Show: Insight Station: KNCO File: 9:30.mp3 Air date: 2026-09-30 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 98.6 MB to 12.3 MB --- transcript --- Welcome to KNCO Insight, Nevada County Action, KNCO's local issue talk show. This is your chance to gain insight into issues affecting Nevada County. Be a part of the show. Call with your questions or comments. The number, 477-5626, that's 477-KNCO. The opinions expressed are those of the hosts and callers and do not reflect the opinions of the advertisers, staff, or ownership of Nevada County Broadcasters. Now here is your host, Tom Fitzsimmons. Okay, NCN News time, just about 907, 67 degrees, and yeah, it's going to be a warm day today. You know, it's not like at the fair, you know, it's kind of funny, we're going to be talking about 4-H today. When the fair is going on, we have forecasts like that, we're going to be in the 90s and, you know, you're worried about the pigs and the animals getting ready for the fair, keeping cool and all that stuff. Here we are, the first days of October starting tomorrow, and it's going to be toasty warm. So I'm giving you the same advice, if, you know, you have to run errands, do them in the early part of the day, keep the dogs at home, no reason to put them in the car. It's still very warm outside in a car, even this time of year, you might think you're in the shade, but it won't last long. And I think Megan's in the house here, just showed up, so that is good to see her. And yeah, so we have a full house here for KNCO Insight, which is very, very cool. And again, in your neighborhood, you know who lives there. If there's somebody you can do an errand for, they could have some physical disabilities or things like that. And doing a favor when it's hot out could be as easy as taking those WM cans to the edge of the driveway or, you know, maybe getting their mail later in the day, something like that. The Yoakams, this is very unusual for Russ and Jamie Yoakam who are here, because they're whispering. For the most part, they're fairly loud, they're fairly engaging, and very enthusiastic. Jamie, how tough is it just to whisper right there while I was talking? I wasn't, it's very tough, it's very tough. I try to be quiet. I'm so sorry. No, no, no, no, it's fine. This is full service radio. Russ is here, the general of 4-H Week. Russ, how are you doing? I'm doing fantastic. It is great having you both here in the studio. And Megan is here. Good morning. Good morning, Megan. What's your last name? Megan DeArmond. DeArmond? Yes. All right, that's a great name. Megan, are you one of the movers and shakers with 4-H? Yes. I'm the Penn Valley Community Group leader, and I also run the Pygmy Goat Project for Penn Valley 4-H. All right. Is Penn Valley 4-H the best of all the 4-Hs? Can I ask you that? What do you think? No, we're a big family. We're all involved. Jamie, don't give me that one. I'm asking this to Megan. I'm sorry. I'm asking this to Megan first. I'll get to you in a second. Megan, what do you think? In terms of the children that we have turned into amazing adults, I'm going to say we are the best 4-H group out there. We have some kids, Jamie's daughter, Jamie and Russ's daughter included, all the kids showing at national level, going to college, pursuing animal science degrees, or not. The experience they get from 4-H lends itself to many different disciplines. We've got some really great kids, even kids that have left our group and gone on to 4-H. Kayla Whitman is showing at the national level, has her own breeding program, and she started with Penn Valley 4-H. Wow. Her mom leads the group. Yeah. I must say yes, 100%. That is awesome. All right. Russ, do you agree with that assessment? I always agree with the girls. All right. Fair enough. That's okay. Now, Jamie. Jamie, you were saying, but everybody's a big family. We are. We are. In 4-H, you are a family. We all work together, and it's an incredible ... It's like a small home within the big world, and I'm so blessed that we've been a part of it. Yeah. It is a big part of our county's fabric, and it has been for, I think, over a century. In Chicago Park, I see the sign when I go out to Chicago Park. I think that's the oldest 4-H. I think it is. And the oldest. Going back, I remember growing up here with my brothers and sisters, and we all showed in the 70s, and the community love here. We are one of the ... In agriculture, our community is amazing, our county. All right. Now, what did you show when you were a kid? What type animals? I actually stayed majority with horses, but my sisters and brothers did steers, and they did pigs. My parents were 4-H leaders. All right. Now, so you didn't go to the auction then, because you had mainly horses, right? I didn't go to the auction, no. Actually, it ended up ... It was my siblings. Yeah. All right. And Russ, did you raise animals, too? No. No, I did not. No. I was more into like ag mechanics. Ag mechanics? Yes. All right. Were you in the infancy of that program? How long has ag mechanics been around? The Stone Age. Yeah, really? Well, I guess so, huh? If you want to get to it. Yes. Yes. It's been around for quite a long time. But it has been around for a long time with the FFAs and stuff? Yes. Yes. Yes. Jim Drew. You got to mention Jim Drew. Oh, yeah. He's my broadcast partner for it. Yeah. Fantastic man. Fantastic teacher. And it's amazing how now we have property that was donated to the high school district for the FFA. That's making everything more accessible. Megan, did you show animals when you were a kid? Were you involved with 4-H or FFA? I was. I did 4-H. I did not have FFA where I grew up, but I did pigs, horses, and dogs. Man. Yeah. All right. Where'd