Youth grab variety of poultry awards at fair

Published 12:00 am Friday, July 14, 2006

ROME TOWNSHIP — Several young people — and a well-trained fowl — got attention during the poultry judging competition at the Lawrence County Junior Fair.

Dakota Barnett of the Hillbilly Gang 4-H Club won the grand champion trophy in the chicken judging while Erin Akers of Barnbusters 4-H Club won the reserve champion trophy.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Tony Wilson, third place; Zach Adkins, fourth place; Destany Straight, fifth place; Cody Baker, sixth place; Zach Adkins, seventh place; Adam Dalton, eighth place; Jennifer Neal, ninth place and Austin Bodimer, 10th place.

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In the fancy poultry competition, Timmy Humphrey took first and third place while Casey Carande garnered the second place spot.

Humphrey has taken home numerous awards for poultry competitions during his five years in 4-H. He said birds tend to be more manageable than some of the larger animals.

“They don’t take a lot of time or space and it’s less expensive to get started, unlike some of the other animals,” he said.

While poultry may be easier, those who came out on top seem to have made their work an art form. During the fancy poultry judging, one of Carande’s bird hopped from the table and into the floor.

“She didn’t even move,” said 4-H secretary Becky

Cremeans. “She just tapped the table and the bird got right back up there. The audience just gasped when the bird got into the floor. They really gasped when she tapped the table and it came back up. She had her birds trained.”

In the showmanship competition, the top three winners in the 17 and 18-year-olds class were Timmy Humphrey, Destany Straight and Casey Carande.

In the 15 and 16-year-olds division, the top three winners were Zach Adkins, Cody Baker and Tony Wilson.

In the 13 and 14-year-olds division, the top three winners were Brian hall, Dakota Barnett and J.R. Bryant.

In the 11 and 12-year-old class, Adam Dalton, Catie Havel and Austin Bodimer were in first, second and third places, respectively. In the 8-10-year-olds division, the top three winners were Jonathan Keathley, Jacob Adkins and Erin Adkins.