2011 bi-county fair

BI-COUNTY FAIR 2011 3

Open 7 Days A Week

5 AM to 9 PM

287-2157287-21571415 W. Highway 661415 W. Highway 66

Milan, NMMilan, NM

Best of Luck!

CIBOLA COUNTY - 'Bring acan' - that is the message from theBi-County Fair board members.

The fair starts on Thursday,Sept. 2, at noon, as children andadults sign in their items and willend on Monday with a bang.

"We like to give back to thecommunity," said Sheila Robin-son, board member. Robinsonrepresents Cibola County on theboard. "We are encouraging all

fair visitors to bring a non-perish-able food item. Everything col-lected will be donated to thecommunity food pantries in Ci-bola and McKinley Counties."

There will be several decorativebig boxes at the event where peo-ple could drop off their food do-nations. "You won't be able tomiss them (the boxes)," Robinsonadded. “The board earlier thisyear donated $300 to the pantry.”

The Bi-County Fair board repre-sentation is split between Cibolaand McKinley County. Five per-

sons on the board are from CibolaCounty, according to Robinson.

The mission is the same as itwas 42 years ago. "Adults volun-teering time and money to give aplatform for 4-H Club membersand adults to exhibit various agri-cultural skills and artistic talents,win prizes and possibly sell theiritems," said Robinson.

"It's all about the children justlike it was when several familiesyears ago got together because

— 42nd Annual Bi-County Fair —

“Bring a can”By Donald JaramilloBeacon Managing Editor

See BRING A CAN, next page

4 BI-COUNTY FAIR 2011

some children couldn't afford toattend the fair in Belen. The fair isabout children, education andfamilies.”

The first Bi-County Fair washeld at Ambrosia Lake. Yearslater it was moved to its currentlocation at Prewitt.

"As quick as the money comesin from buyers and sponsors itquickly goes back out," Robinsonexplained. "We make just enoughto start the next year's event and abig percentage goes right back tothe children. Thankfully, the busi-nesses and residents of both coun-ties have been great supportersover the years." It costs the ap-proximately $100,000 each year.

This year's highlights include: ahorseshoe pitching contest on Sat-urday and a Western dance thatevening and a DJ on Sundaynight. (See schedule on Page Two).

The horseshoe contest wasmoved to a different day in orderto get more participation. "It used

to be a big event but it's dwindleddown. We are hoping by movingit to Saturday more people will get

BEACON / COURTESY

Getting ready for the big fair . . .Cibola County 4-H members help get the grounds ready for the Bi-County Fair.

Mayor Tom Ortega

Trustees:

Ellen Baca, Vivian Brumbelow

George Knotts, Manuel Molina

Village Manager:

Marcella Sandoval

Village Clerk: Natalie Grine

623 Uranium Ave., Milan • 285-6694


involved," said Robinson. Entry fee is $10 per event.The fair rodeo committee is hosting Saturday's

dance and the 4-Hers are hosting Sunday's. "We areexcited about the dances and everyone is welcome,"said Robinson. There is a charge for Saturday’sdance, however, there is no charge for Sunday's.

Board members are expecting a great livestock salethis year based on the effort the children have putinto their projects. Robins said, "The children are re-ally enthusiastic this year. I'm really excited about it."

The 4-H Club children are given the opportunity toregister their animals for the fair and hopeful sellthem during the event, whether it be during the live-stock show or afterward, "The goal is to get themsold," said Robinson, whose grandchildren partici-pate each year.

A percentage from the animal sales goes to the fairto help pay for hosting the event.

Children buy their steers in November or early De-cember and pigs, goats and lambs are purchased inMarch or April. The idea is the for them to raise aquality animal that could be sold for hundreds orthousands of dollars at the fair.

Last years top steers sold for nearly $2,500 whiletop pigs sold for approximately $2,000. The big live-stock sale is on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m.

Robinson said if she had to choose a favorite eventit would be the Pet Show and Stick Horse Race onSunday.

"The event is free and it gets the little ones in-volved," said Robinson. "However, I love it all.”

Be sure to set time aside between Friday, Sept. 2and Monday (Labor Day), Sept.5, to take the familyand check out the fair and rodeo. There is fun for allages and it is for a good cause - the children of Cibolaand McKinley County.

For more information:For more information about the Bi-County Fair,

call Robinson at 287-0455. Or, for more informationon the Saturday barrel race or Sunday and Mondayrodeos, call 290-0977 or 1-505-864-9426.

