A lot of locals put in a lot of hard work to make sure the Missouri State Fair runs smoothly each year – well, people from all sorts of places really, but usually the people doing most of the dirty work on the grounds are from Sedalia – and they deserve our appreciation for helping the Fair run smoothly.
There are other people who deserve some credit, too. This is also for the people who stay at the campgrounds, a family member’s house or a hotel. The ones who go to the Fair each day like it’s their job – but it’s not a job, it’s a passion. There are people who spend all their accumulated vacation days going to the Fair, and what would we do without them?
Each year the Fair is accompanied by the great late summer fly plague. So I appreciate when visitors shop at our stores, eat at our restaurants and purchase our services. But there’s just one more thing you could do for the people of Sedalia, if you wouldn’t mind: Kill a fly or two. Well, this shouldn’t just be for the tourists. Everybody reading this: if you see a fly during Fair week, and you’re in a good position to kill it, go ahead and do it. We can all do our part!
Since the terrible loss of life at the Ohio State Fair, many of us who track the Missouri State Fair have been wondering about the safety of the rides that are coming to Sedalia. Given that the Ohio fair ends Aug. 6 and is geographically reasonably close, those very same rides could be coming here. The guilty Fire Ball ride could have been in our backyard.
I applaud the good people at Wade Shows for removing the ride from their lineup. Yes, it seems the Fire Ball had been well inspected preceding the event. So I guess we need to either raise those inspection standards and/or add some additional testing standards.
The fair and the midway is supposed to be a place for fun, and people should be able to feel that their friends and family are going to be able to enjoy themselves safely. These rides must all be safe, and non-lethal; that’s the least of their justifiable expectations.
Be careful of the rides that leave the ground. Inspect all rides visually from all accessible angles, and if something seems off then don’t go. Don’t be afraid to discuss your concerns with the ride operators, or their supervisors. Ask questions of the people operating the rides — they should be well-informed about the machines they are operating.
If the safety doesn’t satisfy you, then don’t get forced into doing something you aren’t comfortable with.
We’ve got to do everything we can as Sedalians to make sure the visitors are safe, happy and entertained at the Missouri State Fair, because we want them to come back year after year, right?
All sorts of people come together to bring us the Missouri State Fair. So if you see them picking up garbage, or animal droppings, or driving one of those John Deere tram pullers, well, tell them “thanks.”