you grow up? I grew up down in the Bay Area. So I was in the Tassajara 4-H. Tassajara. And where is that? What town? San Ramon. Oh, San Ramon. Okay. No, I understand. But I guess my ex-wife, the mom of my kids, Debbie, grew up in Castro Valley. Okay. So just over the hill. Exactly. And it was. She had a total ag experience. Yeah. They raised, I think, if I recall, lambs, I think they had, that they showed in 4-H and stuff. Yeah. Down there. And it was a big-time thing. Yeah. It was huge. It was huge. You wouldn't know it looking at the place now. It's totally built up. It almost looks like a city down there in Castro Valley. Yeah. All right. But it is wonderful that 4-H week is happening this weekend. I was just talking to Jamie before we went on the air, because for years, it seems like one of the things that people notice is that storefronts were going to be decorated. But storefronts decorations not happening this year, correct? Not this year. This year we wanted to do the kickoff at the theater. And Del Oro, you know, is history here in Nevada County, and they're opening the building up to us. So we're going to have tables and an entry to everything that we have to offer at 4-H. That's very exciting stuff. I think that, in some respects, that might be an easier thing for people to kind of navigate, I guess. Yeah. It does. It gets to, and we're all going to have different representation there. And so the families can check us out, see what the kids, what we have to offer, meet other children. And so it's an amazing opportunity. And the Del Oro is historical. Absolutely. Now, Megan, are all the 4-H clubs going to be represented in Nevada County, or how's that going to work? So we did the organization a little bit differently this year, and we are doing it by project. So you'll be able to come in and see the different projects that are offered, and then from there we can hook you up with the different groups. All right. Now you... So... Okay. Go ahead. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yeah, it kind of does. So sewing, that could be animals, that could be rocketeering, things like that? So rocketeering, we have a shooting sport in the county. We have a summer camp. There's firing up a new drone program where the kids are going to learn how to... I just heard about this drone program. What's going on with that? It's an amazing program that has kicked off, and we're working with Placer County also. And it's amazing what, like the drones, people go, oh, why? In agriculture, we need that for our fields. They use it in many different real estate, everything else, and that's a career. So we have some openings for that, and we're going to be explaining and offering that, and I think that's incredible. I mean, people think we really... And there's even techie things. People think that it's just animals. It's not. We offer a little bit of everything. We have leadership, so if your children are into... And that's kind of the kickoff for FFA, because FFA is very leadership-based. All the animals, all the market animals, what else is there? Breeding. Archery. We have archery. Archery also. Cooking, sewing. We have a little bit of everything to offer across the board. Yeah. Did you guys do a lot of those things when you were little kids and stuff, like sewing and things like that too? We did, but... Yeah, we had to, because we didn't have phones. That's a very good point. And we used to have home economics. Oh, yeah. It was required in school. Totally. You know, so it... And typing. Typing, yeah. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, we are. Floppy disks too. But yes, I mean, it gives us the opportunity, and sewing is such a necessity that we don't realize. We think about, oh, we're just going to throw those clothes away, but you know, you can make your own, but you can also fix... My daughter, I will tell you, I think, and the boys, the boys had to learn, because my husband's a Marine, and he made them, you need to learn to sew a little bit. So they've all got that. But I mean, so it doesn't, it can be, it's opening to everybody, but there's so much that they have to offer. And that's an incredible thing that we still, because right now, we're not getting that as much. Do Marines sew, Russ? Yes. We do. Do you sew to repair things, or what? I should have took sewing in 4-H, but I learned it while I was in the Marine Corps. All right. And what did you do in 4-H as a kid? Did you have a special, favorite things you did? I didn't. I was not a part of 4-H. You were not at all? No, no. We decided to get our kids involved, and we'd had all six of our children go through some type of program in 4-H. And then the last one just was, you know, you go out with a blast. We went out with a blast on the last child. The last child. Yes. Oh, yeah. Swine, dogs, sheep, goats. Some cattle. Some cattle. Yeah. She did it. Just look for it. She actually, the first two years in college, she was a swine intern, and then she represents Wait, wait, wait. First two years in college, she was a swine intern? What does that mean? Yes. So she lives on the campus, and she takes care of 30 head of swine, you know, breeding, and stock, and farrowing, and everything in the ag world. She does not walk around like a swine, though, right? No, she doesn't. But when people, when she introduces herself, and she goes, oh, yes, I'm a swine intern for MJC, they say, wine? She goes, no, swine. But then she was blessed to be chosen to represent the national swine. So she flies all over the United States, and she hosts World Pork, or Pork Expo, and they fly her, and it's a two-year commitment. But it's an amazing gift, and it all started with 4-H. It's all started with the love, the teaching, speaking, engagements, leadership. It's been amazing. 