When Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Great New York State Fair this year, she did more than tour the attractions. She was an attraction herself.

On Friday Clinton used her annual tour of the fair to introduce a double-edged program to raise money for New York schools and boost consumption of New York-grown apples. The new program will allow schools to participate in cereal-maker General Mills’ Box Tops for Education Program, a program that helps schools earn money by collecting stickers from 100 New York apples.

The General Mills program, which currently allows students to trade in cereal box tops in return for money for their school, has already generated more than $5.5 million for New York schools, Clinton said. The apple stickers will now have the same value as the box tops, and Clinton hopes this will help support the state’s apple-harvesting industry.

‘I want more people to be able to enjoy these delicious New York apples,’ Clinton said. ‘And this program will help New York schools at the same time.’

Clinton made her appearance at the New York Apple Association booth in the fair’s horticulture building, surrounded by school children, piles of apples and apple products. New York Apple Association President Jim Allen thanked Clinton for her continuing support of the apple industry.

‘The senator has become one of our biggest advocates,’ he said. ‘And it could not happen at a better time.’

Conspicuously absent from Clinton’s entourage was her husband and former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Sen. Clinton declined to give a specific reason for her husband’s absence this year.

The Clintons first began touring the fair when Hillary Clinton was elected senator in 1999. Last year, Bill Clinton used the appearance to make his first public statements about the war in Iraq.

After making her speech, Clinton made her way through the crowd to continue touring the fair, greeting supporters and posing for photographs. Most of those crowding the rope line only wanted an autograph.

‘I very much admire her,’ said Lori Tillotson of Baldwinsville, one of the autograph seekers. ‘Pretty much anything she says, I am for.’

Not everybody, though, was as impressed by the senator’s visit. One fair-goer standing behind a booth selling homemade maple syrup took the opportunity to crack a joke as Clinton made her exit.

‘I’d rather see Monica,’ he said loudly while walking away.

Managing Editor Justin Young contributed to this report.

Published on November 17, 2004 at 12:00 pm