Roanoke Times Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc. DATE: TUESDAY, August 30, 1994 TAG: 9408300099 SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS DATELINE: WOODSTOCK LENGTH: Short
The striptease shows ``demean and degrade'' women and send the wrong message to young people who attend the family-oriented fair, said Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop.
The girlie shows, managed by Pennsylvania resident Gary Wayne Housel, have been protested by a local anti-pornography group. He set up a tent Saturday, the fair's first day, for shows to begin Monday.
In past years, adults have paid money to enter a tent to watch women remove their clothing as they move their bodies on a stage.
The strip shows are again stationed next to the children's rides on the midway because ``we didn't know where else to'' put the shows, said Charles Gochenour, president of the for-profit Fair Association.
Speaking from her Richmond office, Dunlop said Sunday the nude entertainment is not in keeping with her views of traditional family values.
Dunlop is a board member and former managing director of Enough is Enough, a northern Virginia anti-pornography organization that has been supporting the local group that wants the shows banned.
The Shenandoah Coalition Against Pornography insists the strip shows violate the town's indecent exposure ordinance.
by CNB