Local 4-H'ers spruce up the Havre care center

John Kelleher Havre Daily News [email protected]

The weather outside was somewhat dismal, and the members of New Horizon's 4-H club were in a room that would soon be the Hospice Room at Northern Montana Care Center. But the mood was bright. The young people were painting and spruc ing up three rooms at the care center, and they were proud of their community service work. “We're having a good time,” said T.J. Mackmer, 11, of the the 4-H'ers. “4-H is good experience.” The youngsters painted the wa l l s pink, and although they spilled a little bit of paint, did a pretty good job of keeping the place clean. This is the second time the students have gone to the care center to help, but they do lots of other work. They do community service work at the fair, and they laughed as they Told a visitor they help clean up the landfill. “The biggest thing about 4-H is that it is a family program,” said Lu Wait, a 4-H leader accompanying the children. Many of the chi ldren brought their parents along to help and supervise the work. “It's important that people know 4-H is about more than vegetables,” she said. Waite first became interested in the care center when her mother resided there. She got 4-H interested in helping out. This time, the local 4-H got a grant to help defray expenses. The 4-H'ers also put on a candlelight dinner for the care center residents, for which they prepare most of the food and serve it.