4-H got her, and she ended up doing 4-H all the way through high school. She went as far as the ambassador program, and she stayed in that, and she also was an officer for FFA throughout her high school journey. So she did both. She just loves agricultural. And our other five children, they were very involved, but they stayed in their own lane. One son did hogs, another one, pygmy goats, horses, but she was the one that wanted to touch it all. Wow. That is awesome. All right. Well, we're going to take our first break, as we highlight 4-H here on KNCO Today and their kickoff event that's happening at Del Oro this upcoming weekend. So if you're a parent out there, grandparent, we're going to talk about all the benefits. You're already hearing about them, how these kids turn out after going through the 4-H program. So quick break. We'll be right back. Hi. This is Scott from B&C Ace. Fall is in full swing, and you know what that means. It's time for our annual customer appreciation sale. Saturday, October 3rd, we're celebrating you, our amazing customers. Everything store-wide and in the nursery is 20% off, and save 10% off in the lumberyard and warehouse. Right Futures for Youth will be serving hot dogs from 11 to 1, and we'll have treats throughout the day. Don't miss the savings, the fun, and the food. Join us one day only, Saturday, October 3rd, for our customer appreciation sale at B&C Ace on the Garden Center. Hope to see you there. Why suffer through slow, spotty internet, or worse, no internet at all? At Smarter Broadband, we believe fast, reliable internet isn't a luxury. It's essential. 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For over 20 years, when Nevada County pipes have gurgled, dripped, rattled, or flat-out rebelled, Craig Johnson Plumbing has come to the rescue. They're the honest, reliable pros who've seen every plumbing surprise. Yes, even that one, and still show up with a smile. From homes to businesses, big jobs to, please fix this before company arrives, they do it all. So when your plumbing misbehaves, call Craig Johnson Plumbing at 274-7275, or visit them online at craigjohnsonplumbing.com. All right, KNC Newstime is 922, 68 degrees. Welcome back to KNCO's Insight, highlighting the 4-H clubs here in Nevada County. Now we already have proven, or heard testimony, that the best 4-H club is the Penn Valley 4-H Club, and they're whispering in the other studio, they're whispering. We have Russ and Jamie Yochum here, we have Megan here, we have Sue Ramey has shown up from Chicago Parks 4-H. Sue, how are you doing? Doing good. Are you putting on a race or something? Yeah, that's not why I'm here though. That's not why you're here, that's right. It is a 4-H kickoff week, and it's Chicago Parks 4-H, which is the oldest one around. Is that the best of the 4-H clubs? Well, of course it is. Of course we're the best. I don't know what these guys have been saying, but yeah, we're the best. What makes you guys so good out there? Well, besides being the oldest club in California, we have some really good leadership. We're offering a lot of different innovative, I guess you'd say, projects, and just a lot of good kids. All right. Are you guys going to be part of the kickoff event that's happening this weekend? Yes. In fact, my granddaughter Catherine is our vice president of our club, youth vice president, and she's in charge of what we're doing at this kickoff at the movie theater. All right. What time should people get out there for this event that's happening at the DeLauro? What time should they arrive? 9 to 9.45 is the check-in hour. 9 to 9.45. 9 to 9.45. If they want to get a little earlier, that's fine. Now, wait a minute. Jamie's like... Jamie, are you on the floor over there? It looks like Jamie's on the floor. She's hiding. Jamie, I'm going to make room for Jamie here in the studio. Nice. Jamie, you come over here. I'll make something work. Jamie's getting a VIP seat. Of course. Of course. As Sue walked by the studio, Ranger was saying hi just a second ago in a very vocal way. Jamie. Jamie. Jamie. That's just Jamie. That's just Jamie. Sorry. Mind you, these... Everybody was just... Sorry about that, Jamie. It's all good. There we go. All right. So, Jamie's here. You put on this headset here so you can hear everybody. This is the miracle of live radio. Yes. Okay. So, Jamie, is your microphone working? I think so. Okay. Bring it up right there. We just heard Chicago Park might be the best 4-H. What do you think about that? I love them. I have to say, I do love them. I love Penn Valley. I love everybody. So, I have to say, we're all the best 4-H'ers in all 4-H clubs. The county is a pretty outstanding place for 4-H clubs. I have to admit, when I do the fare and all the letters and stuff, it doesn't matter if they're from Kentucky Flat or Misty Mountain. I'm trying to think of all these different names that are out there. They're all pretty impressive kids. You know what's so good, too, is they're regional to their area so that people can, you know, stay close to home with their leaders and their club meetings. That's one of the things that makes it very... In a spread-out county, it makes it really nice that there are local clubs. Well, here we have, though, Russ here is a Marine. Do you have any Marines involved with your club at all? Any Marines? I don't know that. We have firemen. You have firemen. Okay. Firefighters. All right. Thanks. I have to admit, your kid is... But we also have some other firefighters now. Oh, is that right? Rowing, yeah. All right. Very good. And we have to say, if we join in, our two, two of our boys are firefighters, and