By SCOTT PESZNECKER
Published: May 23, 2003
The Union Democrat
Imagine a Calaveras County Fair without jumping frogs.
What if animal rights groups lobby against the jumps until
they're deemed illegal? Or what if the state imposes frog
jump regulations that are too expensive to abide by?
Calaveras County fair board members discussed these questions
and others yesterday when they met at Ironstone Vineyards
in Murphys to set long-range goals for the fairgrounds.
Helping them were marketing representative Lea Isetti and
Manager Forrest White from the San Joaquin County Fair.
The group also discussed entertainment at the fairgrounds
and how to rally community support for the fair.
But the discussion was most passionate when talks turned
to frog jumping.
Isetti said recent statements from People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals indicate that the frog jumps could be
under political fire in coming years. If the jumps aren't
banned by the government, she said, restrictions could make
the jumps too costly.
"Should we think this is an event we're going to see
10 years from now, or should we think it needs to be reinvented?,"
Isetti asked.
That suggestion was met with resistance by Calaveras County
Fairgrounds Manager Buck King, business assistant Diane Baumann
and board member Michael Kriletich.
"We are protected by statute and state law," said
Baumann, adding that attendance would suffer without the jumps.
Kriletich said the jumps should continue despite protests
from activist groups.
"We're becoming more and more of a society based on
fear," Kriletich said. "We're forgetting to do the
good things."
Though this year was the last fair under the retiring King's
direction, he said the fair board must fight to keep the frog
jumps alive "and not be afraid of the politics."
However, board member Stephen Kautz agreed that someday the
frog jumps might no longer exist.
"We would be remiss in our long-range planning if we
do not put on the shelf ... a strategy in case that day comes,"
he said. "This threat is not going away."
Reprinted from http://www.uniondemocrat.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=10868
