On October 29 the Friends and Neighbors 4-H club had a  bonfire night at the Paulding county fairgrounds. 

The Friends and Neighbors 4-H club is a brand new club with 45 members that branched off the Leaders of Tomorrow club.

 The bonfire night included supper and ‘smores, brought by club members’ parents, along with the typical club agenda. When asked about the bonfire tradition kept for several years, Loral Manz, club adviser, said that it was made to enjoy Fall and give members an opportunity for more interactions. 

The club enjoyed the various activities organized by Elena Schlatter and Rachel Webb, rounding out a fun evening.  

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

Indianapolis, Indiana was filled with a sea of blue jackets from October 20th through October 24th. Thousands of FFA chapters from across the nation, including 11 Paulding FFA members, their 2 advisors, and 1 chaperone who traveled to Indianapolis for the 99th Annual National FFA Convention. Our members had a busy schedule full of educational and leadership experiences that allowed them to learn more about agriculture industry and FFA. On October 20th, members departed Paulding HS and had a busy day touring J&M manufacturing and the Coopers Turkey Processing Plant. They then got to go shopping and spend the evening at Topgolf. After golfing, members headed to their hotel to wind down for the night.

On October 21st, members woke up and headed to the Indy 500 Tour. Members were able to kiss the famous bricks at the end of the raceway and tour the museum. Students were able to see many famous race cars and memorabilia from races as well as some hands-on activities such as changing a racecar tie and a simulation of driving on the race track. From the Indy 500 tour, the members then traveled to Umbarger Show Feeds for another tour. This tour taught members how Umbarger’s provides a variety of different show feeds that farmers all across the country use to feed their animal operations. They were given a tour of the operation and got to see the feed made for certain show feeds. Members then got dinner from The Old Spaghetti Warehouse. From there students got to attend an Avery Anna and Ty Myers concert before heading back to the hotel for the night.

On October 22nd, the members woke up bright and early to attend the opening session of the National Convention. Members listened to the keynote speaker Scott McKain, who spoke about finding your drive and staying committed until the end. Students then explored the expo center before the next session started. At the 2nd general session, Officers Darcy Taylor and Myrriah Manz walked across the stage for Paulding as we received the prestigious 3-Star National Chapter only 22 chapters in Ohio received this 3-Star Rating. This is the 6th year the chapter has been nationally recognized. Later that evening, members ate dinner at Binkley’s which served American dishes. Then the students had a great time at the rodeo before going back to the hotel for the night.

On October 23rd, members woke up and ate breakfast before an exciting day. The students got to go to the Indianapolis Zoo for the afternoon. From there, some members went back to the school. The other students got to go back and explore the expo center. 

On the last day of the National Convention, October 24th, members and advisors were up very early to attend the American Degree Ceremony, where they watched 7 Paulding FFA members walk across the stage to earn their American FFA Degrees, which is the highest FFA degree possible. The seven members were Anna Clamens, Harley Collins, Grace Goyings, Maci Kauser, Jalyn Klopfenstein, Kadence Thomas, and Hopeful Rose. Five other members also earned their American FFA Degrees that were unable to attend including; Matthew Bail, Brooke Kilgore, Brooklyn Schlatter, Johnathan Lipps and Marley Parrett. The Paulding FFA Chapter is very proud of these twelve members and their accomplishments. After the ceremony the Paulding FFA headed back to Paulding after a fun-filled week. The Paulding FFA would like to say a special thanks to the Paulding FFA Alumni for their support to the Paulding FFA and its members. 

On Veterans Day, November 11th, 2026, the Paulding FFA Chapter along with  the Paulding Middle School Student Council, will host a program honoring the veterans in our community and beyond. 

The program will begin at 1:00 pm in the Paulding High School gym, with the doors opening at 12:20 pm that day. We ask that all veterans park in the circle drive and enter through the High School (door #2), where you will be greeted by the Paulding FFA chapter members. 

The program will feature all of our Paulding students from grade K-12, and will include songs by the elementary students and the MS & HS choir, and the high school band, as well as readings from selected essay winners and other special interviews and readings done by Paulding FFA Chapter and middle school student council members. Afterwards, there will be refreshments for the veterans to enjoy. 

Our veterans have done so much for this country and our community, we truly want to honor them. We take pride in our community and want to invite all veterans to join us on November 11th at 1:00 p.m. as we remember and honor you!

WOOSTER, Ohio — Emma Petrus knew him as Jack.

Petrus, a second-year animal production and management – horse specialization student at Ohio State ATI, was nervous when she was assigned to prepare the standardbred yearling, named Booze Cruisin, for sale.

It didn’t last long.

“He was a very well-mannered colt who took to corrections well and learned quickly,” Petrus said. “What I remember most about preparing him for the sale was how far he came along in such a short time.”

