Letter: Stark County Fair Association article off the mark

Why would Dain Sullivan paint such a hostile and argumentative picture of the Stark County Commission meeting with the Stark County Fair Board?

The headline reads “Fair association, county commissioners square off.” This makes it sound like a slam-bam argument and sets a negative mood.

My statement said the SCFA was before the county asking for “guidance and blessings” on a land sale, transfer or trade.

I repeated that several times. We do have more than one option and I brought it up. We want to keep whatever direction we go transparent and public.

Yes, the quotes are all quite accurate, but the mood does not reflect the mood at the meeting.

My comment about not being required to inform the commission of our actions was not out of arrogance, but to point out that we want to be transparent and public.

Commissioner Ken Zander’s quote about dissolving the fair board was preceded by “Now don’t take this wrong, but” Funny how that part was left out.

Commissioner Russ Hoff’s quote that the county gives $1.5 million yearly was incorrect. It was 1.5 tax mills, quite a difference. The county is generous with the SCFA. In turn, the SCFA gives grants to organizations for Roughrider Days Fair and Expo activities.

When I made my closing statement I informed the commission that I would like to keep it informed of whatever direction the SCFA was going. I felt the meeting went well.

The Press is the official county newspaper. It is not a store check-out gossip magazine. It needs to report stories accurately.

Many readers look to it for community information. “The pen is mightier than the sword.” The new translation would have to substitute the keyboard for pen.

This puts a lot of responsibility on the persons reporting. They do not need reporter-developed drama. There seems to be enough negative news in our community.

The Press needs to, and usually does, spell out both sides as well as the mood of the story. This was not the case with misquotes and picking only the quotes that made the meeting seem argumentative.

I think the headline would have been more accurate as “Fair association looks to county commission for guidance.”

It seemed humorous to me that on the page following the article, the same reporter was awarded Dickinson Press Employee of the Month.

Bernie Marsh, Stark County Fair Association chairman, Dickinson

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