much to do with promoting the state's agricultural education."
    According to John Morrison, the Washington State Fair Association's current president,  approximately thirty percent of all fairs in Washington State depend on the fair fund budget by at least 60%.  Although the aforementioned thirty percent of fairs will be hit the hardest, they aren't the only ones affected.  In fact, all fairs will feel the cut in some way or another.  Some fairs don't even know what their premiums are going to be until they receive fair funding.  Larger counties, such as Clark, depend less on the fair fund and are likewise not going to be hit as hard.  On the other hand, 70.3% of Wahkiakum County's budget comes solely from the fair fund.  Without outside help, Wahkiakum would be unable to host a county fair.  A lot of these rural county fairs have a huge impact on their local communities. In an interview with Lori Tweit from Wahkiakum County, their local high school's Dollar for Scholar program relies on not only the county fair but the fairgrounds which they also fear to lose in the near future. In Skamania County, Sally Mansur, the Program Director, shared stories of family owned businesses that were able to put their kids through college, for example, by running an elephant ear booth. She also shared about out of town visitors bringing in business that would be lost and hurtful for their local economy.

    Small counties already rely on county commissioner grants, and fundraising on top of the fair funding they receive. Without the huge support of this funding many fairs would have trouble staying afloat. If nothing is done about this, the effects could be devastating. 4-Hers who know the true impacts of the fair are encouraged to email, call, and write their legislators. It is imperative to share 4-H fair stories and how a fair is one of the largest classrooms in Washington, 4-Hers and fair visitors need to share what they've learned, spread the word, and be the change that saves Washington State fairs. #tellyourfairstory #weare4H #waleg


Cowlitz County Issue






Cowlitz County Issue

Matt Young

Walla Walla County Meeting #4

Walla Walla County
Erika Leinweber
February 6, 2015

Walla Walla discussed how media affects political involvement. We thought that new media makes it easier for an author to put information out and it is easier for more people to see it. Audiences are more inclined to take action because they have all the information at their finger tips. We also found that this influences how authors, or politicians, display their information. They will now use the media, like Twitter or Facebook, to reach more viwers because most Americans use these new forms of media. They can also get immediate feed back and opinions from viewers. Overall we thought that the author and the audience benefit from social media because the information gets out fast and to many people.

Cowlitz County - Meeting 1 & 2

Cowlitz County
Meetings 1 & 2
Matt Young

Media is a distribution of ideas and options quickly and easily to multiple people.

We discussed different definitions of media as well as the different sources of media. We also talked about the importance of freedom of speech and the responsibility that goes with it. We discussed two county issues then voted on the one to research and report. We determined what questions we would ask and who we would interview. The angle of the pictures we are going to take will show the extent of the issue.

Jefferson County Meeting #5

Jefferson County
Zara Kulish
Feb. 8, Meeting #5

Our last pre-conference meeting was all about finishing presentation boards. We did two issues. One focuses on an upcoming special election for a $38 million school district bond to make improvements to the Chimacum schools.  The other is the local response about the state's proposed budget to eliminate fair funding.
We researched topics by reading newspapers and other publications, budgets, etc. Jobs were divvied up among each team -- research, photos,
person-on-the-street interviews, contacting legislators and other elected officials. Then, everyone spent a couple meetings discussing the info and collaborating on the presentation boards.
One thing we discovered is that people -- voters and elected alike -- do not like to share "con" opinions about education. We think it is because they don't want people to think they are against kids or education. Our local state representatives said they thought fair funding was important because it does relate to education when one considers all the 4-Hers, FFA members, and others in the community who participate.






Walla Walla County Meeting #3

Walla Walla County
Erika Leinweber
January 27, 2015

Walla Walla County discussed the Pro's and Con's of Social Media. Here is what we decided:

Facebook
Pro's: It is new information that is easily accessible.
Con's: The message can be skewed and isn't totally true.

Twitter
Pro's: You can find information about anyone at any time.
Con's: The information is basically useless.

Instagram
Pro's: Great visuals that can tell a story.
Con's: The pictures make the information look great and exciting, not always true.

Blogs
Pro's: The information in specific and you would find information that you care about because it is a blog that you want to read.
Con's: The information is not always accurate and not as up to date.