If you are interested in joining the 4H Club in ei-ther county, call Chase Elkins at the Cibola CountyExtension Office at 287-9266. A child needs to befive-years-old or older in order to participate in theprogram. The extension office is located at 551Washington Avenue at Future Foundations FamilyCenter.


MILAN - If there is one thing

that Jasmine Hobbs, 14, president

of the 4-H Council has learned

from her involvement in 4-H it is

“responsibility.”

Commenting on her involve-

ment in 4-H Hobbs said, “It’s a lot

of work…but it’s good…because

as you get older it teaches you re-

sponsibilities.”

Hobbs, a Milan resident, will be

showing five pigs, two Hamp-

shires and three mixed breeds at

the 2011 Bi-County Fair. She has

raised pigs from piglets to full

grown pigs with each weighing

between 120-170 pounds.

Hobbs said, “you have to be re-

sponsible for keeping the pig pens

clean, feeding and watering the

pigs; you basically have to raise

them all by yourself.”

According to Ruby Hobbs, her

daughter starts her day at 5 a.m.

She has to water and feed the pigs

before she goes to school and in

the evening she washes and walks

the pigs and works at preparing

them for “showing.”

Hobbs expressed excitement in

participating in this year’s fair, “I

enjoy showing in the ring.”

The goal of 4-H is to develop

— Bi-County Fair —

Raising piglets teaches responsibilityBy Bob TenequerBeacon Staff Writer


Children under 6 years

FREESeniors $2Adults $3

Uranium Mining Uranium Mining MuseumMuseum

Stop by the Chamber for visitor info, tour the museum and see

our displays of historical artifacts and minerals from

around the globe.

Mon. - Sat. 9 -4Closed Sunday

287-4291 / 285-6349304 Uranium Ave P. O. Box 2970

Milan, NM 87021

BEST BURGER IN NEW MEXICO!

2011 Bi-County Faircitizenship, leadership, and life skills for youth

through mostly hands on learning programs.

Hobbs has been involved in 4-H for nine years and

started out as a cloverbud.

She will be entering her livestock into in the Junior

Category, swine show.

Hobbs said she likes raising pigs because “they are

cute when they are little, and they still require some

work, but they are a little bit easier to work with.

With all the extra stuff I do, raising pigs is a little eas-

ier on me.” She particularly likes the Hampshire

breed because of the bands around their bodies.

Besides being the president of the 4-H council,

Hobbs plays on the volleyball team for Grants High

School where she is a freshman.

“Raising the pigs is expensive,” according to

Hobbs. She said it probably cost around $500 to buy

feed for the five pigs. She started the pigs out with

grower feed and switched to corn to fatten them up

and then fed them finisher feed.

Hobbs plans to sell the pigs she has raised, “Hope-

fully with the sales I will be able to pay my dad

back,” she said optimistically.

The 4-H president said she had to keep a record

book from the time she started raising the pigs. The

book contained information regarding how much

each animal weighed, how much weight it gained,

how much the feed cost and how much was fed and

pictures of the animals, among other pertinent infor-

mation. She said at the end of the year 4-H members

turn in these record books and receive awards from

the 4-H council.

Hobbs said she has been raising the pigs for the fair

show since February.

Jasmine’s mother said, “The kids involved in 4-H

are really good kids.” She expressed pride in support-

ing her daughter’s involvement.

“My parents support is so important because they

know how important 4-H is in my life,” said Hobbs.

“The kids involved in

4-H are really good kids. . .

My parents’ support is so

important because they

know how important 4-H

is in my life.”

— Jasmine Hobbs


CIBOLA COUNTY - As the Bi-County Fair creeps closer, manyof the young competitors havestarted gearing up, grooming andworking with their animals asthey prepare their entries for theBi-County Fair.

Two local competitors, FaithBohannan and Tamara Hogg,have both worked long and hardto prepare their animals for theupcoming event.

Bohannan and Hogg compete inthe five-to-nine-year age group.The two are required to do bothan indoor project and an outdoor

project. They received their ani-mals in April and have until theSeptember event to feed, graze,clean, and prepare their livestockfor showing.

They are judged on the look ofthe animal itself, their knowledgeof the animal, as well as presenta-tion and showmanship for live-stock entry plus their indoorprojects. Each youngster earnsgrade points for their indoor proj-ects and for their livestock projects.

Hogg, eight years old, will beshowing a rabbit and a chicken. Herindoor project consists of a ropebasket, a piggy bank and plasterhand prints. This is Hogg’s first yearcompeting and she is very excited.

“She’s been feeding and work-ing with her animals everyday.She feeds them every morning,and plays with them every after-noon to help calm their nerves be-fore the event,” said Tammy, hermother. Hogg is very active in the4-H club and the Cloverbud Club.She’s helped with many fundrais-ers and plans to take part in theupcoming pie auction.

