Steuben County CCE Director Explains 4-H Withdrawal From County Fair

Two young people, a girl and a boy on crutches, stand with a white Grand Champion Market Steer and a 4-H chair at a fair.
A 4-H member and a Grand Champion Market Steer are pictured at the Steuben County Fair, an event often associated with local agricultural programs.

A decision was made one week ago by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Steuben County to no longer allow its 4-H program to participate in the County Fair held every August in Bath. In an interview on FLX Morning on Finger Lakes News Radio, Steuben’s Extension Director Tess McKinley explained what led to their decision.

 

McKinley said she would not get into specifics on-air about what those concerns were

 

Finger Lakes News Radio has learned additional details of the conflict that have not been made public, including complaints of problems with physical safety at the fairgrounds, as well as the mistreatment of individual 4-H students and the program as a whole.

You can listen to the full interview with Tess McKinley and Steuben 4-H educator Jenny Groen by clicking here.

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