Members of Tallahatchie County’s 4-H Club participated in a pair of events as part of the 2021 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. state competition, held July 16-17.
An acronym for Safe Archery and Firearms Education and Training for Youth, the 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. program helps interested youth learn about the safe handling of weapons while incorporating the fun of a competitive component.
Each county’s 4-H club has a S.A.F.E.T.Y. team comprised of trained instructors and youth.
The local team is known as the Tallahatchie Sharp Shooters.
They, along with dozens of other 4-H shooting sports teams from counties throughout northwest Mississippi, competed at a district S.A.F.E.T.Y. qualifying meet on May 1 at the Tallahatchie County Fairgrounds and the former Tallahatchie Youth League complex just east of Charleston.
Participants shot at paper targets or, in the case of those in the shotgun discipline, traditional clay pigeons, accumulating points based on their performance. The top finishers qualified to advance to the state level of competition.
Edi Rose Blaylock is pictured after participating in a 4-H state shooting sports event at West Point. (Photo special to The Sun-Sentinel)
Raymond Radcliff and wife Sherry Radcliff, instructors for the Tallahatchie Sharp Shooters, accompanied 15-year-old Keegan Bachler, 15-year-old Nolan Lester and 16-year-old Layton Pressgrove as they competed in the shotgun discipline of the state meet in Starkville.
Meanwhile, during the same timeframe, 18-year-old Tallahatchie Sharp Shooter Edi Rose Blaylock competed in the .22 rifle discipline at a 4-H S.A.F.E.T.Y. state venue in West Point.
They did not qualify for nationals but are “excited” about competing next year.