The young club member re-ceived the Overall CloverbudBuckle at the Welcome Cloverbudevent a couple of weeks ago, ac-cording to her mother.

Bohannan, 11, is competing inthe novice age group at the Bi-County Fair and plans to show

— Bi-County Fair —

Two cloverbuds say they are readyBy Aubrey AshbaughBeacon Staff Writer

two sheep and one pig. She is required to feed, walk,

and raise them before the event. Her indoor projects

include sewing, knitting, snacks, ceramics, denim

and gardening.

This will be Bohannan’s fourth year competing and

she is hoping to take the overall prize. Last year she

placed third with her sheep and first with her pig.

“She’s really excited and has done a lot of work to

help prepare her animals for September,” said her

mother Heidi.

Bohannan is a very active 4-H Club member and

participates in regular community service clean-up

projects with the organization.

Just like all the youngsters preparing their animals

for the fair, Bohannan and Hogg said they look for-

ward to seeing some of the competition.

The Bi-County fair will take place Sept. 1-5 at Pre-

witt.


287-7946Welcome to the

2011 Bi-County Fair!

Grants Car Parts, LLC

2011 Bi-County FairNAPA Know How

“She’s been feeding andworking with her animalseveryday. She feeds them everymorning, and plays with themevery afternoon to help calmtheir nerves before the event,”— Tamara Hogg’s mother

Proudly supporting the 2011 Bi-County

Fair. Good Luck Competitors!

“She’s really excitedand has done a lot ofwork to help prepare heranimals for September.”— Faith Bohannon’s mother


CIBOLA COUNTY - Plants,

quilting and photography are just

a few of the entries featured at the

annual Bi-County Fair, according

to Delores Meador, exhibits’ build-

ing coordinator.

“I love to see the young people’s

entries,” she said. “They always

come up with interesting ideas.”

Meador pointed out that the

Open Exhibits’ building is dedi-

cated to a variety of competition

classes including: fruits, vegeta-

bles, quilting and other fabric arts,

photography, plus arts and crafts

and other categories.

“We’ve had popsicle castles and

houses built out of marbles,” she

recalled.

“There used to be several people

who would enter their porcelain

doll collections but we haven’t

seen any of those in the past few

years,” continued Meador.

Anticipating future fair exhibits

she said, “I’m hoping that there

will be enough community inter-

est to initiate a doll-making class.

When people used to enter dolls

there were always a lot fairgoers

who would come to look at the

exhibits. I would hear a lot of

‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’.”

— OPEN EXHIBITS —

Variety spices up annual fairBy Rosanne BoyettBeacon Staff Writer


823 E. Roosevelt Ave.

Grants 285-3675

• Auto

• Home

• Life

• Business

[email protected]

2011 Bi-County Fair

Another category that has lost popularity in recentyears is tatting, according to Meador. She noted thatthere was only one lace-making entry last year.

Many other fiber arts’ categories receive multipleentries each year from area artisans. There are alwaysnumerous displays of residents’ crocheted, knitted,embroidered and quilted pieces.

“The Mount Taylor Quilt Guild members alwaysshow some of their work,” noted Meador, a dedi-cated fiber artist. She is a member of the Mount Tay-lor group and the Gallup quilt guild.

She acknowledged that three of her quilts will bejudged at this year’s fair. “I made one twin bed quilt,a double-bed and one queen-size quilt,” explainedthe fiber artist. “I did appliqué and embroidery workon them.”

Meador is planning to complete a Cathedral Win-dow quilt to enter in this year’s competition if timepermits.

“Most quilters using that pattern rely on a fold-and-tack method of construction but I made my ownpattern so I could use my sewing machine.”

Meador continues to be a dedicated fan of the an-nual fair and wears more than one hat – she takespart in the handwork competitions and is one of thejudges for a separate class of entries.

“I help judge the arts and crafts,” she said, “so Idon’t enter anything in that category.”

The judge said she has done her duty for the pastthree years, “I’m hoping they will ask me to judgearts and crafts again this year.”


CIBOLA COUNTY – The Sun-day morning rivalry is fierce butit’s all in good-natured fun, accord-ing to Bi-County Fair officials.

“The Stick Horse race is open tochildren and adults,” said TinaRobinson, event organizer. Thereare five categories, based on agegroup, including one reserved forresidents who are 55 years andolder, according to the organizer.