Now, during the 2026 Ohio harness racing season, Petrus gets to watch the horse compete at fairs and racetracks across the state, where he has earned more than $31,000 and advanced to the Buckeye Stallion Series final.

Booze Cruisin is among several horses bred and raised through the equine program at ATI. The horses provide students with hands-on learning from breeding and foaling through young-horse management and sale preparation.

ATI, located on the Wooster campus of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), offers two-year associate degree programs with an emphasis on experiential learning. Its horse specialization in the animal production and management program is an associate of applied science degree that prepares students for careers in the equine industry through the study of horse nutrition, reproduction, health, training and management.

“It’s not just theoretical; students apply what they are learning in real-world situations and have real-world impact,” said Sara Mastellar, ATI associate professor and equine programs coordinator.

Students help handle stallions, collect and ship semen, breed mares, foal out mares and work with young horses. Later, they might prepare yearlings for sale, developing marketing materials and interacting with prospective buyers.

For Petrus, preparing Booze Cruisin meant working with him nearly every day. Students groom and handle the yearlings and introduce them to situations they might encounter at a sale, including walking through obstacles in an indoor arena.

By sale day, Petrus saw a different horse.

“He was remarkably put together and controlled,” she said. “I recall being so proud of him and our partnership.”

That sense of ownership is an important part of the experience, said Aspen Adams, horse herd manager at the ATI Equine Center.

By sale day, Adams said, students who have participated throughout the process are invested in the outcome.

“They aren’t just showing up to lab for a grade,” Adams said. “They are invested and excited.”

ATI graduate Sam Liggett experienced that connection from the beginning. She was on foal watch the night Booze Cruisin was born and continued working with him as he grew.

Liggett entered ATI with limited horse experience, discovered an interest in equine reproduction and now works in the standardbred industry.

“Being able to work with horses of many different breeds and temperaments helped me gain the experience I needed to step into the standardbred industry with confidence,” Liggett said.

Booze Cruisin sold for $14,000 at the 2025 Buckeye Classic Yearling Sale. 

Other recent ATI-bred standardbreds have also found success on the track. CPF Predi had six wins in 12 starts and $19,613 in earnings as of Sept. 9, while Kiss My Hocks had earned $41,579 over 21 starts.

The success of ATI-bred horses comes as Ohio prepares to host one of harness racing’s premier events. The Breeders Crown championships will take place Oct. 23-24 at Eldorado Scioto Downs in Columbus, marking the first time the track has hosted the full championship event and bringing national attention to Ohio’s Standardbred racing industry.

For students, however, the payoff extends beyond a horse’s racing record.

Petrus now cares for six standardbred yearlings and said she uses what she learned preparing Booze Cruisin in her work with young horses.

“The hands-on experience is truly unmatched in its ability to get a student to care about and be invested in what they are learning,” she said.

Liggett has followed Booze Cruisin throughout the 2026 racing season and has met him in the winner’s circle several times.

“Watching him race is so exciting, especially because you can see that this colt wants to win,” Liggett said. “I know he has a great team behind him, and I am excited to see what he does next.”

Mastellar said seeing horses succeed after leaving ATI affirms the value of that real-world learning.

“It’s validating to see our four-footed alumni go on to be successful in addition to our two-footed alumni,” she said. “The success of the horses underscores the real-world environment that the students are learning in.”

By: Paulding FFA Reporter, Makenna Manz

On September 29th, 9 members from the Paulding FFA Chapter competed in District 4 Soils CDE at Kaleidoscope Farms. These students either choose to focus on urban or agriculture soils judging. Students survey soil pits, take a general knowledge test, and take a test over the soil survey for the area. 

When the students are at the pits, they are judging the pit on the soil texture, structure, slope, drainage class, and compaction. The urban team must answer questions about whether the soil is good for building structures and the agriculture soils team answers questions about how suitable the soil is for agricultural use. 

The Ag soils team placed 17th in the district. The team was made up of Tucker Stoller, Balan Miller, Piper Pease, Hudson Spangler and Gavin Parrett. Standout among the team was Tucker Stoller who placed 48th. The urban soils team placed 17th, top finisher from this team being Nolan Schlatter who placed 57th. 

The team was made up of Weston Manz, Nolan Schlatter, Kendall Kohart, and Darcy Taylor. This was the first CDE of the year and we want to applaud both teams for their efforts and for representing Paulding FFA proudly at the district competition. 

By: Makenna Manz, Paulding FFA Reporter

It’s that time of year again, the Paulding FFA is starting their annual fruit fundraiser. The event kicked off on Thursday, October 8th, and will end October 30th when all orders must be put in the google form by the Paulding FFA member. Our members will be offering citrus fruit, nuts, Ohio apples, BBQ sauce, beef jerky, pineapples and butter braids. 