they started with Penn Valley 4-H, too. That's right. And so, one's on Helitech, and one was retired out as an engineer. So, we're very blessed. All right. You know, we brought up the whole thing about kids having phones. I think, Megan, you were saying, like, when you were younger, you didn't have phones. You did a lot of these projects and stuff. Can you talk, any of you, and all of you, maybe, to the parents and or grandparents that are listening out there, why 4-H is a great thing for kids to get into and maybe get them off their phones, for lack of better terms? I just see... Get close to that microphone there. One of the things I love is, as a leader, is watching these kids grow and be responsible for their projects, no matter what happens through that project. I mean, the good times, the bad times, and they finish it out. And just to see them grow from those projects to a young adult and how magnificent they are, how strong they are. I mean, there are leaders. Young leaders. I have to admit, that is a learned skill, not just to start a project, but finish it. Correct. That could be, even as an adult, you're a handyman type of guy. These wives know it. You can start a project, and then it's left unfinished. But, you know, you learn that as a kid, just to follow through and get things done. Yeah, I've seen so many kids go through hard times with their projects, and great times. You know, it's a circle of life, you might say. But just outstanding, they just continue, and they do not give up. I mean, that's what we need in our kids today. Yeah. And, Megan, do you see a difference in the kids, too, when they're in projects? How they change? They might be kind of shy if they first join a 4-H club. Yeah, I just want to make one point on the phone thing with the kids. Yes, sure. It's hard for them to have a phone in their hand when they're mucking out pens, when they're filling water buckets, when they're measuring food, when they're practicing showmanship, when they're doing their flashcards for their fax. And historically, maybe, 4-H kind of asks that the parents be hands-off in these projects with the children. They really want to focus on the kids being leaders, getting the project done. That doesn't happen. Parents are very, very, very involved in this. You have to be. You cannot turn a child loose when they're trying to, with no experience. The kids have been doing it later, but the littles, you can't turn them loose with a bag of grower for a goat, for example, and say, just get this goat fat for fair. Parents have to be involved in watching, weighing, making sure everything's going on. And some of the best times that I've had with my daughter and then with the kids in my project are in the barn, on our way to shows, mucking out pens, washing these goats. It's all the work that goes into getting them to fair. And we show, or my daughter shows anyways, so we're on the road once a month going to one of these goat shows. I mean, the places I've gotten our trailer stuck, the things the goats have done. They've knocked her down, and she gets up laughing. All of those memories are priceless, and we would not have them if we were not involved in 4-H. And that's what got us started, was we got two little goats from Dr. Krieg, and the rest is like history for our family, basically. So, yeah, they just can't do it with a phone in their hand. Yes, they're taking pictures and videos of the goats and stuff, but we get a ton of time every day, just the two of us at the barn taking care of this stuff. Is it tough to have some kids believe that they could have fun doing this, Jamie, you think? Absolutely not. They take so much joy out of so much. It's incredible. These kids, and what you also have to look at is, I was at a big conference, and they were talking about kids that started out in 4-H. They are the ones, and whether they go on to another ag or FFA, these are the kids that work. They know how to do a job. They're the ones we want to hire because they get up so early in the morning. They take such responsibility. They show up. The phones, most of these kids, some of them, I've seen ones that have been on their phone, and they sit there, and they just stare at their phone, and we ask them to put them away. By the end, those phones aren't coming out. They're out there laughing, chasing each other, working with the animals, learning. It's amazing. It just gives them something that they've accomplished. As a family, we all come together. The families help out. You become a part of it, engaged with your child. Sue, what age do they start at 4-H? We're talking about littles. You can start at 5. At 5, that is little. There are fewer projects that they are allowed to do, but we do have those, and there's an immense amount of material at the 4-H office that anyone who wants to lead a project in anything can get plans on how to teach something. I know in our club, we just had one parent with a 5-year-old look at the projects that were available and say, you know what? My son needs something else, and so she's now a project leader on Legos for 5- to 8-year-olds. Is that good news? I think that's amazing. That's what's so awesome about 4-H, too. We have to outreach to the parents. We have to outreach to the community. Even in the retirement community, I remember we had a sewing group in Lake Wildwood, and she was like, I have the extra time. I can do this, and that's what we want. We want the creative Legos. It could be anything. A needle craft or things like that. It just takes someone to volunteer, and we welcome that. We want the kids to expand and have all this opportunity. That's the other thing about coming to this open house, this kickoff, is