It’s fair season in Ohio. Anyone planning on going may encounter more than fried food, rides and livestock; they could also see an increase in security.
That's true at the Summit County Fair, which runs through Sunday, according to Howard Call, a fairgrounds spokesperson.
“We’ve also increased our security presence on the grounds as well as at the gates,” Call said. “We are doing bag checks just to ensure we have a family atmosphere here.”
The fairgrounds decided to up its security after a large fight at the Trumbull County Fairgrounds last week and a shooting at a festival in Macedonia in June, Call said.
“We want people to come to the Summit County Fair and feel safe and not have to worry about rowdyism,” he said.
The fair has a safety plan set in case something goes array, according to Call.
“We have a shots fired plan; a lost child plan and we also have a fire plan , which are all coded out,” he said. “Every board director, including our sheriffs who are on duty and our fire department who’s on duty are on this com channel. So that when we have any of those things happen everyone hears it at the same time.”
The Lake County Fair, underway through Sunday, has also upped its security this season, said Wade Crofoot, president of the board of the Lake County Fairgrounds.
“I think we’re pretty well prepared with security,” Crofoot said. “We had some training with the chair and with the sheriff’s department. We’ve upped security.”
The decision had to do with recent events in Ohio, but Crofoot said he’s not worried.
“The fairgrounds are fenced in and in a controlled area,” Crofoot said. “We’ve done different trainings and things, because of this. We are prepared the best we can be. Regardless of if, when or where it happens.”
Concerns over security have even prompted changes at the Ohio State Fair, now underway in Columbus. After 2 p.m., minors will only be admitted to the fairgrounds if they’re accompanied by an adult 21 or older.
The changes come after seeing other similar events add the same restrictions, said Adam Heffron, the state fairgrounds executive director.
“Working in another fair that instituted the same policy, it becomes extremely positive. Very positive,” Heffron said in an interview.
The state fair runs through August 4.
But not every fair is increasing security.
Carl Cooley, president of the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds said they’ve made no changes in security for their county fair which runs from August 6th to the 11th.
“We are more aware, but we haven’t increased our numbers,” Cooley said. “The county sheriff started patrolling our fairgrounds last year. But we have never had the kind of crowds that places like Medina have. Our fair is more family-oriented, we’re not big on groups of teenagers like some other festivals.”