This year, the chapter will also be offering new types of beef jerky. This is one of the Paulding FFA Chapter’s largest fundraisers with all proceeds going to benefit the chapter and its members. 

If interested in some fruit or other items please contact the Paulding FFA Chapter Ag department at 419-399-4656, extension 1170, or one of your local Paulding FFA members. 

The items will come in and be delivered the week of December 2nd. We want to thank the community in advance for their continued support of our Paulding FFA Chapter. 

On September 21st four members of the Board of Directors of the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum were all awarded Indiana’s highest civilian honor by State Representative Martin Carbaugh. Commander Greg Bedford; 1st Vice Commander Eric Johnson; Board Member Pat Fraizer and Treasurer Sharon Hudson all received this unique joint honor for their commitment, leadership and dedication to the Veterans National Memorial Shrine and Museum, 2122 O’Day Road in Fort Wayne.

The Circle of Corydon is the only state award in Indiana signed by both the Governor (Executive branch) and members of the General Assembly (Legislative branch). The award honors the town of Corydon, which was Indiana’s first state capital and the place where the first state constitution was written. Only members of the Indiana General Assembly can nominate people for this award.

Martin Carbaugh, who nominated all four recipients said “ these four individuals have shown outstanding leadership, dedication and a commitment to the veteran community, as well as the all of northeast Indiana residents. What a terrific job they have done to put the Veterans Memorial on the map in Fort Wayne.”

Greg Bedford, Commander of the Veterans Memorial expressed his delight with the honors saying “it has taken a herculean effort by our entire Board of Directors, volunteers, corporate donors, veterans organizations and veterans themselves that continues to make this special property the place where no veteran will ever be forgotten! We are all very honored to receive these prestigious awards…Thank You!”

The Veterans Memorial Shrine and Museum is open: Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Memorial grounds are open 24/7. Special tours are available by appointment contact the Shrine office at 260-267-5022 for details.

With the completion of the “New Bin” as showcased in a previous article this year, Scott Equity Exchange is looking forward to a productive harvest season. With construction complete, General Manager Sadie Litzenberg states, “What excites me about our new bin is that it is the first of a 3-phase outlook of expansion for the co-op. Our long-term plan is to add another 500,000-bushel bin, 40,000-bushel wet bin, and grain dryer as “phase 2”. The final phase will be to demolish the original elevator and uphill pit. Once that is done, we will have room to update the dry fertilizer and chemical building. This new building is just the beginning of a long-term vision from myself and the board members and will take quite a few years. In the meantime, it will mean quicker turn-around times during harvest, separate lines for soybeans and corn, and the obvious extra space for grain to accommodate our vision of Scott Equity Exchange being able to help more growers.

We pride ourselves on staying true to the meaning of Cooperative and being here to help our farmers in any way we can. As much as change can be hard for most to embrace, it is necessary in today’s rapidly growing agricultural world and Scott Equity Exchange wants to remain a steady, dependable partner for farms of all sizes. To ensure this continues, there are updates and changes we feel are necessary to be successful and capable. Scott Equity Exchange Cooperative has been around for 107 years, and our goal is to make sure it can stand for at least another 107 years.”

With the expansion of grain also comes the expansion of the fuel department. Scott Equity Exchange Co. is happy to announce a second fuel truck will be added to the fuel department. The second truck is equipped with 5 fuel compartments and a tank capacity of 2,700 gallons.

Scott Equity Exchange is proud to serve Northwest Ohio as a fuel distributor! For questions on becoming a customer or learning more about our Cooperative, please contact one of our locations! Scott, OH location, 419-622-6151 or Van Wert, OH location, 419-238-1515.

By: Paulding FFA Reporter, Makenna Manz

On Tuesday, September 1st, the Paulding FFA Chapter held its first meeting of the 2026-2027 school year. This kickoff meeting included first-year FFA members as well as any returning members and their parents to give them an introduction to the Paulding FFA Chapter. Over 65 members and parents attended, along with many FFA Alumni. Dinner was provided by the FFA Alumni with their classic sausage sandwiches as well as chocolate chip cookies and lemonade. The meeting was arranged into two stations for the members. The stations included officers explaining different CDEs, hands-on activities, and icebreakers so members could get to know each other through fun games in the shop and get to know the officer team. While new members were going through these stations with the officers, their parents were with the FFA advisors receiving a walkthrough of the chapter’s expectations, opportunities, and events. This meeting provided an excellent opportunity for parents and students to better know this year’s officers, advisors, and the chapter. The Paulding FFA is excited for a new school year full of new memories and experiences!