LHS FFA team heads to state finals

The LaFayette High School FFA Wildlife team has advanced to the State Finals after winning the Area 1 Wildlife Management Career Development Event. Thirty teams competed in the area event, hosted by Pickens County. LHS posted a score of 1117, besting 2nd place Heritage High by 50 points.

LHS Junior Cheyenne Hamilton led the team and finished as 2nd overall individual. Seniors Preston Nave, Señora Winkles and Devin Clark were 3rd, 7th, and 8th place individuals respectively.

The Wildlife Management Career Development Event is an activity that provides opportunities for FFA members to demonstrate their technical and management skills relating to wildlife, habitat, and harvesting regulations.

In Whitetail Deer Management, each participant is required to demonstrate expertise in the following areas: standard objectives, jawbone aging, antler scoring, and whitetail management techniques.

In Game Bird Biology, each participant is required to demonstrate expertise in Call Identification and Game Bird Management. In Aquatics Management, each participant is required to demonstrate expertise in Pond Management and Aquatic Identification.

In General Identification, each participant is required to identify wildlife animals, plants, and equipment from actual samples, a mounted or preserved sample, a photograph, a written description or a sign of the items, such as a tracks, scat, fruit or cones.

LHS and Heritage will join the other 5 area winners and runnerups March 22 and 23 at UGA Athens to compete for the state title.

Dee Decker is editorial assistant and reporter for the Walker County Messenger in LaFayette, Ga, and for the Catoosa CountyNews in Ringgold, Ga.