“The adults are just as interestedin winning as the youngsters,” shelaughed. “Everyone gets a gift bagand each category’s winners are

awarded a belt buckle.”Usually there are approximately

100 participants each year, ex-plained Robinson who has beenoverseeing the races since 2003.

“This is such a fun event andthere are always five to seven entriesin the adult category,” she said.

Volunteers make 20-25 stickhorses in advance but participantscan ride their own “horses” if theychoose. There are numerous, gen-erous area sponsors that make thisevent possible said Robinson. Thecompetition starts at 8:30 a.m. onSunday. Sept. 4.

“The stick horse race is my fa-vorite part of the fair,” noted

Robinson, “and each year westart planning it three to fourmonths in advance.”

She pointed out that the day’s ac-tivities draw large crowds, espe-cially friends and families whowant to demonstrate their supportfor youngsters’ taking part in therace and the pet show, which isscheduled from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

“The pet show lets children, whoare too young to be 4-H members,enter the fair,” said Robinson.“They bring everything from crick-ets, pot-bellied pigs, ducks, bun-nies, miniature donkeys, llamas,miniature horses and lots of catsand dogs. One youngster even en-

— STICK HORSE RACE —

No Trojan horses, just friendly competitionBy Rosanne BoyettBeacon Staff Writer


24 Hour Telephone Banking: (505) 285-4405 • Fax: (505) 287-22603 Locations: 824 West Santa Fe Ave., • Grants, NM 87020

1015 Roosevelt Ave. • Grants, NM 87020 & Old Route 66 • Milan

Grants State Bank

See you at theBi-County Fair

(505) 287-5101Barbara L. Cregger

FAX: 285-9892NM WATTS: 1-800-753-7475

See you at the Bi-County Fair

tered a non-venomous snake a few years ago.”

There are four awards given by a panel of judges.

Each year three new members recognize winners for

the smallest, largest, most talented and most unusual

pets, according to event organizers.

The morning includes a pet parade along with spe-

cial guests such as Smokey Bear and clowns. “Every

pet owner wins something,” said a committee member.

Robinson reminisced about her youth and the

years she entered livestock competitions. She re-

called spending many hours preparing to show

horses, cows and pigs.

Her varied interests involved numerous non-live-

stock contests. “I also entered the rug braiding, ce-

ramics and baking contests in the open exhibits’

building,” she said.

The area resident is a staunch supporter of the re-

gional fair and pointed out, “I grew up with the fair

because my parents helped start it.”

In addition to the pet show and stick horse race,

Sunday is filled with a wide range of activities includ-

ing the buyers’ luncheon, awards’ ceremony, junior

livestock sale and the “pig plop” contest.

BEACON / COURTESY/ JUST B PHOTOGRAPHGY

Elena Willcox is proudly participating in the 2010

Bi-County Fair!s Stick Horse Race competition.

“There are usually about 100 entries every year,”

noted Tina Robinson, event organizer. She ex-

plained that this year!s race is scheduled to begin

at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4.


The Bi-County Fair is an annualevent that all 4-H members in bothCibola and McKinley County pre-pare for.

They spend all year getting live-stock and indoor entries ready butthe fair is not just about animals orprojects. It’s also about having fun,meeting new people and makingnew friends.

Bi-County Fair gives us the oppor-tunity to show what we havelearned throughout the year. Thereare a variety of projects in additionto livestock. Some of us are enrolledin ceramics, sewing, baking, weld-

ing, woodworking, wildlife studies,leather craft and shooting sports.

The list goes onand on.

There reallyis an opportu-nity to learnskills in manyareas. If wehave the gift ofgab, we mighteven want toenter the Public

Speaking contest. In all of theseareas we have the opportunity towin ribbons and trophies.

Whether we are involved in in-door or animal projects, record-keeping is an essential activity.

Most of us don’t really like doingrecord books, but they also providea learning experience. This year wehave to turn in a record sheet withour indoor projects.

Record-keeping is especially im-portant with our livestock projects.We need to know if we are makinga profit or are taking a loss. Formany of us the profits help us getstarted for the next year’s project.And any extra money may go intoour college education savings’ ac-count.

Other activities include a petshow and a stick horse race for kidsof all ages.

Even fifty-five isn’t too old tocompete for those young at heart.

— From the 4-H Council —

Just Around the CornerBy Dorthy StrangeBeacon Staff Writer

D. STRANGE

NY Steak Dinner

A 10oz steak!

$12.99

2011 bi-county fair

Documents

bicounty fair washeld

annual bicounty fair

page4 bicounty fair

big fair

fair isabout children

fair rodeo committee

cibolaand mckinley county

tothe children