Sierra FFA hosted its annual two- day woodcut on August 5th and 6th. Over the two days we had a total of 45 members and 15 parents and supporters. Over 50 cords of mixed pine were cut from Rob Hayden’s Ranch. The wood was generously donated by Rob who lives in Shaver to serve as a fundraiser for FFA students who have an animal they are showing at the Fresno Fair. For each student who worked at the woodcut they got money towards their project as a top-off. The first day, 28 cords were cut, and transported to either eager buyers, or to the ag farm to await purchase. Students worked from 8am to 5pm in the evening sawing logs, splitting rounds, loading, and unloading wood. During and after this, multiple parents provided the students with meals consistently. The rest of the night was given to relaxation and bonding around a campfire. The second day, 22 cords were split and hauled off. A huge thanks goes out to Rob Hayden and his family for not only donating the wood, but for also helping out during the woodcut. There are still some available cords for sale, if you are interested, contact Rich Vandenack @ 855- 8311 Ext. 600. -Kathleen Marsh FFA Reporter
1 Comment
On July 30th, the community of the Tollhouse-Sierra FFA Chapter was thrown into turmoil. A fire dubbed the “Goose Fire”,had started very close to their high school, a fire that would take 9 days, more than 500 fire personnel, and community support to extinguish.Sierra High School hosted the base camp for the fire personnel to eat, sleep, and plan. During the blaze, many members and even a few chapter officers were evacuated from their homes. Many animals were evacuated to the ag department’s 285-acre farm for safe keeping. Thankfully, everyone emerged unscathed, but some members still wanted to do something. On August 4th, three chapter officers and three outstanding members went on a trip to thank the courageous heroes who saved their home. On the morning of August 4th, the six met at chapter Secretary Macy Myers’ house to get the plan in motion. They begun by making over a dozen posters to show their support, and to thank the amazing people who helped to save their home. Next, they procured food and water to pass out among the bases to help make the officials more comfortable with their situation. After all this, they set out to various stations. Their first stop was at the high school where they thanked everyone they could find; from the firefighters to the police officers to the assistive personnel to the dispatchers. Many classrooms were utilized to coordinate the plan to tackle the massive inferno. The group was able to not only speak with firefighters, but also police officers and a support company that provides the firefighters with water and assistance. After visiting the high school, they drove to Hurley station where they were able to put up posters to show their support. When they arrived, no personnel were present at the station, but the group still left behind posters and their gratitude. Next was the Millerton station where the group got to personally meet with and talk to the firefighters who were covering for the men and women battling the still-active enferno. The representatives were from San Bernardino County who were enlisted to assist in the fire effort. They were the only ones running the facility, traveling almost 300 miles to help the small mountain community. Snacks and other items were left to the firefighters to show appreciation. At the end of the meeting, the firefighters were so gratified with the six youth’s presence that they showed them around the compound, and shared stories of experience. The next stop was nearly 45 minutes away. Clovis fire station no. 3 welcomed the group in with open arms and conversed with them. Snacks were dispersed among the firefighters and pictures taken. Sadly, shortly into the meet-and-greet, a call came in and the interview was cut short. The group thanked them for their hospitality and left for the next stop. The fourth stop on this trip was to the Clovis fire station no. 5, a short distance from the previous. The members expressed their gratitude to these noble people. Although this station wasn’t directly involved with the fire that ravaged their home, the firefighters were appreciated purely for the job they chose to pursue. Lastly, Blasingame Battalion 12 Fire station was visited where the group once again met with San Bernardino firefighters covering for the local ones. The team chatted gave them the rest of the snacks for the firefighters that were present, and also for the ones who would soon return weary and worn. In return, the firefighters taught them valuable lessons and put up a few of their signs around their compound. This visit was concluded with a sushi-making lesson from a San Bernardino professional. After the last station was visited, the surrounding three towns were papered with signs of support. The group would like to thank all of the effort from firefighters, police officers, dispatchers, assistive personnel, and the community. This much would not have been possible without the work of all of them. Sierra FFA plans to have multiple similar community service events to show support for their firefighters, not only in a time of need, but throughout the year also. This experience was truly an eye-opener for this small mountain chapter. Due to this, there will be at least one monthly community service event. Included will be more trips like this to get the word out about how much Sierra FFA loves their community heroes. |
Archives
December 2022
Archives
|