The Lorain County Fair (Part 1)

The Lorain County Fair always falls on the third week in August. It is the reason that the Firelands School District starts a week later than the other schools in the county. If it didn't, most of the students would not be present, they would be at the fair.

Ever since I can remember I have been going to the fair. Is it particularly exciting? Not really, but it is an experience like no other. People getting excited over cows, tractors, demo cars, big trucks, and creating things out of hay bales. 

It is fantastic.....

.......but it is not why I am here (I'd still be here anyway, I shouldn't kid myself). I am here for work.

You see, among the horse showers and cow buyers there are public safety employees making sure everything runs according to plan. The fair turns into it's own little jurisdiction for a week with the assistance of local fire departments, ambulance services, and the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. During this week I work for the Sheriff's Office as a fair dispatcher. It is basically the same job I do at 911, but with much older technology and different types of incidents (mainly involving farm animals).

Some of that "technology" I was talking about. (I cannot show more of my desk due to privacy issues).

So this week I will share with you my fair stories (fair also meaning the quality of the stories). I hope you enjoy a week in the life of a Lorain County Fair Dispatcher.

I call this one "Giant Hay Slinky Wiener" (catchy right?).

Today was pretty uneventful at the fair. For the majority of the day I just logged deputy patrols. Every once in a while someone would come up and have me page a lost family member, nothing too exciting...

....until "it" happened.

A slightly frantic female came running (moseying) into the Sheriff sub-station and asked for a deputy. Luckily there happened to be a Sergeant in the room. We will call him Sergeant Jenkins. She stated that some kids were playing with a soccer ball in Show Barn 4 and some older kids took their ball. I asked Sgt. Jenkins if he needed another deputy for backup, but he advised that he could handle it and would let me know if things got hairy.

I waited on pins and needles (I checked the weather) for what seemed like 6 minutes until Sgt. Jenkins finally returned. The story, in true fair fashion, was awesome.

The log entry for 8-18-2014 at 13:35 states "Sgt Jenkins responded to a disturbance in Show Barn 4. Upon return he advised that some teenagers took a soccer ball from younger juveniles and rolled it through horse feces ("poop" was my first choice, but we both agreed it would be unprofessional). The children then started fighting. Sgt. Jenkins advised them to not play with the ball in the barn and then had the ball secured". Thus, the crisis was resolved and the fair could continue.

This was enough excitement for one day.

Sheriff ATV's that get used often (never).

"Cram the Cruiser" is a new initiative where fair-goers deposit school supplies into the car and it is donated to local schools. This name was almost not chosen due to the clearly superior "Shove Stuff in the Cop Car for Students in Local Schools" or S.S.C.C.S.L.S. for short.

A few moments later a female reported her wallet stolen, pushing me over the edge for today. I had to leave and go to work at 911 where things made sense. Don't worry though, I will return on Wednesday to provide you with more stories from the Lorain County Fair. Hopefully things go more smoothly, but you never know. Last year someone got stepped on by a cow, ouch!

'Merica!