A story last week in the Contra Costa Times got a few things wrong, but a story the newspaper published over the weekend was spot on. Reporter Rowena Coatsee crafted an article about the California Youth Fair, held last week in Antioch, and the local 4-H program.
The California Youth Fair was formerly a 4-H event, but it was reorganized in 2007 into a non-profit organization with its own board of directors. The fair is open to all youth, including 4-H members, Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Grange. At last week's event, all but three participants were from 4-H clubs.
One 4-H participant spotlighted in the article, 11-year-old Roy Chapman, is the son of the rancher, but said he didn't know his cuts of pork, lamb and beef until he joined Briones 4-H.
The article clearly spelled out 4-H's tie to UC Cooperative Extension in Contra Costa County and concerns that dwindling county funding could signal the demise of the local program by this fall.
According to Paul Tringali, a Danville 4-H parent who founded California Youth Fair, even if the clubs stay afloat without UC Cooperative Extension's support, they no longer could use the 4-H name — a proprietary label protected by federal statute. Without the county funding, the youth currently in Contra Costa 4-H program wouldn't be able to participate in 4-H camps, public-speaking opportunities, leadership training or any other event the organization sponsors, the story said.
Jul 20, 2009