Wahkiakum #3

5 Keys Questions on Media Literacy: How will we use them in our everyday lives?

Now knowing the 5 keys questions to ask when we see news, articles, journals, commercials, ads, etc we are now armed with knowledge. WE can take a second look at photos, cartoons, ads, articles, and news reports excising both sides of the argument to better understand the topics and issues at hand to develop our own beliefs, values, and ideas about the world.

Wahkiakum #2

Personal Reflections:
How do we keep the the press accountable to honest reporting?

Makayla - If the topic is an idea you feel strongly about and you believe that what the reporter is saying is wrong go to the source yourself. If you were right about the reporter being dishonest you can call them out on it and set the story straight. 

Dalaney - Read the article they wrote and see if it's believable. If it sounds false then you can call the newspaper or the source and ask about the validity of the story.

Cattral - Contact the person who wrote the article by; calling or going to the office.

Wahkiakum # 1

What is media?
Information distributed through sources such as magazines, newspapers, television, and the internet. Information usually will include current world problems.

What is news?
Giving the public information on things they do want to know, do not want know, and what they need to know. This can be things such as; weather, entertainment, outbreaks of disease, politics, and sports.


Attention: KYG Bloggers

This Blog has gotten several posts asking to post information to the Blog. The email address that was sent out is goes to the blog not a person.
It does not say who sent it. It only uses the "subject" and "text that is in the body" of the email.  If you attached a file it will not formatted for the blog.

All information comes into the Blog as a "Draft" and is not Published until the Blog Admin "Publish" it.

If you believe that you sent blog posts via the correct address, try again by putting all text you want to Publish int the Body of the email.

If you are still having problems email Carey Roos.

Carey Roos
Blog Admin  

Skagit's topic

Here is a picture pertaining to Skagit County’s topic! Can’t wait to show everyone what Magic Skagit has been up to!


Lincoln County Issue: Small School Consolidation

Lincoln County 
Korie Klein
Anna Michael
Samantha Cluckey    
    February 3,2015 meeting #6
    
    While the consolidation of small schools in Washington state may provide a larger learning environment for certain students, it would also limit the learning capabilities of those students that have special needs or learning disorders. A child that has a disorder even as mild as dyslexia may need individual help with their school work. In a larger school that child is unlikely to receive the help that they need, they are also more likely to be bullied for their disorder. Children like this are more likely to prosper in a smaller school environment than in a larger one. Put yourself in such a child's place. Do you want to be bullied, beaten-down, and unable to fully understand the school subjects being "taught" to you? Or do you want to prosper in your endeavors?

Lincoln County Issue

Lincoln County

Mekenna Phillips
Meeting #6
 Marijuana was legalized in Washington for recreational use in October of 2012. The reasons for the legalization are widespread, but the primary one is money. The state profited $14 million in taxes on marijuana buisiness in the year 2014. Over 700,000 people were jailed for marijuana possession in the United States in 2014, and this is a huge burden on tax payers. Legalizing marijuana in Washington has prevented 14,000 people from going to jail, and this has lifted the tax burden on the state.

 However, the legalization will affect our society negatively. Marijuana inhibits your senses and legalizing it creates a more widespread use of it. Large marijuana companies are starting to drive out smaller growers and many fear that they will become much like the big tobacco companies with a monopoly on marijuana. The smoke in marijuana contains %50 to %70 more cancer causing agents than cigaratte smoke. Because of that, second hand smoke is very dangerous for the people around it.
Legalization may benefit us for now, but in the long run it will cause harm in more ways than  one.

Lincoln County Issue

Lincoln County
Gabe Hemenway, Whitney Wollweber, Marshall Simons
February 3, 2015
Meeting number: 6
We have learned about consolidating schools and its impact on our county, Lincoln County.  We have researched, interviewed, and created a poster about it's impact.  Consolidating to larger schools could be very harmful to the towns with  small schools, like our school. Without our school there would not be community and we wouldn't have the one on one with our teachers. 

