Morgan County Fair board races to clean up, find volunteers
Members of the Morgan County Fair Board held their final meeting Tuesday night before the start of the 2023 fair.
Fair board president Terry Brock reviewed several areas of concern for board members.
Grounds Superintendent Bill Rumbaugh said they are still cleaning up debris and repairing damage from the March tornado. He said the new grandstand fence is finished, but debris from the old fence needs to be removed.
Rumbaugh said the new roll up doors for the beef barn should be in this week. He said the doors, which were damaged by the tornado, are a special size and had to be special ordered.
He said the sign by the information booth disappeared during the tornado and has not been found. A new sign has been ordered and should be installed before the fair.
He said the big tree by the family arts building has been removed but the stump remains to be ground up. A section of that tree came down during the tornado and took out the electricity for most areas of the fairgrounds. He said they were able to get the final building reconnected to the electrical system that day. He said they still have some minor problems with the electrical system, but should have them fixed soon.
Millings a giant problem
Over the years, the fairgrounds, with its large open areas and enclosed buildings, has used during times of disaster. The "pit" area behind the grandstand has been used for temporary collection of debris from storms.
This year, the area was used to collect downed trees, debris from damaged or destroyed buildings, and downed utility poles. It was also used for temporary storage of millings from grinding blacktop from city streets. Those millings were used to recover the pit area. Everything, except for the utility poles, has been removed. The fair plans to use most of those poles on the fairgrounds.
The problem for the fair is when the contractor began grinding the asphalt, they took the millings out to the fairgrounds. There is a mountain of millings covering about half the pit area making it unusable by anyone. (The state agreed to repave several city streets that were used as a detour during construction of I-69. The ground up asphalt is recycled and used in other paving projects.)
That area is needed for fair parking and events in the grandstand. The work began Friday and before the fair could stop it, a hundred or more truck loads of millings were dumped there.
The as the area stood could not be used for parking during the pre-fair concert last weekend. This week there is a three-day Antique Machinery Show on the fairgrounds. That event has two nights of antique tractor pulls in the grandstand and needs the pit area for the tractors. Other pre-fair activities begin around July 1.
Brock said no one knows who gave the contractor permission to dump the millings on the fairgrounds. He said both the state and the contractor have been told the millings had to be removed as soon as possible. Last Wednesday, the contractor began removing the millings. Brock was hopeful they would meet the Friday deadline.
Other problems, lack of workers
The Morgan County Fair is basically an all volunteer group. While they contract out some work, such as sound system setup, restroom cleaning, EMS, and security, the work of organizing the fair falls on volunteers. The only paid employees are the grounds keeper and the office secretary.
Rumbaugh said due to changes with the legal system, community corrections workers who have done a lot of the work before, during, and after the fair are not always available. He said their numbers are down and there is a need all over the county for their services. He said they could have problems getting enough help to complete the fair's setup.
Several board members said requested a list of things that need to be done and they were willing to help. There was some discussion about the set up needs and several members said they would help the fair get ready.
Pre-fair events
The Morgan County Fair Queen Contest was Saturday at Mooresville High School.
According to the fair schedule, Saturday, July 1, will have the 4-H Llama show in the show arena an the 4-H Horse and Pony Show in the horse arena. Both shows begin at 9 a.m.
On Sunday, July 2, at 3 p.m., the 4-H Horse and Pony contest will be held.
Wednesday, July 5, at 6:30 p.m., the 4-H Honor Night and at 7:30 p.m. the 4-H Food Auction will be held in the Merchants building.
On Thursday, July 6, at 8 a.m., the 4-H Dog show will be held in the show arena and the 4-H Bike Rodeo will be held.
The fair begins its 2023 run on Friday, July 7.
Three new events in the grandstand are scheduled for this year's fair.
On Tuesday, July 11, Micro Wrestling will be held at 7 p.m.
On Wednesday, July 12, beginning at 7 p.m. the local 4-H group will hold various events in the grandstand. One of those events is the human tractor pull.
On Thursday, July 13, Chris Tomlin will be in concert at the grandstand. The concert begins at 7 p.m.
Another new event will be the Turtle Refuge and Petting Zoo which will be held in the multi purpose building on the south end of the Beef Barn.
The annual 4-H livestock auction has moved from Thursday to Friday, July 14. The auction begins at 2 p.m.
Jim Lankford, chairman of the long range planning committee, said most of the committee's improvements have been completed this year. The new floor is finished in the beef barn, electrical service has been upgraded in the camping area, and some sections of the fair's roads have been repaved.
Several board members felt the fair should look at upgrading the public address system in the 4-H building for next year.
Brock said there will be special events in the northern section of the Merchants Building.
He said this year's Chopped Challenge will be Saturday, July 8, at 10 a.m. He said it will be held outside in the Merchants Building and more contestants are needed. Anyone who wants to enter may call the fair office at 765-342-9905.
Brock said they still need people to drive the shuttle, man the information booth, and help at the pit gate.
The next scheduled fair meeting is Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. in the 4-H building.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Morgan County Fair board races to clean up, find volunteers
