Clark County Fair Manager John Morrison said Monday he’s standing by his decision to not to accept a 4-H equestrian superintendent — an adult voted by 4-H horse clubs to be in charge at the annual county fair — because of her past behavior. Likewise, 4-H state and local leaders are standing by their decision to not accept Morrison’s decision.
Got that?
The monthslong standoff has produced an unusual scenario: A youth organization threatening to not participate in the Clark County Fair.
The 2011 Clark County Fair will run Aug. 5-14.
Morrison said Monday that he and the Clark County Fair Board don’t want to lose the 4-H equine program. But the program needs to pick a new superintendent.
“That decision rests with 4-H,” he said.
Karen Poulin, a faculty member with Washington State University Clark County Extension, said Monday that Morrison does not have the authority to decide 4-H superintendents.
“The authority to dismiss a 4-H volunteer is the sole authority of WSU Extension because we have the full responsibility of our volunteers,” Poulin said.
Poulin reviewed written complaints about the 4-H superintendent, but said they did not meet the threshold for dismissal. Citing confidentiality rules, she did not disclose who filed the complaints about the superintendent or the allegations.
The superintendent, Susan Linn, did not return a call Monday seeking comment.
Tents of contention
Linn’s daughter, Nikki Cook, 19, is a recent graduate of 4-H and was a member of the La Center Lucky Riders.
Cook said 4-H is a positive youth development program that teaches kids to be productive members of society.
During this year’s fair, Cook said she delivered a petition to Morrison that was signed by nearly 100 4-H members.
She and other signers went to the fair office and waited to talk to Morrison. She said it was not meant to be a “sit-in” protest, but they were all told to sit and wait for Morrison. Later, Morrison accepted the letter and told the participants to get back to their duties.
A key sticking point addressed in the letter? Tents.
Morrison said that tents and canopies set up as rest areas for fair participants had grown out of control in the past few years. Some were clustered near entrances to the barns and buildings.
“It created the impression of a private area and was potentially causing the public to not enter the very facilities we want them to visit,” Morrison said.
He said he directed superintendents to make sure the resting areas were not in the public’s way.
He said every superintendent followed his directions, except Linn. She overreacted, according to Morrison, and took down all the tents and canopies near the stall barn and the portable stalls. She created “club stalls” for members. Linn had planned to string up lights in the dimly-lit stalls, which could have been an issue for the fire marshal, Morrison said.
Cook, however, said Morrison wouldn’t talk to her or other 4-H participants about the tents.
Another sticking point, Cook said, was that members of the Clark County Fair Court received six stalls in a prime location. There are three members of the fair court, so each one received a stall for her horse and another for costumes and gear.
“It would have been fine if we had been talked to about it,” Cook said.
Morrison said that decision was made in March by the 24-member fair board, upon a recommendation by a fair court committee. Morrison said it made sense for the fair court members to have permanent stalls as they serve all year long and shouldn’t have to keep moving their belongings.
Morrison said Monday he sent a letter Dec. 15 to Pat BoyEs, director of youth development at the WSU Puyallup Research & Extension Center. BoyEs had sent Morrison a Nov. 29 letter that said if the two sides didn’t come to an agreement by Jan. 1., the 4-H equine program would not participate in the fair.
“This will be a significant loss not only to the youth who participate in the 4-H equine program, but also to the public who will attend the 2011 Fair,” BoyEs wrote.
Poulin, with the Clark County extension service, said 4-H equine participants will have another event where they can qualify for the state fair.
Morrison replied that the fair board had a special meeting to discuss the situation.
“It remains clear in our minds that we have the authority to react to and make decisions on issues that we feel are not in the best interests of the Fair,” Morrison wrote.
“We have made similar decisions at other times throughout the years, regarding fair patrons, vendors and exhibitors, regardless of the individual or their affiliation. In simple terms, this decision had nothing to do with 4-H, it just happened to be a 4-H leader at the heart of the decision,” Morrison wrote.
If 4-H does sit out the fair, Morrison said other horse groups have expressed interest. The public will not miss out on seeing horses, he said.
Morrison said Monday he needs superintendents who can appreciate that the fair is a multimillion-dollar operation with 3,000 volunteers.
If he had open class and 4-H superintendents who couldn’t, for example, agree on a horse arena schedule, “it would be constant bickering,” he said.
He said he gives superintendents control over their departments, but with that power comes a responsibility to help ensure the fair’s success.
“And accept the fact that sometimes you are not going to get everything you want or need,” Morrison said.
Stephanie Rice: 36-735-4508 or stephanie.rice@columbian.com.
