OVERPOLICING KILLED BARTER FAIR, SAY WITNESSES

A popular Ruch festival never would have taken place if former Sheriff
Robert Kennedy had his way.

Deciding which events have merit is just one responsibility of the county
sheriff, Kennedy testified Thursday in Medford. The Southern Oregon Barter
Fair has no legitimate purpose, Kennedy said.

Barter Fair promoters allege in a federal lawsuit before Federal Magistrate
John P. Cooney in U.S. District Court that Kennedy and county commissioners
"chilled" their rights of free speech and assembly and discriminated
against fairgoers' culture. Excessive police at the last fair in 1996
drastically reduced attendance, ultimately putting an end to the event,
organizers say.

They seek $400,000 from Jackson County plus $140,000 in damages from lost
ticket sales and vendor fees.

Crystal carver Jai Riopelle said she didn't even bother to set up her booth
at the three-day fair in 1996. She left on the opening day shortly after
she arrived because of what she called the unnerving police presence.

"Nobody was there, and it was scary," she said. "It seemed like a disaster
waiting to happen."

Approximately 60 sheriff's deputies and state police troopers were
stationed at the fair that year, Kennedy said. Deputies had started
developing an 18-page policing strategy aimed at the Barter Fair before
commissioners granted the event's permit, he said.

The plan was in response to neighbors' complaints about noise, litter,
vandalism, traffic jams, drug use and sex during previous years' fairs,
Kennedy said. The fair was held on a 140- acre farm off Upper Applegate Road.

"I was seriously worried that we would not be able to protect the community
and have innocent people in danger," Kennedy told the court.

The plan called for seven teams, each with several officers, to patrol the
barter fair from a nearby incident command post at Cantrall-Buckley Park,
according to court exhibits. About 10 corrections deputies stood by to
transport prisoners to jail in the event of "mass arrests," Kennedy said. A
prison transport van would have come from Josephine County if it was
needed, Kennedy added.

The sheriff's department and Oregon State Police together spent about
$90,000 on enhanced law enforcement for the event, according to court
exhibits. Three deputies were left on duty in other parts of the county
during Barter Fair weekend in October 1996. Deputies made about 10 arrests
at the fair, Kennedy said.

Longtime fairgoers said they saw no reason for such a strong police
presence, although the Barter Fair had grown in recent years. Attendance
ballooned to 10,000 in 1995, organizers said. The first Barter Fair - held
in 1998 - was a casual gathering of family and friends at Alan Venet's farm
in Williams.

"It got a little crazy at the end," said Richard Kiyak-Boughton of Elmira.
"There were so many police walking together that it wasn't a fair anymore,"
he said, adding that he and his family stayed close to their campsite in 1996.

About half the number of people attended the fair in 1996 as in 1995,
resulting in nearly $60,000 in lost ticket sales alone, organizers
estimate. However, those numbers could be skewed, according to Mike Jewett,
attorney for Jackson County.

A large number of ticket-taking staff didn't show up in 1996, according to
Wednesday's testimony by promoter Marti Fate. Volunteers who weren't
familiar with the job took cash and ticket stubs, she said. Those
volunteers could have pocketed cash or miscounted tickets, Jewett suggested.

The trial continues today at the federal building on Holly Street in Medford.