We have become accustomed to hearing about budget cuts and the accompanying pleas that claim the cuts will hurt the children.
We have also become accustomed to the fact that most of these cuts do not actually hurt the welfare of children. Politicians figured out long ago that, if everything else fails, claim the children will suffer.
All too often we realize late in the game that our tax increases or veiled fees, which were sold to us on behalf of the children go, not to the children, but to the top-heavy needs of administrators and power hungry bureaucrats. But there are exceptions to our skepticism.
America, as far as we are concerned, was built on basic family values. The much-needed work ethic that every businessman yearns for has its very roots in the moral and ethical character of a core family unit.
When a child grows up knowing the value of an honest day’s work, he, or she, starts their adult life knowing what they should expect to receive for that day’s work. They expect no handouts or entitlements. They expect to be compensated only for what they do, certainly no less, but absolutely no more.
In our opinion, nothing epitomizes those basic family values more than the county fair.
We have witnessed the decline of the traditional county fair in many areas. We have almost been brought to tears by the lack of participation in communities whose very existence would have been in jeopardy had it not been for the farms and ranches that kept their economies going. We have been made aware of cancelled rodeos and the efforts of so-called animal rights groups to eliminate meat from our diets.
So it struck a sensitive nerve when we recently learned that the funding sources for the Delta County Fair had dwindled significantly. The Delta County Fair still promotes all those things we love so much, and it would be heartrending to have those who work so hard have to cut corners because of a lack of funding. So, in this case, we need to encourage the citizens to step up in any way they can to help Delta County help the children.
Kay Adams and Dorothy Mergelman tell us that they could really use some help getting some contributions for awards this year. These awards are much more than certificates or ribbons. They are a way of telling the kids and their families how much their hard work is appreciated. They represent one of those steps which are so necessary for a young person to take as they climb toward being a responsible adult. The awards are confirmations that the hard work and morals taught by those involved in organizations like 4H and FFA are appreciated, especially by those of us who may be looking to hire these young people in the future and those families who intend to pass their agricultural heritage on to another generation.
Be generous folks. The paybacks are hard to quantify, but we know from experience that there are paybacks. We see evidence of that before, during and after one of the best county fairs in Colorado.
