JOHN DAY – The Grant County Fair Board and 4-H leadership will meet with a facilitor to try to work through their differences over future fair dates.

“We believe this is the most expedient and professional way we can resolve the date issue, and prevent further damage to a working relationship among all the parties,” 4-H representative Carol Waggoner told the board.

She said 4-H would be willing to pay for a neutral facilitator to address the issues and prevent further “public division in this community.”

Trained facilitators are available through various associations and government groups, including the Association of Oregon Counties and OSU.

In the meantime, the 4-H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) programs will hold their events this summer much as they did last year. There will be a horse show, ranch horse show, dog show and fashion review earlier than the county fair. The livestock and static exhibits that are not being sent to the Oregon State Fair will be on display at the county fair.

The Fair Board and 4-H have been at odds over fair dates since the board opted to shift the fair to the fourth week in August. Fair organizers say they need to keep the fair at that time to be able to offer a rodeo and a carnival.

However, the 4-H leadership says that is unfair to their youth, some of whom are already in school in late August. Others have athletic practices, and still others need to take their 4-H projects to the Oregon State Fair. In addition, some 4-H volunteers have schedule problems because they work in the schools.

The dispute between the two groups worsened recently when the Fair Board voted not to allow 4-H to hold a separate youth show on the fairgrounds during the month of August. The decision stemmed in part from a desire to limit competition with the fair.

However, the youth leaders felt they were being locked out in an attempt to force them into the Fair Board’s schedule.

Still, the leaders last week said they were willing to work with this year’s dates, Aug. 21-25, provided the Fair Board agrees to facilitation. The Fair Board said its earlier vote on the August prohibition only pertained to a “youth fair” and would not preclude holding specific 4-H events earlier than the main county fair.

The facilitator idea initially sparked resistance from some Fair Board members.

Mark Webb, a member who also serves as County Judge, questioned what the facilitator’s role would be. He noted that the Fair Board is charged with setting dates and making the final decisions about the fair, and he questioned whether the 4-H leaders would yield if the facilitation went against their position.

Waggoner said the facilitator wouldn’t dictate the dates, but would bring the parties together to discuss all the issues and, hopefully, bring them to agreement.

Stephanie Walters, fairgrounds manager, suggested that it’s not always possible for people to agree.

“Sometimes you have to agree to work with disagreement a little bit, but to work to the best of your abilities,” she said.

Waggoner said the first step should be to get everyone “to the table.”

Board and 4-H leaders also discussed over whether the youth groups should try first to work with the school districts to iron out schedule conflicts.

The meeting produced contradictory accounts of previous contacts, however. A Fair Board member said he’d talked to school officials who were open to changing schedules to accommodate 4-H participation at the fair. A 4-H representative said a school official had already informed her that “school will start as planned,” in part due to staff contract issues.

Such discrepancies could be addressed in the facilitation process.

The 4-H proposal calls for a broad task force to meet with the facilitator. That group should include representatives of the Fair Board, the youth groups, the schools, OSU Extension, the rodeo committee, and other groups that have historically been involved with the fair.

Webb said that as long as the facilitator won’t dictate a position, he would agree to the meetings.

“That might bring some peace,” he said. “Because I think as it is now, the fair’s shot because of the bad blood we’ve got going.”

Aside from the facilitator issue, 4-H Extension Agent Elaine Husted urged the Fair Board to hold meetings across the county to take the public’s pulse.

“Find out what they want in a county fair,” she said. “Things have changed in the loast 50 years.”

Chairman Larry Pierce said the board would consider that idea.