News
Youth are fair
winners
By Terry Kibler
Enterprise Staff
Three South County
residents scored big in Junior Exhibit judging
at the 118th annual Big Fresno Fair, winning
"best of show" recognition.
But for Fresno County
youth competing in the Fur and Feathers
division, the fair came to a sudden halt as
officials scrambled to prevent a possible spread
of Newcastle Disease, a deadly threat to poultry
and other small animals such as
rabbits.
A sign posted on the
Fur and Feathers fair building read: "Closed by
the California Department of Food and
Agriculture, as a precautionary measure against
Newcastle Disease. Closed for all of the
fair."
Newcastle Disease was
recently reported in several Valley locations,
and agriculture officials were quickly tending
to its eradication.
However, they decided
that a major concentration of poultry, rabbits
and other small animals at the Big Fresno Fair
provided the disease with a target too inviting
to be allowed at this time.
So they shut down
further activities in the Fur and Feathers
judging.
However, officials
will allow rabbit and poultry showmanship
competition to be held today in the south show
ring of the livestock pavilion, a ways removed
from the closed building.
In Junior Exhibit
judging, special awards for "best of show"
honors went to:
Michael Johnson, a
member of the Kingsburg 4-H Club and a junior at
Kingsburg High School. His color photography
photo, "Dresden at Night," was judged the best
in its category.
Jeanne Johnson, a
member of the Fowler Grange and a senior at
Kingsburg High School. Her batch of dried mixed
fruit chunks was judged the tastiest of
all.
Jonathan Simonian, a
member of the Fowler 4-H Club and a sophomore at
Fowler High School. He won the top prize in his
judging category for a plate of homegrown
Armenian peppers.
(October 9, 2002
Newspaper Publication)
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