Donica Clepper - FFA

Seven FFA teams headed for state meets
By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

Cleburne High senior Craig Hughes knows his plants All 75 of them — or, depending on how you look at it, 300.

“You have to learn to identify them all in different stages of development,” said vocational ag teacher Barney McClure. “It’s pretty challenging.”

Hughes was equal to the task.

He earned a perfect score to win top individual in the FFA Area 8 range contest.

The team of Hughes, Shelby Galvin, Donica Clepper and Deanna Moser finished first overall.

Individually, Moser was fourth, Clepper sixth and Galvin eighth.

They will represent CHS in the state contest at Tarleton State University in Stephenville Thursday

In all, CHS FFA is sending seven teams to state: range; entomology; nursery-landscape, which was reserve champion; wildlife, which placed third; dairy foods, which placed third; dairy cattle, which placed fourth; and land judging, which came in fifth.

CHS also competed at area in horse, livestock and farm business management.

The rest of the story is at http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/local_story_107112600.html

The full group picture is at http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/images_sizedimage_107112736/resources_photoview

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Range team comes in seventh
Published: April 27, 2009 07:05 am
By Pete Kendall/reporter@trcle.com

Two misidentified plants equalled 60 missed points for the Cleburne range team at the state FFA competition in Stephenville Thursday.

That cost Donica Clepper, Shelby Galvin, Craig Hughes and Deanna Moser a possible first place and a trip to nationals, but the team still managed an impressive seventh place overall with 1,032 points.

Only 43 points separated first place Hamilton, with 1,075 points, and Cleburne.

Brownwood was second with 1,074 points followed by Jacksboro with 1,057, Harper with 1,054, Anson with 1,042 and Haskell with 1,038.

Clepper was 11th individually with 361 points, and Hughes 18th with 345. Moser had 326 points and Galvin 294.

The Yellow Jacket quartet was stumped by two grasses that are non-native to North Central Texas, curly mesquite and sand lovegrass.

All were unable to identify the two plants.


The rest of the story is at http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/local/local_story_117080558.html

Heather Clepper

Young shutterbugs inspired by trip

By Felicia Frazar
The Gazette-Enterprise

Published April 8, 2009

SEGUIN — While some high school and college students spend their Spring Break glued to a television set, a few students from Seguin High School ventured out and broadened their horizons over their holiday.

The school’s Photography Club made a trip to West Texas to practice their photography skills. Travis McCulley, the club’s lead sponsor, started the club in the fall of 2005 with the intention of creating a safe and fun environment for students — and an alternative for Spring Break.

“It gives kids something to do during Spring Break other than sitting at home and playing video games,” he said. “I think they have a good time and I enjoy it.”

The organization offers a trip during the Spring Break holiday to spots that are not only breath–takingly beautiful but educational as well.

This year’s voyage took the 10 young photographers and three adult supervisors out to a West Texas national park for a six–day, five–night trip that was cut short, McCulley said.

“We spent two nights on the ground in Cottonwood in Big Bend National Park,” he said. “The second two nights we moved into cabins at the Crow’s Nest Ranch up in the Davis Mountains. We had planned on staying an additional night, but the weather turned bad and we came home.”

Even though the trip was not as long as planned, senior Heather Clepper, said that it is an experience she can take a lot away from.

“Getting it on film is nothing compared to seeing it with your own eyes,” she said. “It was indescribable and really fun. It was amazingly fun getting to hang out with all these people — all of your friends and forming new bonds.”

Their journey to Big Bend included trips to Santa Elena Canyon and Hot Springs, both of which are located within the park, and Crow’s Nest, which is not.

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The rest of the story is at http://seguingazette.com/story.lasso?ewcd=dfdae5ffc83eda7b

For more information or pictures on the photography club http://www.culleynet.com/shs/shspc/index.html.