CLEARFIELD – Controversy about some items sold at the Clearfield County Fair arguably began on the Monday of the fair when a Clearfield resident wrote a Letter to the Editor at GantDaily expressing concern that Rebel flags were being sold there.
The following day, a local attorney filed a motion with the courts to stop the sale of Nazi and Ku Klux Klan items at the fair. Later the same afternoon, he chained himself to the railing on the front steps of the Clearfield County Courthouse in protest.
One of the vendors in question removed some of the items from her display area.
In the week or so after the fair, nearly every official from the Clearfield County Commissioners to the Clearfield Borough Council has been approached to comment on the issue.
Clearfield County Commissioner Mike Lytle delivered a statement to the media at the commissioners’ meeting Tuesday.
“I personally find items, which are racist or critical of a nationality or religion, such as those sold recently by a vendor at the county fair, to be offensive and unacceptable,” Lytle said.
Lytle said he disagreed though, with the opinion that the Clearfield County community has a problem with racism.
“I believe this was a single, isolated incident,” he said. “I’m not even sure if the fair board, which granted the vendor permission to sell material was aware of what would be sold.”
Lytle said that in his opinion, people in the area are not condoning the sale of hate-related material.
“The citizens of this community … like me are willing to give the fair board the opportunity to explain how it happened before forming a judgment.”