Lincoln County

Lincoln county,
Rebekah Hagreen,
02/03/2015

I have the KYG class for the last couple years but never ended up finishing it because complications came up and I wasn't going to be able to attend the conference, this being the first year I can attend the conference, I went into the class whole-devoted  and expecting the experience to be awesome...and it has been just that! I have learned so many things. How to write and create things without being biased. How to get to the point and present a problem affecting our county, and not just present a problem, but to also give both sides, the good and the bad. So far this year I have learned so many things and only to continue to learn. KYG is a great and fun learning experience. 

Lincoln County

Lincoln
Jacob Rossey, David Payne, Jeremy Christian

We are all very excited to attend to attend KYG this year, as we have been for the past two years. It has always been a great experience for us and we always leave the conference having learned a lot about the topic each year. We will be dealing with the issue of marijuana this year, both the positive and negative effects. We have constructed a tri-fold poster board about this, and are excited to present it at the conference. We are very thankful for all the time that has gone into the making of this conference.

KYG blog post 2015--Stevens County

Stevens County 4-H

Andrew Minaker

February 2, 2015


Stevens County's Community topic is regarding the Wolf issues.  We have titled our article  "Peace, Love, and Wolves:  Not So Much?"

I am attaching a couple of the pictures related to our subject that we are considering using for our project.  

More information to come on our findings regarding the wolf issues in Washington.

KYG 2015 Blog Post

Stevens County 4-H

Sadie Beardall

February 2, 2015

The definition of news:





A report of previously unknown information about recent events. they are presented through radio, television newspaper, and websites.

What is News?

Spokane County
1/29/15

What is News?

News is any variation of transferring information from one person or group to another, bias or not.

"News is one giant game of telephone."
-Grace, Spokane County

Grant meeting/interview #6

Grant County-
-Meeting 6
Today we had an awesome opportunity to interview Dani Bolyard. She has worked for the Columbia Basin Herald for 6 years, ran for county rep last year and has a background in architecture. She gave us the basic do's and don't of blogging and getting media information. We learned that many attention getters are usually within the first sentence ms wording and impressions are big when trying to get the public to read about concerns. We also learned that colors and graphic images within our articles. Many colors represent emotions. For example; reds, oranges, yellows can give warmth or anger feelings while blues, purples, and pinks give off calm and homely feelings. Another major point she made is if graphic media is used we need to be careful about copy righting and ownership of the images. Try not to get the major, supported company images other than the general images.

Also, contacting major community influences of the community, you need to verify addresses and choose who you want to contact. Also compressing information into smaller paragraphs are important. Background information, and facts are major in influencing the community. She also gave us the quick over view of how to write press releases. Relating personal conflict to the readers has a great impact on the readers. Different angles about the topic are also important and can show that the writer is not only about sabotaging the accused. It's was a great experience hearing from a professional writer and we enjoyed her company this afternoon.

This is Cody, Maddie, Tristan and Alexis signing out. Go Hawks!

Clallam County Meeting # 3

   Clallam County
   Scott Archibald
   January 17th 2015
      Today at our meeting we did a lot. We started off with a group activity, where the group had to hold a stick with one finger, and lower it to the ground. It was actually surprisingly difficult. We then got down to business discussing our topic, and sharing photos. Here is one photo.

Snohomish County

At tonight's meeting, 1/27/15 we have discussed about our topic, which is road safety, specifically with corners. We have researched the use of LED lights on the roadways and on signs. We also looked for roads with good or poor, lighting or signage. We also have found corners throughout Snohomish county that are safe and unsafe corners.
We are having a multi-county lock-in to work on our items to prepare for KYG this upcoming weekend and will have a council member who will be attending the meeting, so we have talked about questions that we want to ask our council member.
Our meeting was overall successful and we all look forward to KYG 2015!!

Walla Walla County Meeting #2

Walla Walla County
Erika Leinweber
January 20, 2015

Here is a sneak peek of Walla Walla County's Topic.

We also watched a video on a French Comedian's Parody of Fox Reporters. They were afraid of their taxi driver because he had a beard and scared of a grocery store because it had a Arab name. From this we learned that a story isn't necessarily true and it needs sound evidence and one needs to decide what side the author is on and if they are biased or not.

Benton County

Media: The medium that transports information to others - Can be shaped to bias opinions.

Benton County
Allen Walch