Dog day afternoons at Canfield Fairgrounds
Dog day afternoons at Canfield Fairgrounds
EDITOR:
This letter is in response to the letter of Aug. 2 regarding the policy concerning 4-H dogs at the Canfield Fair. I felt compelled to write as my son has had dog projects for the last three years through the Mahoning Pampered Pups 4-H Club and has qualified to go to the Ohio State Fair all three years in both Dog Care and Grooming and Handling (Showmanship).
According to the Junior Fair Premium Book, 4-H members wishing to show their dogs at the fair must be members of a county dog club, attend 10 of the club training sessions/meetings, participate in interview judging and complete the required project book(s). If these requirements are met, any child may show a dog at the Canfield Fair.
The writer of the above referenced letter failed to mention that through the efforts of the Junior Fair and the generosity of the fair board, six to eight stalls are provided for each club in the tile barn adjacent to the North Saddle Horse Ring where the dogs show on Thursday and Friday evenings of the fair. They do require a crate for the dog, but most people have one anyway as it is used as a method of training. If not, a nice one can be bought for around $50. The other requirement is that an adult. either a parent or a club adviser, must stay with the dogs while they are in the barn at all times. We share the barn with horses from the Corral Crue 4-H Club from North Jackson, and they have proved to be good neighbors. The kids enjoy each other's company. The barn is naturally cool and has a breeze most of the time.
The only dogs allowed on the fairgrounds are 4-H animals. They must remain in the 4-H area at all times either in the Dog Tent or in the tile barn. The public is not allowed to bring dogs to the fair and concessionaires/exhibitors must leave their dogs in their motor home/trailers.
In the past three years we have never had to make trips back and forth to the fairgrounds with our dog. We go out each morning with the dog and he returns home each evening. There is a place for the dogs during the day provided by the fair board. The dog clubs are not being treated unfairly; it's just not necessary for them to spend the night. Our dog is a member of our family. He eats with us, sleeps with us and travels with us. It would be very stressful for him, and us, to spend the nights away from home and change his routine as well as my son's. Dogs are not horses or cows, which are accustomed to staying in barns away from home, but I'm sure even they get stressed at times.
4-H is the best youth program available, bar none. In my 50-plus years of experience, nothing comes close to the quality educational experiences learned from it with or without animals, and I don't think anyone is questioning the hard work each member puts into his/her project(s).
RICHARD L. WITZEMAN
Poland
What would conservatives say about a Democrat who ...
EDITOR:
After enduring over five years of the reign of King George the First and listening to all the praise heaped on him by the Republican right wing religious conservatives in this country, I am wondering if they would have equally praised a Democrat who:
Lied to get us involved in a war that we can't win, causing thousands to die who would not have died otherwise; gave tax breaks to the wealthy that ran this country into record deficits; came up with a prescription drug bill that gave no immediate help to those who needed it but was an immediate windfall for the pharmaceutical industry;
Came up with an idea to solve the Social Security crisis and then admitted it would not solve the problem (but would not accept other peoples ideas cause they weren't his); allowed millions of jobs to be siphoned off to other countries and then said it was good for America that those jobs are gone; installed an ambassador to the United Nations without the approval of Congress; ran a more secretive White House and government than even Richard Nixon;
Trampled on civil liberties granted by the Constitution, signed an energy bill that also will offer no immediate help for average working Americans but is an immediate windfall for the energy industry, and on and on.
I somehow doubt the right wing conservatives would be so supportive of a left wing liberal in the same circumstances. I bet when put in this context, Bush as a Democrat, the dubious accomplishments of our reigning monarch don't look so good, do they?
TOM HALL
Lisbon
Assault on Bush becomesan assault on America
EDITOR:
It began as a war against President Bush, but it has morphed into a full-fledged war against America. Not only must we contend with foreign terrorists, now we must contend with an American media insurgency aiding and abetting them.
Why the American media would throw in with terrorists is beyond understanding. Why suicide reporters would completely destroy their credibility in order to jeopardize our lives and injure our nation is mind-boggling.
Americans take a risk every time they open a newspaper or turn on a television news program because it is unknown when a media insurgent will attack their patriotism, intelligence, and sensibilities. Suicide reporters don't care how unpatriotic or how stupid they appear as long as they can wreak havoc on America's goals of security and success.
Their assault on America doesn't stop at national defense either; they also seek our economic ruin. They whip up discontent over the price of gasoline while spreading lies and misconceptions that prevent the drilling and refining of our own oil. And on a personal economic level, they lie about the state of Social Security and try to make everyone believe that it is solvent and doesn't need reformed. After all, a poor and desperate population is easier to convince that America is evil and deserves to be defeated.
Call me naive, but I don't believe the American media insurgency will prevail. It may have the full support of the Democratic Party, but I truly believe that both are doomed to failure. America's greatness will ultimately prevail, and the foreign terrorists along with the America media and the Democratic Party will be defeated. The demise of the Democratic Party is already at hand. The fall of the American media and the terrorists is only a matter of time.
JOSEPH K. WALTENBAUGH
New Castle