By Ryan Berry

DailyAdvocate.com

GREENVILLE — The Darke County Agricultural Society’s Board of Directors heard a protest from a participant in the canned good section of the agricultural displays at the board meeting on Wednesday evening. The exhibitor argued the judge gave no explanation as to why the judge excluded 29 categories from blue ribbons. The protestor said that number equaled a third of the categories in that area.

After the board had a chance to briefly look over the protest paperwork, Vice President Heidi May said, “My opinion of this matter is the judge gave her opinion of how she placed them, and I stand by what she affirmed.”

The protester said she and her husband have been members of the Agricultural Society for 27 years and got their start with exhibiting in the canned good section. “In 26 of 27 years we haven’t made any trouble. We’ve flown so far under your radar that we’ve donated close to $2,000 to the junior fair last year and our names didn’t make it on the buyers list. That’s how little attention we brought to ourselves,” she said.

She then addressed the issue in the agriculture department in the basement of the Coliseum. “In 26 of those 27 years, there have been fewer than a handful of those categories to which no blue ribbon was assigned. Each time, the judge provided an explanation as to why no blue ribbon was assigned. There’ve been fewer than a handful of times when an item was excluded from consideration. Again, the judge always provided an explanation. This year, the judge excluded one in three categories. I believe it was 29 categories from getting a blue ribbon with no explanation.”

The protester agreed the judge has the right to assign ribbons any way she likes but argued that she believes the judge should provide an explanation. She read from the industry standard for judging home preserved foods from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. She read, “Contributing to exhibitor’s learning experience is as important as judging the quality of the product. This guide also instructs judges to offer compliments and constructive criticism, make comments that will help the individual improve and offer reasons for decisions when appropriate.”

The secretary for the department, Kat Unger, spoke in favor of how the judge performed at the fair and said the judge did offer comments regarding the items. The protestor argued that she didn’t make the comments to the individuals. Judy Bennett, also with the department, claimed that judging would take much longer and cost more if the judge gave explanations for every item excluded. However, the protestor argued that in the 26 of the 27 years she has shown, the judge has done that with a comment on the back of the tag.

At the time, the board required a $50 fee to file a protest. The protester asked for her money back after hearing from Director May that the board always sides with the judge’s ruling. She said the fair board does not offer the protest provision in good faith.

Because of the protest, the exhibitor’s exhibits were confiscated, including those that had premiums attached. May made a motion to pay the premiums and to give the protestor her exhibits. The motion passed 7-3.

Later in the meeting, May made a motion to increase the cost of a protest to $100. The motion passed 8-2. May, Director Marla Werner and Fair Manager Laura Ahrens explained there is a lot of investigation that goes into preparing for a protest. They believe the issue can be brought to the board without filing a formal protest.

In other business, the board:

Briefly discussed establishing a policy regarding the use of recreational marijuana. They agreed additional research was needed before the policy could be enacted that would prohibit its use on the fairgrounds due to the fair being a quasi-government. The board’s attorney, Chance Cox, was asked to investigate further.

Discussed enforcing a policy currently approved by the board that prohibits dogs from the fairgrounds. This would exclude service animals wearing a vest and with documentation, and fair projects. This would include dogs brought to the fair by campers but would not include dogs brought to the fair by vendors that camp in the Moose lot. It was explained that this lot was created specifically for vendors with dogs. Emotional support animals would not be allowed on the fairgrounds.

Discussed enforcing limiting the size of utility vehicles and golf carts allowed on the fairgrounds. The board also briefly discussed the use of scooters and electric bicycles on the fairgrounds during the fair. No action was taken.

Agreed to a three-year contract with Gregory Peck Sound Service and authorized him to improve the space he was given this year under the Grandstand.

Tabled the horse stall rental contract discussion until the next meeting in October.

Tabled the installation of asphalt and landscaping at the Community Education Building until the April meeting.

Approved a motion from Director Apollo Perez that would discourage bad behavior towards board members and gives the board the ability to offer discipline that could include removing individuals from events if the behavior warrants. Perez pointed out there are advisors that can be rude. Werner added she has had issues with a camper in the past that yelled and screamed at her.

The next regular meeting of the Darke County Agricultural Society will be Oct. 2, 7 p.m., Secretary’s Office, Darke County Fairgrounds.

To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].