Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Warren County Crime Stoppers Treasurer Gary Barnes presents a check for $1,000 to 2017 Warren County Fair Steer Dump champion Helen Chambers. Also pictured are Crime Stoppers President Pete Carnovale and Secretary Jetta Bishop.

The winner of the 2017 Warren County Fair Steer Dump is taking home $1,000 courtesy of Warren County Crime Stoppers.

Helen Chambers of Youngsville was the lucky winner of Cow Patty Bingo.

She didn’t pick a favorite number. She didn’t have a system. She just paid her $5 and picked up a number.

That ticket gave her the rights to one one-750th of the Ellwood National Forge Show Ring — number 612, to be exact.

The odds were stacked against her. It would take a perfectly-placed patty for Chambers to win.

The 750 numbers were placed randomly on a chart before the money-winning movement, according to organizers.

The decisive dump dropped 20 minutes after Casper the steer was led into the ring. It was the longest Warren County Fair steer dump event on record.

After waiting that long for some bovine business — it could have been performance anxiety — the long-awaited launch generated much rejoicing from the crowd, which did not include Chambers who was manning a booth elsewhere at the Fair.

The touchdown of the number two was in number 612.

Chambers was given a check for $1,000 on Thursday by Crime Stoppers officers Pete Carnovale, president, Jetta Bishop, secretary, and Gary Barnes, treasurer.

Crime Stoppers has been sponsoring the Steer Dump since at least the early 1990s, Bishop said.

Barnes said the event is Crime Stoppers’ only fund-raiser — though it also receives donations — and it is also a major awareness-raiser for the organization.

Crime Stoppers took in $3,750 from tickets and paid out $1,600 — $1,000 to Chambers, $100 each to those whose spaces were diagonally adjacent to the winning pile, and $50 each to the spaces to the north, south, east, and west.

Steer Dump consolation prizes for those who were outside of the drop zone included 28 items donated in support of the event, Bishop said.

“The community is very supportive.”