that these parents and grandparents might have opportunities to do that as well. Yes, of course. To see what's available or what they could do that's not available yet. One of the things that keeps 4-H going, I think, as we get to the modern times, for instance, right now they've started a drone project that's limited for how many teenagers can be in it, but it's for the older youth. Placer County and Nevada County have a pilot project in drones. They're also including robotics. I know Penn Valley, we've already talked about it. Are Chicago Park kids going to be doing that too? We have Chicago Park kids in the drone project. You do? Yes. It's countywide. I wanted to add another thing about countywide that Jamie just said. One of the lesser known things about 4-H is the citizenship project that every year we hold a spaghetti dinner and cake auction in the spring. The youth that are 14 and older who've been in 4-H for a while, they have to have already shown that they're responsible, have a chance to go to Washington, D.C. to the national conference called the Ignite Conference. It happens in March for a week. They get to see around 3,000 other 4-Hers from across the country and interact with them. They get to meet speakers from all kinds of special situations where they're leaders. They meet their congressmen. They tour all the memorials. It's a fantastic thing. Because we have this long-running fundraiser, it's very inexpensive because the fundraiser basically pays for that trip. Covers it. Covers it. Awesome. Have you been to our spaghetti feed and cake auction before? You know, I don't think so. I've been to spaghetti feeds at Paulette's over the years. Oh, it's like the 4-H event of the year. Where's that at? Well, it's usually at the Auditorium at Veterans Building. Yeah, okay. But they were going to remodel, and so we lost our date. Oh, that's true. Yeah. So guess what? We are at a beautiful wedding venue, Costello. Is it via Costello? Costello Vista, that's what it is. Yeah. Beautiful. Is that down Penn Valley? No, it's out, well, maybe you call it that. McCourtney. Out McCourtney, yeah. Oh, that's right. But anyway, it's gorgeous. And I tease people we could have it be a black tie event, but you know, cowboy boots and jeans is more like us. But, you know, I can see Russ putting on that tux. How does he look in a tux? He looks really good. Does he look really good? Yeah. Maybe dress blues? You can put your dress blues on. Oh, yeah, I hold those well. Yeah. I was going to say you have a birthday party coming up November 10th. Yes, yes. Now that I think about it. Anyway, we have to take another break because, as usual, I'm about five minutes late for my news update. So we'll get that in, get a news update, weather forecast. We'll be right back. Good morning. I'm Paul Haas with a KNCO local news update. A community disaster preparedness initiative known as the Neighborhood Readiness Project held what was likely its final demonstration event yesterday evening at the Banner Green John McCourtney Road. It was founded by Lorraine Webb, who was a guest on KNCO's On the Town and talked about it yesterday. She says they coordinate discounted bulk orders of essential food staples with local suppliers. So both SBD Markets, Natural Selections, Mother Truckers, California Organics, Briarpatch Food Co-op, and Peaceful Valley Farm and Garden Supply have agreed to offer a limited list of staples. They've been so cooperative. Yeah. And they're offering these staples at the UNFI list price, which is essentially cost. Webb also notes that nitrogen is used in packaging process. She says that gets rid of oxygen that can cause spoilage and also kills any possible pest infestations. Also, indigenous cultural curators have been offering instruction in sustainable harvesting preparation and storing of traditional regional foods and resources. Webb says the project is focused on community sustainability and transitional food self-sufficiency in the event of emergencies. And with Nevada County having one of the older populations in the state, a number of residents may be affected by an age requirement change for jury service. Governor Newsom has signed a bill into law that allows California's 80 and older to permanently opt out of jury duty without a doctor's note. Starting in January of 2028, they can request a permanent excuse by stating they have a medical impairment and they are taken out of the jury pool. Nevada County's court executive officer, Layla Waheed is also the jury commissioner. She says she's not sure how much the jury pool will be impacted, but she notes like many counties, they are facing lower summons response rates. For the most part, when a juror is summoned, they're summoned for one day and many people are not selected even when they do show up to serve. So jurors are informed the day before their service begins, if they should report to the courthouse or if the case has settled and they no longer need to show up. And so we hope that, you know, with that information and people being able to understand the process better, they're more likely to participate and respond to their summons. Join us for our next local news update at the bottom of the hour for news traffic and weather. Anytime visit KNCO.com. I'm Paul Haas, KNCO News. Escape the everyday and enjoy a little more time to relax with a weeknight getaway, because this year stellar rewards members of every tier can enjoy 50% off all suites and 30% off all standard rooms Sunday through Thursday. 