Parents with active youngsters should sign them up today for the biennial Progressive
Agriculture Safety Day set for Friday, June 7^th from 8:30-4:00 PM at Tom Green 4-H Center located at  3168 Hwy 67 North, next to the San Angelo  Animal Shelter.

The event is sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, in partnership with Progressive Agriculture.  Founded by The Progressive Farmer magazine in 1995, the program trains and provides the resources that local communities need to conduct one-day safety programs that are age-appropriate, hands-on, fun, and safe for children. Because of the hands-on nature of the day, space is limited to 125 youth so pre-registration no later than June 3^rd  is highly recommended.  Participants should be third graders and up thru 8^th grade and those entering third grade in the fall are eligible.  Any youth in the surrounding counties within the Concho  Valley are welcome. 

Courtney Redman, Tom Green County’s Extension 4-H and youth development agent and the safety day committee member, said too often safety is dismissed until an injury occurs. She
said that many times these “accidents” can be prevented with a bit of forethought and safety training.  “Our whole aim here is to arm children with the basic safety information they need to recognize and react positively in a dangerous situation,” said Redman. 

Sandy Taylor, Runnels County Extension Agent and chair of the local Safety Day event said, “Though this event has the word ‘Agriculture’ in its title, the information provided is actually applicable to any youth, urban or rural, who is active outdoors. We’ll address everything from animal handling precautions to seat belt safety. There are very few youth safety programs available in our part of the state that offers the assortment of safety topics we do. The day will be fast-moving, fun and packed with plenty of action.”

After the morning registration, participants will be divided into small groups which will rotate through eight safety sessions.  There will be breaks for snacks, lunch, prizes and lots of valuable information on how to remain safe on the farm and at home.

Besides animal and seat belt safety; we will also address tractor safety, sun safety, chemical safety and more!  The pre-registration fee is $10 per child or $30 flat-fee for families with three or more children attending. Parents are encouraged to attend the opening and closing general sessions.

For further information and to receive registration forms, contact the Tom Green
County Extension office at (325) 659-6525 or the Runnels County Extension
office at (325) 365-5042.   Information & applications for the Safety Day camp can also be found on the Tom Green County Extension site at:  http://tomgreen.agrilife.org/publications-3 

Glory Road Cowboy Church will host a Buck Out on Sunday (June 9) from 2:00 to 6:00 PM at the Ballinger City Park.  Entry fees are twenty dollars per person for the mechanical bull riding contest.  The age groups will be nine to 12, 13 to 17, and 18 and above.  First and second place buckles will be awarded as prizes.  Deadline to enter is Wednesday, June 5.  The Glory Road Cowboy Church Chuckwagon Team will be preparing and selling burgers, sausage wraps, and drinks.  For more information or to enter, contact Myron Halford at 365-6371.  Everyone is invite to attend. 

Rosters have been released by the Big Country Chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes for seniors that will participate in the 2013 Big Country Chevy Dealers FCA All-Star Festival in June.  The roster includes 158 players, 45 cheerleaders, and coaching staffs from schools across the area.  All Agriplex area players will participate on the South squads.  The All-Star Festival begins on Thursday, June 6th at the Brownwood Coliseum with the ladies' and mens' basketball games.  The All-Star Volleyball Game will be played Saturday, June 8th at noon at Abilene Christian University's Moody Coliseum.  The 14th annual FCA Myrle Greathouse All-Star Classic football game will be played at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene that evening at 7:00 o'clock.

In the football game, Ballinger will be represented by Riley Woodruff while Bryce Mikeska and A.C. Mata will represent Winters, rounding out the football players from the Agriplex.  Former Winters Coach Adam Bright will serve as an assistant coach. 

In girls basketball, Shayann Matschek and Kirsten McCoy will represent Ballinger. 

Ballinger Coach Robert Buxkemper will serve as head coach for the All-Star Boys Basketball Team. 

Bronte will be represented on the south volleyball squad by Kaitlyn Braswell. 

The Agriplex is represented on the cheerleading squad by Lindsey Heidenheimer from Ballinger, Erika Puentez from Bronte, and Kaitlyn Lindley from Winters. 

The Winters ISD is offering the Summer Food Service Program to all children ages one to 18.  Breakfast and lunch will be provided free of charge.  Starting on Monday (June 3), and continuing through Thursday June 27th, breakfast will be served from 7:30 to 8:00 AM and lunch will be served from 12:00 noon through 12:30 PM.  All meals will be served at the Winters ISD Cafeteria.  Children do not have to qualify for free or reduced lunch to take part in the program. 

The Ballinger Education Foundation continues the sale of the recipe cookbook entitled "Mixin and Fixin."  Each book is compiled of recipes from Ballinger ISD exes, family, and friends.  Cost of each book is fifteen dollars or purchase two books for twenty-five dollars.  All proceeds will be used to benefit the students and teachers of the Ballinger ISD through senior scholarships and mini-grants.  To purchase the books, contact any Ballinger Education Foundation Board member: Terilyn Bowman, Elaine Paske, Malisia Goetz, Kay Smith, Justin Busenlehner, Cathy Elliott, or Jeanette Johnson.