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The new Sanders County Fair manager gave a surprise during her first board meeting last week.

Manager Kristy Sheehan was able to find a new carnival company for the Sanders County Fair, something the board felt would be almost impossible to do. The owner of the last carnival, Paradise Amusements of Post Falls, Idaho, said they would not be returning to the Sanders County Fair because of all the complaints. Sheehan told the fair board at last Wednesday's meeting that she's waiting for a bid from Midway West Amusement of Arizona.

Sheehan researched nearly 20 carnival companies from Wyoming to Texas before the owner of Midway West Amusement said she'd like to be the carnival for Sanders County Fair, which this year takes place from Aug. 29-Sept. 1.

"The first thing they put on my schedule was to find a carnival and I succeeded," said Sheehan, one of five people who applied for the job. Sheehan told the board that the owner said she'd have 14-15 rides, but could bring more if needed, along with midway games. Sheehan said Midway West Amusement has done fairs in Montana and Idaho. She talked with the fair manager in Havre, Mont., that had Midway West Amusement and they were pleased. Sheehan was told that the staff were clean cut, they were made to shave and shower each day, dressed nicely, and most speak English.

"It'll be interesting to see what her proposal looks like," said board vice chairperson Kim McMahon, who had been covering the manager's responsibility before Sheehan began work on Jan. 2. "That was hurdle one. That was the one I was really worried most about," said Chairman Randy Woods, who added that his big concern was that it was too late in the year to get a carnival. The carnival is the only contract yet to be approved by the county attorney. The rest of the contracts were done last year.

The fair board met for the first time of the year last Wednesday at the fairgrounds pavilion, where Woods introduced Sheehan to the group, including seven people from the public. Sheehan started at the beginning of the year, cleaning the office, going through files, and familiarizing herself with the books and contracts.

At the meeting, the board decided to start looking for an administrative assistant in early March, but to start searching for a maintenance staff member sooner. Woods wanted to let Sheehan first get settled into the job. He guessed that a maintenance person, who would also take care of the beachfront park, now a responsibility of the fairgrounds personnel, would average 20 hours a week. The job would fluctuate from season to season. Woods also talked about hiring high school-aged kids for work during the summer.

McMahon proposed a system for public participation at board meetings in an effort to streamline the public comment period. "I have attended some other public meetings recently and appreciated that public comment was limited to three minutes. I am personally tired of getting berated for 20 to 30 minutes at a time about the same topics over and over again and so I would prefer to see people register as they sign in for what agenda items they would like to make public comments on and have that limited to three minutes," said McMahon. Board member Ted Forkum suggested that if the conversation is civil and needs more time, the board could extend the time to a maximum of five minutes.

Woods, the mayor of Hot Springs, said they do the same thing at their council meetings. He said the biggest reason for having a person fill out a request ahead of time was to give the board time to research answers in the event it's not something they would have at their fingertips. "It's how almost every public meeting is done; that's just how it is, we're not outside the box," said Woods. The proposal was unanimously approved.

In an update of the arena lights, the board voted unanimously to spend a maximum of $1,000 to pay someone to inspect the integrity of the power poles. They decided to have an individual breaker box on each pole. The board also unanimously approved the spending of $500 as a sponsorship for the February "9th Battle of the Scholars" instruction at Miles City, Mont., put on by Powder River Rodeo. John Franzen, owner of Powder River Rodeo, briefed the board members on the event over the phone. Forkum volunteered his help with the program last year and plans to help again this year. It's a two-day class on the art of bronc riding for young people interested in rodeo riding.

"I believe in this wholly. We advertise, advertise, advertise to get the common people in our stands, but we forget to advertise and work with the cowboys and those are the ones that make the show for us and I think we need to do more with the cowboys and I'm 100% for this. It's a great deal," said Woods during the hour-long meeting.

The board also discussed finding enough local motel rooms for 4-H and rodeo judges at fair time. They have used rooms at the Dew Duck Inn in the past, but McMahon believes they should also contact Glacier Crossroads Hotel. Sanders County Extension Agent Juli Thurston asked the board about upgrading the lighting system in some of the 4-H barns because some of the outlets don't work.

The next fair board meeting is scheduled for Feb. 14 at 6 p.m. at the fairgrounds pavilion.