Friday, April 08, 2005

While the Oakdale Saddle Club has made concessions to a county-sponsored campaign to have smokeless tobacco sponsorship removed from the Oakdale Rodeo, that campaign continues on a low-key basis, sponsoring a series of school assemblies designed to educate children in healthy lifestyles.

Beginning today and continuing through Friday, nationally recognized rodeo media personality "Cowboy" Ted Hallisey is visiting Oakdale school children to spread the message that has been fostered by the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency, and is part of a State Department of Health program targeting smokeless tobacco at rodeos.

Today's assembly is at Fair Oaks Elementary School at 1:30 p.m. On Thursday, Hallisey will appear at Cloverland Elementary School, also at 1:30 p.m., and on Friday, at Magnolia School at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The first three appearances are for fourth through sixth grade. The Friday 1 p.m. appearance is for kindergarten through third grade.

Information from the Stanislaus Health Services Agency says that, as founder of the Cowboy Ted's Kids Club, Hallisey has been able to combine a passion for education and rodeo, along with serving as a media personality.

The cornerstone of Cowboy Ted's Kids Club is a list of eight healthy lifestyle rules that are symbolic of an 8-second ride in rodeo, states the information, and the program is designed for kids to learn about rodeo, reading and healthy lifestyles.

The eight rules of Cowboy Ted's Kids Club are: Respect Parents, Be Kind to Animals, Lead Healthy Lifestyle, Set Goals for Yourself, Work Hard in School, No Drugs, Tobacco or Alcohol, Be Nice to Others, and Do Something Nice for Another Person Every Day.

Hallisey is credited as a longtime educator who makes a number of visits with students and teachers at schools and libraries each year. He uses the cowboy persona and an indoor roping device to capture the attention of kids, while teaching them about rodeo.

Speaking for the "Buck Tobacco Sponsorship" program that has been promoted by the health agency, David Jones, who is the media director for the HSA, said the campaign has always intended to be educational. The agency contends that it wants to work with the Oakdale Rodeo event holders to move past the tobacco sponsorships.

In 2004, a large billboard was placed outside Oakdale as part of the campaign, with the "Buck tobacco" slogan emblazoned on it.

" It has never been something like picketing or demonstrating," said Jones. "It has always been very positive, congenial. We are working with the schools. Cowboy Ted is very positive image."

Another HSA spokesperson, Phoebe Leung, who is in charge of the tobacco programs for the county health agency, said that the Oakdale Rodeo was selected for the campaign because of the large numbers reported for smokeless tobacco use by youths in the area.

"We're actually excited about Cowboy Ted coming in," she said. "He's a really respected cowboy. We are very supportive of the Oakdale Rodeo as a community effort, and what it stands for. Cowboy Ted is very much a positive image for that."

Yet, she points out what the Oakdale Joint Unified School District found out in 2001 and 2002 when it conducted the California Healthy Kids Survey in the seventh, ninth and eleventh grades.

In answering questions about frequency of use for smokeless tobacco, for a question asking if they have "ever used it," the 2001 survey showed 8 percent of seventh graders answered "yes." Seventeen percent of ninth graders gave an affirmative answer, and a startling 21 percent of eleventh grades said they had used it.

In the 2002 survey, the seventh grade number decreased to 2 percent, but ninth grade students who had at least tried it had increased to 14 percent; and eleventh grade students answerd "yes" to the "have you ever used it" question had increased to 24 percent.

For a question asking whether they had used smokeless tobacco in the last 30 days, the 2001 survey showed 9.6 percent for seventh graders and 9 percent for eleventh graders. In 2002, the figure for seventh graders was 1 percent; for ninth graders, 4 percent; and for eleventh graders, 10 percent.

These figures compare to a Stanislaus County average in 2001 of 4.1 percent, and a statewide average of 2.8 percent. For youths who had "ever" used smokeless tobacco, the county average is 14.6 percent, and the state average 11.5 percent.

The Oakdale Saddle Club has announced that, while it will continue to maintain the

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company as a sponsor, the rodeo concessions frequented by children will be moved away from the tobacco company "Legends of the West" trailer where they sell rodeo memorabilia and offer tobacco samples and mechanical bull riding.

Oakdale Saddle Club Director Mike Wagner said the company has been loaning the scoreboard for the rodeo for the function for more than 20 years, which is one of the main forms of sponsorship by the company. It is a very expensive item, which the rodeo organizers cannot afford even to lease. It is also an integral part of communication with the crowd. The rodeo is lucky to have use of such an item at no cost, he states.

"We want to act responsibly," said Wagner. "I've asked the chairman of the concessions and booths to move them away from the (tobacco company's) trailer."

"We're happy to move the booths away," added Club Secretary Jackie Conner. "It's a family event. But we feel the parents should take responsibility for their kids (in keeping them away from tobacco)."

Wagner said that Mark Loser of the Stanislaus County Health Services stated shortly after the 2004 rodeo that the agency would continue its campaign against tobacco company sponsorship of rodeos. Oakdale, he said, was one of six rodeos the state had targeted for the campaign.

"I've suggested to Mark they find us sponsors. US Smokeless Tobacco is not an aggressive or in-your-face company. They stay low key."

To lease a scoreboard would cost $15,000 for two days and to buy one, $250,000, said Wagner. He points out that the Oakdale Saddle Club is a non-profit group run by volunteers, and that the rodeo is expensive to put on.

"It's not pre-sold. It's very subject to weather. Two years ago, we lost money. Last year, it fell on Easter weekend which cut down our attendance."

The Saddle Club signed a five-year extension of their agreement with the tobacco company.

HSA's Leung said that the good news in that information is that the Saddle Club has five years to work on finding another sponsor.

"We are disappointed that they have signed a contract," she said. "We understand where they're coming from. We hope to continue working with them.

"What they're saying is they need the scoreboard. However, we feel there are other ways to look for funding, sponsorship."

Leung said the funding for the anti-smokeless tobacco program will end in May, but she hopes to keep working with the Oakdale Saddle Club to help them locate an alternative sponsorship at the rodeo grounds.

In the meantime, a group called "Friends of Rodeo," a California-based national non-profit rodeo awareness organization dedicated to promoting the sport of rodeo, have announced they will be at the 54th Annual Oakdale Saddle Club PRCA Rodeo.

"The Oakdale Saddle Club Directors and Members have done an outstanding job once again in bringing this first-class PRCA sanctioned rodeo to the town of Oakdale," said Linda Burdick, for the group.

"Friends of Rodeo is proud to have been invited and included once again in this event. We completely endorse this rodeo and feel that the town of Oakdale, and its outlying areas, truly benefit from this event. Rodeo has a positive effect on the entire community and its economy, as well as its heritage," Burdick said in a statement released to the press.

"I invite everyone to come out to the rodeo grounds and see a great family orientated sport," stated the group representative. She invited visitors to stop at the Friends of Rodeo booth and pick up free informative and educational materials on the facts of rodeo.

Leader Managing Editor Mitchell C. Naylor may be contacted at 847-3021 or mitch@oakdaleleader.net Staff Reporter John Branch contributed to this story.