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The Nevada Union Miners have their last test before league when they travel to Casserole Bowl High Friday night. I am Tom Fitzsimmons, inviting you to join Jim Adams and Andrew Jackson for the best high school football on KNCO News Talk 830. Miners come off their bye week ready to go. And take on the Rams who are still looking for their first win of the season. Nevada Union football is brought to you by B&C Ace Home and Garden Center, West Home Furniture, and by Sierra Timberline. It's Nevada Union and Casserole Bowl Friday night at 7 on KNCO News Talk 830. This from the KNCO B&C Ace Home and Garden Center Weather Center. Ace is the place. Here is your forecast on KNCO News Talk 830. Sunny with a high in the mid 80s and a very light southeasterly wind. We will be clear overnight. Our low in the upper 50s. Sunny and warmer weather ahead on Thursday with a high 88. Thursday night's low near 60. And for Friday, sunny and dry with a high in the upper 80s to around 90. For weather anytime, click on the weather center at knco.com. A meteorologist and holiday on KNCO News Talk 830. All right, KNCO News Time. Just about 940, 69 degrees. Welcome back to KNCO Inside. Highlighting 4-H here in Nevada County. Their kickoff celebration is this Saturday, October 3rd in Grass Valley at the Delaware Theatre. No better place to do it. It's a community hub that people love to go to for big events. And this is about as big as it gets. As a matter of fact, Sue Ramey had to leave. So, Sue, drive safely if you're listening to us right now. Her son, Daniel, with the Spokane Fire, which was a national news story, worldwide news story because of the devastation up there. He's become a public information officer extraordinaire. He was giving news conferences that were broadcast around the world and around the nation. So, a 4-H kid out there in Chicago Park. And I guess, Megan, that's part of that leadership skills and communication skills you learn in 4-H too. Absolutely. And the Rameys and Sue Ramey, they have done so much for the county. And they're just an exceptional family in general. So, I think not only does it lend to the leadership of the county, and Nevada County is producing kids that are able to take on these crazy leadership roles. But when he comes home, I'm sure he sees his 4-H leaders and his high school teachers and his friends and his family walking around. That's the beauty of Nevada County, right? You come home and then here we are. Yeah, it is. Still cranking them out. It is a tight-knit community. And matter of fact, with Jerry Serrano, he talks a lot just about growing up here and the values that are taught here. 4-H seems to just add to it, without a doubt. Now, this is happening at a movie theater. We haven't talked about this thing, Jamie, about a movie that's attached to this event. Yeah. So, we want you to come out. Check out 4-H from – and you can do it all the way until the – even if you didn't even want to see the movie. But we are hosting Open Range, or Home on the Range, by Disney. It's a wonderful movie, and it's complimentary. And so, it'll start from – Wow. No cost, full-length movie? No cost. But we have to say it's a limited seating. So, the auditorium only does 138 seats. Okay. So, it's first come, first serve. And we're inviting everybody to come out and check out what 4-H has to offer, and then enjoy a wonderful movie, complimentary. Is Home on the Range, is it about the Yoakum family? Ah. Because there's like a million of you Yoakums around there. We could name them all off. It's got the hogs. It's got the horses. It's got the sheep. It's got everything. So, yeah, it could be like my family. Crazy in the morning when they were very loud. Yeah. Is it quieter now? Is it nice and quiet now? You know what? Having all six of them, they're successful in their careers, and they're out of the house. Yes. The last one just finished her master's. So, that was great. It is quiet. But you know what? The interesting thing is we've been here. We've already gotten three calls from our children. So, our children, they're coming in and out of the house. We have another one that's coming all the way from – Nebraska. Nebraska now. Whoa. And he's going to be here for the week. But they come in and out, and they all have their beautiful homes and family strong. All right. Are they all doing agriculture? So, you know what? No, not everybody. Okay. We ended up having two that ended up doing the firefighting. And he showed hogs at the fair, and they enjoyed it. One did horses. And then we have another one that started out with the pigs, too. And he was a correctional officer here in Nevada County and then went to linemen. And so, he's been doing that journey. But he wants to buy a big ranch. He'll go back to his roots. You know, he's saving up for that. But all of them will have ag because they're very involved with the agriculture and their animals. Now, you were sharing with me off the air about how important agriculture is in California. I know that's part of what 4-H wants to encourage, too, that agriculture is still a very vital thing. The thing of it is California, number one. We're number one in the United States in agricultural. Dairy is one of our number top in that. And then also, and I think that's down in Tulare. And then our fields, you know, our crops. So, I mean, people think of sunny California and beaches. But, no, we are still number one. And that's what's such a blessing. We have the four seasons here. So, we can grow, produce, and then we have the agricultural. And here in Nevada County, with that new ranch like we brought up, that's amazing. I mean, we're getting a new sawmill out there. I mean, it's incredible what we have to offer in our county. Yeah, so, something about that. About a brand new expansion on that sawmill. I know. I'm so excited. We're so blessed. No doubt. That's