Viral YouTube video prompts state fair to blog

PALMER — While the power of web posts has given the Alaska State Fair a bit of a black eye recently, fair staff is using web media to get out their side of a controversial story.

Dean Phipps, Alaska State Fair marketing director, said Monday afternoon new fair blog posts are designed to counter criticism leveled against the fair since it dealt with a political protester there on Thursday. Phipps said he’d hoped to have the posts added Monday afternoon, but late Monday said the releases still needed board clearance.

Sidney Hill, 52, has been charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct stemming from the altercation with fair security.

Phipps said fair personnel have gone to great lengths to make sure the seven or eight most persistent questions about the confrontation with Hill are answered.

“It’s going to be the most definitive information we can find at this time,” Phipps said.

Thursday evening, the opening evening of the fair, Sidney Hill took his 8-foot-long political sign to the fairgrounds and walked down the purple trail, forcing fairgoers to scurry off the 12- to 15-foot-wide trail to avoid the oversize banner, Phipps said. The banner likens Barack Obama to Adolf Hitler.

Among the fair blog posts will be one from the assistant to the vendor and exhibits manager, who first questioned Hill as to whether he was a vendor. He was not.

The assistant said Hill was verbally abusive to her, so she called her boss, Pamella Meekin, who called security.

Much of the rest of what happens is on Brian Stanfill’s YouTube video that had more than 115,000 hits as of Monday evening, more than doubling hits since Monday morning. The video has generated many comments, some critical of the fair’s handling of the situation.

Phipps said the blog posts will also address issues like private property rights and security issues at the fair. The fairgrounds is owned by the nonprofit and is private property. There will also be a link to the vendor handbook.

“It won’t go viral, but the people who care can sort it out,” Phipps said.

Stanfill said he would like the fair to post its “unwritten” policies, and to articulate its policy on proper use of force.

Phipps said he is confident in the fair’s security team.

While the fair has been criticized for squelching free speech, Phipps said nothing could be further from the truth. Booths covering controversial topics like Pebble Mine and abortion are allowed, as long as the advocates stay in their booths.

“That’s what fair-goers say they want,” Phipps said.

Phipps said last year there was an issue in the fair parking lot, where tax protesters had set up shop. They were given the choice to rent booth space or leave; they opted for booth space.

“We’re not trying to throw people out on their ear,” Phipps said.

Phipps said that while people have criticized the fair’s handling of the Hill incident, there would have been many more complaints had fair staff not intervened.

One of the issues: Hill was carrying a gun.

“It really changed when they found the gun — and it should have,” Phipps said.

Stanfill said security’s response wasn’t based on the weapon.

“The gun was not found until Sid was on the ground,” Stanfill said, adding it is clear on his video.

Oddly enough, Stanfill said he and Phipps were in a defensive weapons class a few years ago — likely a CCW (carrying a concealed weapon) course — and discussed the issue of firearms on fair property during that class.