Purdue News

October 16, 1998 Eight 4-H State Fair exhibitors disciplined WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- State 4-H department head Linda Chezem has disciplined eight 1998 Indiana State Fair 4-H exhibitors who violated the behavioral expectations set for all 4-H members. The punishments range from prohibitions on showing at the 1999 Indiana State Fair to letters of censure. Letters specifying the discipline were mailed Sept. 22 to the youths. The violators included the exhibitors of two swine breed champions who withdrew from the state fair competition after having been confronted with evidence of entry deception -- one for a forged birth date for the hog and the other for altered ear notches. Both exhibitors were banned from next year's Indiana State Fair 4-H competition. Also, because the ear notch alterations were condoned and abetted by other family members, the immediate family was banned from 1999 State Fair competition in the 4-H shows. A third swine exhibitor whose entry was disqualified during competition also was banned from the 1999 Indiana State Fair 4-H competition. A steer exhibitor who had altered an identification tattoo on his animal after having already been refused entry was censured. Because it was the final year of 4-H participation for the young man, no other punishment was meted out. A dairy exhibitor who submitted a forged enrollment form with a traced signature was banned from 4-H exhibition at the 1999 Indiana State Fair. A pony exhibitor who had a forged signature on an entry form also has been banned from the 1999 State Fair 4-H competition. Another horse exhibitor was disqualified in a hunter hack competition when drug testing confirmed the horse had been given a tranquilizer, which the mother had disclosed to officials after the contest. While intentional dishonesty was ruled out, Chezem said the rules of competition demanded that the girl return the ribbon and plaque she had been awarded. An onion in one 4-H'er's exhibit was shown to be purchased and not home-grown, and the exhibitor was banned from the 1999 Indiana State Fair 4-H shows. "We have an educational mission in 4-H to help young men and women learn what it means to be honest, to be ethical and upstanding. It's important there be consequences to violating our behavioral expectations," Chezem said. "We hope they will stay with 4-H and become better citizens." 4-H has a policy of not publicly releasing the names of disciplined children, Chezem said. Except for the one horse, all of the 1998 Indiana State Fair 4-H livestock entries that were tested for foreign substances were clean. Urine samples are taken from breed champions and reserve champions in steers, market lambs, barrows, dairy cows and a random selection of class winners in the horse and pony show. The champion dairy goat and the meat pen of rabbits also undergo urinalysis, said Clint Rusk, 4-H livestock specialist with the Purdue University Cooperative Extension Service. In addition, carcass tests are performed on the champion market animals. The tissue test results came back negative for any foreign substances on all of the breed champion steers, market lambs and barrows. Sources: Linda Chezem, (765) 494-8422; e-mail, fourh@four-h.purdue.edu Clint Rusk, (765) 494-8427; e-mail, cr@four-h.purdue.edu Writer: Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8415; e-mail, sig@ecn.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page