ShawneeDispatch.com

Garrett Stous of Shawnee will celebrate his 11th birthday Sunday, the day before this year's Johnson County Fair opens.

Garrett, who will be in sixth grade at Mill Creek Middle School, is busy this week completing his 4-H fair projects so he can have some time Sunday to have fun with his friends and attend a T-Bones game.

"I'm in the middle of painting my rocket, and I'm doing entomology," he said. "I also have to finish varnishing my trebuchet."

In all, Garrett is entering four categories in the fair: rocketry, woodworking, entomology and photography. But those aren't his only 4-H interests. He also likes to do machine sports and fishing, though he's not entering in those categories.

Garrett said he first became interested in rocketry, which is his favorite project along with woodworking, when he saw the rockets at the fair.

"I thought it might be cool," he said.

Those entering in rocketry get a kit to build a rocket and then launch it before the fair. Participants then have to paint it and put decals on to present it at the fair.

Though it seems easy, Garrett said building a rocket is more difficult than it looks.

"You have to put the fins on exactly right or else the rocket will fly off to an angle and not go straight up," he said.

His first year competing in rocketry proved successful as Garrett won a trophy for best first year in rocketry.

For his photography entry, Garrett is submitting a photo he took at the Grand Canyon featuring the vast divide during the winter.

"He knew he wanted to enter in photography for the fair, so he took a lot of pictures thinking he would enter one of them," Garrett's mother, Deena Stous, said.

For his entomology entry, Garrett tries to find insects wherever he can. Some come from his grandparents' house and one came from a gasoline station.

"I just saw it laying there on the ground flopping around, so I picked it up," Garret's father, Darrell Stous, said.

Garrett's 8-year-old sister, Kirsten, also is entering the fair this year. Except for baking, her projects are completed.

Garrett and Kirsten are part of the Pioneer 4-H club in De Soto, and several of the members have items to submit in the fair.

Bailey Lockhart, 8, of De Soto, is entering the fair for the first time and decided to enter because she wanted to start working with sheep.

Earlier this year, Bailey bought a lamb to work with and show at the fair. She has been practicing with her lamb, Prancer, working on how to get him into a proper stance and how to show him to judges. Bailey also has to know facts about her lamb, like where certain parts are or what is the most common disease they can get.

However working with a lamb can be difficult, especially as it grows to be almost as big as she is.

"The hardest part is probably trying to keep him from jumping," she said, "I named him Prancer because he started jumping like a reindeer."

As Bailey practiced Wednesday with Prancer, she paused for a moment of instruction and then jumped back with surprise.

"He peed in my boot," she said.

Maddy Wolfe will be a freshman at De Soto High School this year, and she is hoping this will be her year to win in the lamb competition, which she has entered for three years.

"I really want to win this year, but it might be more difficult because I'm in the senior division," she said.

Maddy said she became interested in the lamb competition because it was something different and she was interested in the chance to make money by selling the lamb.

Although the other Pioneer 4-H club members who are showing lambs have named theirs, Maddy's lamb doesn't have a name.

"The first year I named my lamb and I got too attached to it," she said. "Then I didn't want to sell it, so now I don't name my lamb."

The Johnson County Fair will be Monday through Aug. 9 at the Johnson County Fair Grounds in Gardner.

Johnson County Fair Schedule

Monday

Dog Show: obedience, fitting and showmanship, 6 p.m.

Open Youth Rodeo, 7 p.m.

Tuesday

Carnival opens, 5 p.m.

Dog Show: agility trials, 5:30 p.m.

Family fun night, 6 p.m.

4-H food auction, 7 p.m.

Bands in the park, 7 p.m.

Night of Fun and Challenge, 8 p.m.

4-H Horse Club Drill Team following Night of Fun and Challenge

Wednesday

Judging from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Carnival opens, 6 p.m.

Firefighter and police demonstrations, 7 p.m.

Thursday

Judging from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Carnival opens, 6 p.m.

Bull Blast and Barrel Racin, 7 p.m.

Friday

Judging from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Carnival open,s 6 p.m.

Amateur Flat track races, 6:30 p.m.

Hot laps, 7:30 p.m.

Race, 7:30 p.m.

4-H Market Round Robin Showmanship Contest, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Parade, 10:30 a.m.

Carnival opens after the parade

4-H FFA Market Animal Sale, 1 p.m.

4-H FFA Project Auction following Market Animal Sale

Demolition Derby, 7 p.m.