photo by: Joselyn King

The Northern Panhandle Conservation District on Tuesday presented a $1,000 check to the Wheeling Park High School Future Farmers of America club to assist with costs associated with upcoming competitions. Pictured from left and Conservation District Supervisor Amy Wade, FFA members Marshall Supanik, club president Japeth Bayes, Carter McMahon and Emma McNickle, and Supervisor Robert Luchetti.

The Northern Panhandle Conservation District delivered a $1,000 donation Tuesday to the Wheeling Park High School Future Farmers of America club – a gift that will help them with the costs of competing at a statewide event next week.

The money will go toward covering competition registrations and hotel expenses when WPHS FFA members head to Morgantown for the winter “career development events” (CDEs) competition for FFA students hosted by West Virginia University at its main campus in Morgantown.

Three days of CDE events are slated to take place Dec. 12-14 in Morgantown.

“In this particular competition, we have two teams that are going to do agriculture mechanics and plant pathology,” explained teacher and WPHS FFA advisor Ethan Bloomfield. “That is two days of competitions – one takes place on each day. On the third day there is an awards ceremony.

“We did pretty well last year in both competitions. We were in the top 10 in both.”

This is only the fourth year for the FFA program at WPHS, and the third year its students have participated in the winter CDEs competition.

Northern Panhandle Conservation District Supervisor Robert Luchetti said the conservation district has among its missions reaching out and supporting strong agricultural programs.

“The FFA has one of the most solid programs that supports and promotes agriculture,” she said. “We look to support and promote agriculture. The future farmers and people who are going to go into agriculture, and we want to make sure we support their program as they grow into the farmers of tomorrow.”

Supervisor Amy Wade noted she was once an FFA member. She explained the role of the Northern Panhandle Conservation District, which is “to promote the protection and conservation of West Virginia’s soil, land, water and related resources for the health, safety and general welfare of the state’s citizens.”

“We help with all the flood control dams and their maintenance and operation — that’s a big piece,” she said. “Beyond that, it’s conservation in all its forms. So we work hard with farmers and agriculture a lot, because those are the people who own a fair amount of land. We want to teach them how to take the best care of their soil.

“If their soil stays in place, there isn’t sediment running into the streams — so we have better quality water and soil in which to grow crops.”

Victoria White, district administrator for the Northern Panhandle Conservation District, added the organization also provides scholarships to graduating seniors through its foundation. The scholarships are awarded to one student in each county within the Northern Panhandle district — which includes Brooke, Hancock, Marshall, and Ohio counties.

The scholarship starts at $500 annually per student, and increases to $1,000 for their senior year, she noted.