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Seven Georgia 4-H'ers earned a shot at the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship after competing at the Georgia VEX IQ Challenge Robotics competition. The Walker County 4-H Robotics Team earned the final Georgia spot at the world championship event this May in Dallas, Texas.

What do a sixth-grader with a prize-winning cow, a home-schooled forestry enthusiast, a singer who aspires to a medical career and a teenager who enjoys dance and choreography have in common? They’re all members of the largest youth-leadership organization in the country: 4-H.

On Feb. 9, the Georgia Capitol turned shades of green as it welcomed more than 400 students. Outstanding 4-H’ers from counties across the state gathered at 4-H Day at the Capitol to engage with their legislators, observe leadership in action and learn about the civic process.

A kiss has such romantic appeal, yet some kisses just end in heartbreak. A smooch from the Rhodnius prolixus, or the blood-sucking “kissing bug,” could be characterized more like the kiss of death — the insect is a primary vector for Chagas disease, a parasitic infection that kills more than 10,000 people annually around the globe. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, victims with chronic cases of Chagas can suffer from life-threatening heart or digestive malfunctions.

Ben Hill County 4-H’ers Liam Jay, Ashley Braddy, Lauren Wixson and Timothy Lord returned as national champions from the Consumer Decision Making Contest in Denver, Colorado, on Jan. 9. The Ben Hill County team won first place in the overall contest and Lauren Wixson earned the title of High Individual.

January is National Radon Action month, and each year University of Georgia Cooperative Extension sponsors a poster contest for students across the state to help bring awareness to the importance of radon testing.

Four high school students from Cobb County took home top honors at the 4-H State Cotton Boll and Consumer Judging contest on Nov. 11, 2021, at Rock Eagle in Eatonton, Georgia. Sandhya Rajesh, Kshitij Badve, Haya Fatmi and Stefan Saboura earned the status of Master 4-H’er with their first-place win at the state level. Alyssa Haag from Oconee County also received Master 4-H’er status as the overall high individual in the contest.

A gene that causes bacteria to be resistant to one of the world’s most important antibiotics, colistin, has been detected in sewer water in Georgia. The presence of the MCR-9 gene is a major concern for public health because it causes antimicrobial resistance, a problem that the World Health Organization has declared “one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.”

As the new year approaches, many people discover a renewed enthusiasm for self-care and self-improvement. Georgia residents looking for guidance on matters of health, healthy relationships, financial literacy and more can count on University of Georgia Cooperative Extension for a wealth of resources to help reach those goals.

The Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island — an important hub for environmental education and youth development in southeast Georgia — celebrated 75 years of operation on Nov. 1.