The Coshocton County Beacon August 26, 2020 | Page 8

8 • The Beacon August 26, 2020 Fair board announces its new plans for the 2020 fair By Jen Jones “I kept hoping and praying we could have our fair, but July 31, the rug got pulled out from under me,” said Jason Massie, Coshocton County Fair Board president. That was the day Gov. Mike DeWine announced no full county fairs would be allowed. This October the fairgrounds will be bare, as there will be no grandstand entertainment, no buildings open and no rides. The fair will be a four-day showcase for youth to show their animals. “We all feel the kids deserve to have their showcase. They’ve worked so hard. We are going to give them the best we can. We are still working out details of the shows including how many spectators will be allowed in the building during the show. Absolutely no one from the general public will be allowed in the barns,” Massie said. Massie said the health department is doing the best it can to work with them. “I have been meeting with (the health department) since June to figure out the best plan for the kids and our fair. It’s just so disappointing to all of us. The health department knows, just like we do, that the fair is a huge financial boost for the community, and they are doing everything they can to help us,” he said. The plans right now include the animals being brought in the morning of their show and taken out of the fairgrounds as soon as the show is over. Every animal will have its own day. For example, all hogs will be shown on the same day. This is subject to change, as are all of the plans that have been made. Each exhibitor will receive wrist bands for people to come and watch the show, but the number of wrist bands per show has yet to be determined. “We have to social distance in Hunter Arena,” Massie said. The showcase will be held File This October the fairgrounds will be bare, as there will be no grandstand entertainment, no buildings open and no rides. The fair will be a four-day showcase for youth to show their animals. Saturday, Oct. 3 through Tuesday, Oct. 6. There will be a few concession stands on the grounds for the people attending the shows. “I feel for all of the fair vendors,” Massie said. “They work June through October, and this year they just haven’t been able to. We wanted to help as many as we could.” “Since this started in March, the only thing on my mind has been making sure these kids had an option to show their animals,” said Ron Seitz, director of the junior fair. “I made a promise to myself and others that one way or another these kids would get to show, whether it was the fair board doing something or individuals doing something.” One of the many reasons this was important to Seitz was because of the lessons learned. “The values and responsibilities these kids learn by raising a project or finishing a skill project are tools that they will have in their toolbox for the rest of their lives,” Seitz said. “To me it’s not about whether you win or lose; it’s about finishing the project.” There, however, will be no live auction for the animals this year. Instead, a live online/phone auction will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8. After the last show is completed on Oct. 6, prebidding will open and will be available until 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 8. The live auction will start with the sale of champions. When the last animal has sold, the online bidding will end. At this time anyone who wants can register and “tack on” money to any exhibitor they wish. “Say Grandma has five grandkids in the auction,” Massie said. “She can call in and say she wants $100 to be tacked on to each kids’ total sale amount. Lots of people do this, and you don’t have to be a bidder in the auction to do this.” Massie explained the process. “No animals will be there that night. Every exhibitor is responsible for taking care of their animals. If someone who wins an auction wants the animal, we need them to call any member of the fair board, and we will help them get in touch with the youth and make arrangements to get their purchased animal,” he said. Massie expressed his gratitude to all involved. “I just want to thank everyone for their support. This has definitely been a rough time for all of us. We just want to do what we can to give the kids their time to show off their animals,” he said. Massie is urging everyone to check the fairgrounds website at www.coshoctoncountyfair.org and its Facebook page for updates. Seitz said schedules also can be found on the 4-H Facebook page. “Everything we have planned could change,” Massie said. SPORTS from Page 8 trators — in education-based programs — are suited to be the best advocates for safety, strongly promoting BF-00490063 Lawrence “Jake” Klink and following mandates and recommendations to wear facial coverings, stay socially distanced and so forth. Our coaches, especially, are role models to so many of our student-athletes. So hopefully our student-athletes will February 2, 1954 - August 21, 2019 “Your life was a blessing, Your memory a treasure, You are loved beyond words, and missed beyond measure.” Love: Linda, Mandi, Chad, Friends and Family follow their lead and guidance, especially when they talk to students about what to consider away from school.” DeWine said, “To the coaches, you, in a normal year, inspire, you mentor, you instruct, you instill discipline and self-discipline in your student-athletes. For all of that, we are very grateful for what you do. You make a lot of sacrifices, work long hours and you inspire our kids. We thank you very much for that. But this year it’s going to take more. It’s going to be inspiring them in regard to the goal of keeping COVID out of their team.” COVID-19 general guidance As DeWine also noted, the Governor’s Office and Department of Health are close to finalizing a new Health Director’s Order. With that comes two separate mandates and recommended best practices documents for schools to follow for competitions, and the OHSAA could issue consequences for the violation of these requirements as prescribed in Bylaw 11, Penalties. The mandates and recommended best practices are related to many of the same mandates and protocols already in place for many other sectors as they relate to symptom assessments, facial coverings, social distancing, cleaning and sanitizing, and confirmed COVID-19 cases/ exposure to the virus. Limitations and restrictions Spectator capacity for events will be limited with the specific details to be listed in the guidance pieces. As DeWine mentioned, an emphasis Proud to serve the people of Coshocton and surrounding communities since 1896! Specializing in Custom Design, Etching & Carving of Fine Memorials Granite • Marble • Bronze • Mausoleums Cemetery Lettering & Cleaning BF-00483157 1132 Cemetery Drive • Coshocton • 740.622.5833 www.milliganmemorialsllc.com • E-mail: [email protected] will be on allowing families and loved ones to see students participate. In addition, OHSAA requires, based on guidance from the Governor’s Office, schools to limit the number of players dressing for contests. The limits are 60 in football, 22 in soccer and field hockey, and 15 in volleyball. In addition, the OHSAA, based on guidance from the Governor’s Office, is limiting marching and pep bands to performing only at home contests. Q-and-A Originally developed as part of the July 31 administrator update when the OHSAA affirmed its position of starting practices as planned, the OHSAA has updated a series of questions and answers related to why things are moving forward. All scenarios have been discussed, and in making its decision, the OHSAA has had great collaboration with the Governor’s Office, Ohio Department of Health, the National Federation of State High School Associations, colleagues at other state high school athletics/activities associations, members of the OHSAA’s Joint Advisory Committee on Sports Medicine, and members of the Governor’s Sports League Advisory Group. A series of questions and answers are posted at https:// ohsaaweb.blob.core.windows. net/files/Sports/2020/OHSAA- ReturnToPlayQA.pdf. Clarity on spring seasons As DeWine noted, the OHSAA is prepared to remove the impediments in bylaws and regulations that would otherwise preclude schools from playing fall sports in the spring. In other words schools that have opted out of fall sports participation due to the pandemic — meaning the school has not participated in fall sports during the currently defined fall season — will have an opportunity to play their sports in the spring. However, a task force will be needed to work with staff to create certain parameters to see what those spring sports opportunities look like. As the pandemic has proved, this is an evolving situation, so more details will be shared with the membership when appropriate.