Community helps rebuild barn, students excel

Members of the community helped restore and improve Pike County High School’s FFA Livestock Barn after a fire caused extensive damage Dec. 3, 2023. FFA students have been housing their animals in the updated building and recently attended the Mid-Ga Preview Hog Show as they prepare for the season. PCHS animal science teacher Shannon Bartlett said the restoration was a group effort.

“The hog team and parents took care of all the demo work, leaving an empty barn for the contractor to come in with his crew and get to work in July,” she said. “We had the wood supplies donated from Koppers and the metal from Detailed Metals – this was a huge financial help for the project! With this help we were able to enclose the entire barn, install all new plumbing and electrical and add a water heater!”

Zach Westerfield of Southern Venture Partners was the general contractor with the electrical work completed by one of the hog-showing student’s dads, Michael McLendon of Custom Wired.
“We were also blessed with an HVAC system and labor from Bubba White and his crew with White Heating and Air. Our barn is now officially completed, ready to use and full of market hogs for this season,” she said. “We want to thank all of our supporters and community members for helping us get the barn back up and running for our students!”

The Mid-Ga Preview Hog Show include two separate shows so students were able to compete in a Showman and a Market class both Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7. The students earned points depending on how they placed from each class, and the points were added up at the end of the show. PCHS and other schools were competing to be one of the top 10 overall showman and Pike earned seventh.  

The Top Overall Showman from Pike included Anslee McLendon (third), Allie Lawrence (fourth), Kaden Mitchell (fifth), Kali Garner (sixth), Kirsten Lutke (seventh), Annikah Self (ninth) and Walker Davis (tenth).

Students who earned individual places on Showman classes Friday included first place finishers Anslee McLendon, Walker Davis, Lainey O’neal, William Matthews (Pike 4H) and Oliver Baade (Pre-Club); Kaydie Jo Reid, Kirsten Lutke and Kali Garner in second place; Annikah Self, Colton McLendon, and George Barrow in third place; Kloe Everett and Kaden Mitchell in fourth place and Ty Garner in fifth place.

In the Market classes competition on Saturday, Annikah Self earned first with her hogs Buddy and Onyx, Ty Garner earned first with his hog Bushwacker and Kali Garner earned first with her hog Bones. Kali Garner with her hog Asteroid earned second place and Kirsten Lutke earned second with both hogs Daisy and Dunkin. Students who earned third place included Anslee McLendon with her hog Bert, Kynnedy Roberts with her hog Teddy and Kara Mitchell with her hog Drew. Walker Davis with his hog Spruce and Kaden Mitchell with his hog Charlie Brown both earned fourth place. Kloe Everett earned fifth place with her hog Sam. Kaydie Jo Reid earned sixth place with her hog Ruby and George Barrow earned sixth place with her hog Jimmy. Those earning first in Saturday’s showman classes included Anslee McLendon, Kirsten Lutke, Ty Garner, and Kaden Mitchell in first place; Annikah Self in second; Lainey O’Neal and Kali Garner in third; Walker Davis and Allie Lawrence in fourth; and Will Matthews and Colton McLendon in fifth place.

In the Market Classes, students who earned first included Allie Lawrence with her hog Batman, who also won Reserve Champion, Annikah Self with her hog Buddy and Kaden Mitchell with his hog Marcie. Students in second place included Ty Garner with his hog Bushwacker, Kali Garner with her hog Asteroid, Kirsten Lutke with her hog Daisy, Walker Davis with his hog Spruce, Kaden Mitchell with his hog Charlie Brown and Kynnedy Roberts with her hog Teddy. Those who earned third place were Annikah Self with her hog Onyx, Kali Garner with her hog Bones, and Kirsten Lutke with her hog Dunkin. Anslee McLendon earned fourth with her hog Bert and Kaydie Jo Reid earned fifth with her hog Ruby.

“We are beyond proud of these students for all their hard work and dedication,” said Bartlett. “Let’s hope for safe travels and more wins!” 

The hog team will complete Dec. 21 at Christmas in the Country in Heard County, Jan. 4 at the Crawford County HogShow, Jan. 25 at the Hogs of Hazzard in Covington, Feb. 1 at the District 5 Farm Bureau Hog Show at Upson Lee Ag Center, Feb. 11 at the Mid Ga Local Show at Upson Lee Ag Center and Feb. 19-23 at the Georgia Junior National Livestock Show in Perry.