Young Stanislaus County writers take top spots in farm-writing contest

MODESTO -- Students from Stanislaus County shone in a statewide story-writing contest on farm-related topics.

They won three of the six top prizes in the 14th annual Imagine This contest, sponsored by the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom.

The authors were honored Wednesday in Sacramento as part of Ag Day at the Capitol.

The contest has a top award for each grade from third through eighth. The winning stories will be collected in a book illustrated by high school students and available for purchase.

The winners include:

• Morgan Gravatt, a fourth-grader at Gratton School in Denair, for "Farm Fun." It's about a city girl who visits her grandparents' farm and sees newborn lambs and other wonders.

• Mary Bunn, a seventh-grader at Gratton, for "The Importance of Harold the Owl." It tells of a girl who rescues an injured owl and learns of its role in rodent control.

• Sarah Truxton, an eighth-grader at St. Stanislaus Catholic School in Modesto, for "The Tomato's Charade." It's about people delighted to discover the crop.

• Kole Joachim, an eighth-grader at St. Anthony School in Atwater, won honorable mention for "The Farmer's Friend."

Other students in and near Stanislaus County won regional awards:

• Emma Rethans, fifth grade, Sacred Heart Catholic School in Patterson, for "Lenny the Lucky Goat"

• Justin Torrison, fifth, Sacred Heart, for "The Adventures in Gardening"

• Grace Gemperle, sixth, Sacred Heart Catholic School in Turlock, for "Egg Fable"

• Connor DeJong, sixth, St. Stanislaus, for "The Day the Earth Shook"

• Allison Jensen, seventh, St. Stanislaus, for "The Noble Cause of Irrigation"

• Nick O'Brien, eighth, St. Stanislaus, for "It's a Grape Story"

• Cal Martin, third, Belleview School in Tuolumne County, for "Farm Day 2012"

• Jamari Harris-Goodrich, third, Belleview, also titled "Farm Day 2012"

• Lenna Foster, fifth, St. Anthony, for "Old McDonald Had an Owl"

• Brooklyn Haley, seventh, St. Anthony, untitled.

On the Net: To read the stories that won statewide prizes, visit www.cfaitc.org. The site has information on buying the book.