In the Sanders County Junior 4-H Communication Finals, there were eight students ranging in age from 9 to 13 and five students in the Senior Division between 14-16.

The 13 students represented the 4-H Clubs in Sanders County: Trout Creek Mavericks, Thompson Falls Mountaineers, Southside Sparks, Whitepine Happy Workers and the Hot Springs Wranglers.

Katherine Wrobleski, 9, made her second presentation in as many years she has been involved with 4-H. She has a passion for songbirds in western Montana.

“They are here in the summer and there are a lot of them. They’re very pretty,” she said.

Wrobleski used actual recordings from the different sounds six common songbirds birds make. She admitted that her favorite is the western Montana Meadowlark, which happens to be the state bird.

The competitors had advanced to the finals and were well versed in their subjects.

Vanessa Horner, 16, from the Trout Creek Mavericks, is a graphic design student with plans to pursue it further as she shared some hidden subliminal secrets in logos that we see every day.

“These hidden messages are not even legal for advertising in some countries” she said.

But the one she seemed to enjoy dissecting the most was the Tostitos logo where, if studied, you will see two people sharing chips over a bowl of salsa.

Sydnee Wilson, 14, explained in depth how her horse, Hope, is going to deliver a foal that was artificially inseminated from one of Terry Brady’s horses from Oklahoma and by the time you read this, it has probably happened.

The next 'Horse Whisperer' might be Madison Chojnacky, 13, as she explained every inch of a horse and how it functions with the other parts to make it such a majestic animal.

Some of the other presentations included 'Education on the Pygmy Whitefish,' 'How to Take Proper Care of Chickens' from Lauren Hudson, 10, who has 70 under her watch, 'Forensic Science,' 'How to Conduct a Beyblade Battle,' 'Building a Primitive Shelter,' which was actually performed in the parking lot of the Clark Fork Professional Building in Thompson Falls where these finals were held.

Judging these remarkable young people who had thoroughly prepared for Final Day was a difficult assignment for Ray Brown and Sarah Naegli who oversaw the Senior Division, and Kate Baxter and Karen Dwyer who directed the Juniors.

The MSU Sanders County Extension Agent, Juli Thurston, thanked everyone at the awards ceremony as all students were applauded for their performances and you could easily see that a load of bricks had been removed from their shoulders as they smiled and congratulated one another.