been great to see, Mr. Drew, and having the kids do it during the fair. And we all get to see it kind of firsthand. It's very exciting to see. Yeah, yeah. And then we're breeding our own pigs up there. We have that. And all our 4-H kids, I mean, 4-H kids, most of the time they'll start in 4-H and then they go into FFA. And then sometimes, like, there's a lot of kids, I will say, that have dual. They stay in 4-H, like my daughter. She stayed all the way up in 4-H. That's her heart, her love. And she also did FFA, and that's her heart and her love. And she's getting her American degree, which is less than 1% that ever achieved that. All right. I used to play sports when I was a kid, and I was able to do sports in school and all that stuff. Megan, is it the same demands on time for kids doing 4-H and doing any other activities and stuff? I mean, is it able to work out pretty well? It depends on, like, the child's level of discipline. But I think, you know, with sports, you're watching what you eat. You know, there's a component every day. You're watching what you eat. You're staying fit. You're working out, doing sport-specific stuff. It's exactly the same as having any, like, livestock at your home or raising up, you know, a project. Absolutely. Every day, you're checking in on it. You're taking care of it. You're cleaning it. You're feeding it. You're watering it. Probably a little bit more, I would say. Maybe a little bit more. A little bit more dedication. We have to travel to go. If you're showing separately, you know, you have to travel to go to some of the shows. But I guess there's travel sports, too, so maybe a little bit. But I just think that the leadership in the sports, you're not going to find that in the sports. That's where you can find it in 4-H and FFA. All right. That's very good. Okay, another thing. I'm trying to think of what parents or grandparents are worried about. Is there a big cost, Russ, about having kids in 4-H? No, no. There is not a big cost. You know, you join 4-H. There's a slight cost there. But the animal cost, the feed cost. But, you know, like a lot of the kids, when they show at FAIR, the community is just so supportive and supporting these kids. Oh, absolutely. And it's just nice to see a kid, you know, they put money aside for their next project, for the next year, and continue on. So it's just not only the project, but they're learning so much more about saving money and just carrying everything out to the end. Yeah. It's fantastic. And I will say there, also, sometimes we do offer scholarships. You know, like if they can't afford, you know, maybe it's hard. And sometimes it can be, you know. So like if there is a part of signing up, you can apply for that. And as leaders, we work out, like we had kiddos that maybe we needed to work out a plan that helped them better purchasing their first animal. Or the other thing is some people say, well, I live in an apartment. Or I live in Lake Wildwood, you know. That's just name or Lake of the Pines. And we make sure. We'll contact, reach out. There's so many families. And we find places for them to go. You know, if they're going to have a large animal, we'll find someone that we can, in most cases, we'll find someone that can take care of that. And then we had one girl that showed rabbits, and she had an apartment. And she got that. Her apartment management allowed that. And she did very well. Wow. All right. So the registration fee is $75 for a year of Nevada County 4-H. And there is a waiver available. Okay. So after you register on ZSuite, you go over to the Pay My Fee. And then you can click a little button, and it'll go back to the 4-H office. And everyone that I've ever encouraged a parent to sign up for, they've gotten it. All right. So people coming out there on Saturday to Del Oro, can they sign up their kids for 4-H there? I mean, is there possibilities of doing that? It's all online. Okay. It's all online. But we will walk them through the process. There are some QR codes that they can scan that will jump their phone right to the registration page. Yeah. So it's not like the old Yoakum days where, you know, you'd get paper and pencil. Paper, pencil, candlelight. Yeah. A quill. Dipping me. Back then, yeah. You guys are so funny. All right. I'm going to take my last break. Get that out of the way. All right. So down the homestretch here of K&C Inside Highlighting the 4-H, their big kickoff celebration at the Del Oro this weekend. So a quick break. We'll be right back. Rain or shine, all about gutters and awnings has your home covered. 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There's incredibly great 4-H clubs. I get to kind of know the kids a little bit. They send letters out before the Nevada County Fair. We get to read them on the air. Some of them have recorded them off the air. It is one of my favorite things that I get to do, you know, preparing for the fair and stuff. Do you guys believe that we are up to $1.2 million being raised for the kids with their animal projects and ag mechanics? Yes. It's amazing. It's outstanding. Incredible. Yeah. That's this word I talked about. You know, they're just fantastic, this community. Yeah. Awesome. It just keeps going up and up. I think what's out there is that these kids are sincerely nice kids. They are a maturity to them. I always think about them coming into the radio station, and their parents might bring them in, and now they're recording their own letters. Right. So they've never met us before, you know, and here we are, grumpy old guys, you know. And they're always pleasant and poised and able to communicate what their projects are and with a good sense of humor and stuff. And even if they're