UNION – Wednesday, July 27, saw the opening day of the Union Fair and Wild Blueberry Festival. Union Fair President Matt Elwell said that there will be a little bit of everything there this year.
“We have all new vendors that have never been here before,” he said. “We have a new carnival operator, we have livestock, ox pulling, truck pulling, harness racing, a demolition derby, monster truck rides, it’s all here. Something for everybody.”
This year’s admission price is $20 and includes a wrist band for patrons to ride carnival rides, regardless of age. Children shorter than 26 inches tall are admitted free, but are not eligible for rides.
The overall appearance of the fair this year seems to be geared toward children, though there is certainly plenty of things for the adults. Children’s Day is Saturday.
Elwell said that is the day that Moose Mania Monster Truck will be here giving out free rides with paid admission.
“We have every type of food you could possibly imagine,” he said. “We have retirning ones that have been here for years, and new ones that have never been here before. Our own, ‘Now We Are Cooking,’ restaurant is a sit-down restaurant with healthy alternatives. And of course, anything you want blueberries, we have, pies, muffins, ice cream; if you want it in blueberries, we have it.”
Elwell said that Friday is Blueberry Festival Day. Friday evening is the Blueberry Queen Coronation at the main stage.
Wednesday afternoon saw a K-9 demonstration by deputy Tim Davis with the Knox County Sheriff's Office and Deputy Ryan Allen from the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Allen’s partner was a Belgium Malawa named Runa, while Davis partnered with a German Shepherd named Marek.
The deputies explained their dogs were patrol dogs, but also a dual-purpose dog meaning they could track, locate evidence, handler protection, apprehension, and narcotics.
Training techniques were explained, diet and how the dogs were used in the field. Davis said positive reinforcement was the most effective tool to train the dogs. Positive reinforcement and repetition.
Allen said: “It’s as much our job as a handler to learn our dogs as much as it is our dog to learn how to do their job. The dog can smell adrenalin and it can smell pain, so when it bites you and it hurts it’s a positive reward for the dog and makes him want to bite that much harder.”
Davis said what the crowd could not hear was while Runa was apprehending him, he was telling him what a good dog he was. He was giving positive reinforcement to the dog doing its job.
“A criminal is not going to do that,” said Davis. “If you don’t struggle when the dog apprehends you, the dog will not advance. When you struggle or fight back it makes the dog work harder to win.”
Allen said, one minute the dogs can be biting someone and five seconds later, they can be petted by children and, “I’m not the least bit worried,” he said.
“There’s an on switch and an off switch to these dogs which makes them very, very specialized,” he said. “It’s a lot of training and a lot of work, but it’s what we have to do. It’s part of our job. People have to know that they don’t have to be scared of these dogs just because they are here.”
The fair runs through Sunday.
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