Delco Sheriff Vows

Stars, Bars Display Ban

Will Be Made To Stick

Dumond Quoted Telling Coop Extension:

Prohibition To Be ‘Aggressively Enforced’

DELHI – The Delaware County Fair Board has voted to allow vendors to continue to selling Confederate flags and related memorabilia , but will “aggressively enforce” a prohibition on their display, Fair For All announced today.

As its source, Fair For All quoted statements by Delaware County Sheriff Craig Dumond at a May 20 meeting of the board of local Cornell Cooperative Extension board, which he chairs.

A prohibition on display was put in place in 2018; however; however, it was not enforced, according to  Fair For All.

In its announcement, Fair For All said it believes the Stars & Bars is “a rallying point for violent white supremacists, (and) sends a message of racial hatred that shouldn’t be promoted at the county fair.”

In April, Fair For All has asked the Cooperative Extension to lobby the fair board to toughen its policy on the Confederate flag.

In 2017, Fair For All co-founder Leslie Kauffman photographed Confederate merchandise on display, and Fair Board President Ed Rossley asked sheriff’s deputies to escort her off the fairground, and declared her “banned for life.”

According to the Fair For All press release, Gashler asked Dumond if people photographing the memorabilia would be escorted off the fairground, he would only say: “I personally guarantee no one will be arrested.”

“Prohibiting display of racist merchandise, if enforced, is a good step forward and we thank those members of the CCE board who took the time to meet with the fair board and speak on behalf of an inclusive community,” Gashler said.

“However, we continue to advocate for the board to rid our fair of racist merchandise entirely. Like pornography, which is already banned at the fair, Confederate flags are a free-speech-protected item that don’t belong at a family event.”