nervous, they seem to, maybe it's the leadership and communication skills, Megan, that they've learned, you know, that they're able to talk to people. And on behalf of all the project leaders in Nevada County 4-H, can I just extend a very heartfelt thank you to the radio station for your time and your commitment to the children and letting them come in. And then, like, you used to read the letters, right? Yeah. And now you're letting them come in. Yeah, and record them. And that's huge. That's huge. It's like weaving the fibers of our community even tighter. And I think when, I think I would be willing to bet that the extra money that was earned this year at the livestock auction is, like, directly related to that. Yeah, I think people get turned on to it because in a world that's so divisive at times, and, you know, here we are, a news talk station, you hear top of the hour news, it can pull your hair out sometimes. Except you, Russ, you know, you and me, same boat. Right. It's already out. It's gone. Is, they hear, you know, just the sincerity of these kids. And there's a certain truthfulness about it that kind of fills your soul up when you hear the kids talk. Right. And we have the best fair in, I'm going to go so far as to say the United States of America. I've traveled around California. I've seen the different fairgrounds. I've been to the different fairs with livestock shows. None of them hold a candle to how beautiful our fairgrounds is. Absolutely. And not that it's stressful getting the kids to fair that week. I'm not going to lie. There's a lot going on. There is. There's so many moving parts. I didn't even hear that. Okay. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. It is. It's a lot. All those parents together, shoot, we're going to have a few problems. But everybody sets that aside and we come and we put it all down and put it aside and we just support the kids for those five days. It's exhausting. Everyone gets a headache and a runny nose, the whole thing. It's just a lot. It's a lot on the animals. But when you're walking out and those kids have earned that much money and it kicks back to the fair and the community, that's just proof of how much people care. It is. It's amazing. Some of the stories that happen every year out there and stuff. One thing I've always been amazed, too, Jamie, is that when we talk about seeing projects through the end, sometimes they don't end well. Sometimes an animal might be in distress, can't go to the fair. Sometimes they die and stuff. That is the truth. We can be on it and that's one of the big things about our kids. We go over. We've been very blessed in our swine group. We have a vet that comes, Josh Atlin. We've had other vets, too, Michaela. But we have them come every year to discuss what to look for, what your project, what signs to watch out. But you can do your best, your very best. Sometimes it goes south. It can. We live in still an area that's rural and we've had attacks with the bears and the mountain lions. We can't control that. We can keep eyes on and be there, but every second. But we can't go south. Is it tough on the kids when they're showing their animals? Especially maybe if they're younger, when they're at auction, they're going away right after the fair? Yeah, we do. It's a growth. It's something that they understand, but it is. We're raising something of value and healthy, very healthy. If you're raising livestock, you're getting a product that is not filled with anything but all the natural ingredients, the good ingredients that's been raised properly. They've had a very good life. All right. I have to ask you this before we go, though, Jamie. Did you have favorite teachers that you had growing up? Because Paul has wanted me to ask you that. Okay. My kids will say this, Mrs. Haas, Tamar Haas, absolutely love her. They were very, very blessed. In fact, two siblings got to have her both in the same classroom. So the brother and sister got to watch out for each other and she made sure of it. So I was blessed. They didn't fight with each other or anything like that? Act like goofballs? They didn't fight, but there's one that's very studious and one is a boy. So he's rough and humble and so she kept him in line. Mrs. Haas was wonderful. One that's very studious and one that's a boy. And one is a boy. What does that mean, Jamie? Okay. So one's a girl and she is always very academically. She's the one that just did her master's. But the other boy was like, oh, how much can I run? How much can I play? And she'd be like, Mrs. Haas, don't worry. I'll talk to mom when we get home. Okay. I just wanted to put that out there because I know Tammy was listening. Yeah. It's part of the family we were just talking about here in Nevada County. If you want an extended family, if you haven't really had an opportunity to check out 4-H, this Saturday is the time to do it. It is the 4-H kickoff celebration, October 3rd, Deloro Theater. Get there about 9. 9 o'clock. 9 o'clock. 9 to 945 is the reception in the lobby and the movie starts promptly at 10. Okay. We have seating for 138 people. And children should be accompanied by an adult, please. Don't just bring them down and drop them off. But the lobby will stay open until noon and all the booths will be out there and I'm sure there will be some parents kind of hanging around to answer questions. Any kids in 4-H uniforms? Some will be. Yes. And they're white? Absolutely. Always kind of cute to see. All right. Thank you. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you for running the joint, okay? You are the general, my friend. All right. That does it for us. We've got ABC News coming up next. Wait. --- end of transcript ---