By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Members of Marion County 4-H clubs will come together Sunday at the fairgrounds in Hillsboro to paint fences and clean up the grounds. It is their collective way of celebrating 4-H Week, an event that marks the beginning of a new 4-H year.

Extension agent Ricky Roberts said, judging by the numbers, 4-H has a “healthy” presence in the county. He said about 200 young people were enrolled in county 4-H clubs in the 2013-14 year. He expects that number to remain steady.

“Some other larger counties don’t have as many enrollees as we do,” Roberts said.

Marsha Meyer, leader of the Marion Happy Hustlers 4-H Club, said some of the members would participate in the project at the fairgrounds.

They held their first meeting of the new year a few days ago. Meyer said usually several high-school-age members drop out because of their other activities. This year, a large number of elementary school children enrolled. Six members are in middle school and above.

“It goes in cycles,” Meyer said. “Right now, we’re a fairly young club.”

In addition to learning new skills, 4-H members can learn a lot about leadership and citizenship, Meyer said. Some have even earned scholarships based on their leadership experience in 4-H.