Fair board to iron out differences with horsemen

Along with finalizing and discussing issues with its upcoming fair, the Great Northern Fair Board at its monthly meeting in Havre Tuesday agreed to meet with an association that rents the Bigger Better Barn at the fairgrounds to see if the two groups can solve some issues of contention.

Board member Missy Boucher said the fair board should meet with the Hi-Line Horsemen's Association and tour the barn, to work out any problems and which group is responsible for what.

"I think that, from here on out, I suggest that we have the meetings and get together, we do the walkthrough so we know … where everybody stands … ," Boucher said. "All of this just is starting to get ridiculous, this bickering back and forth. We need to get things straightened out."

The issue came to a head at the board's February meeting, one month after Clint Solomon of the Horsemen's Association and the group that puts on the professional rodeo at the fair asked that his uncle, fairgrounds manager Tim Solomon, be replaced. At the February meeting members of the Horsemen's Association said they believed the association should not have to pay for repairs to a frozen water line at the barn.

The line froze when someone using the barn turned off the breaker to the barn, shutting down a space heater Tim Solomon used to keep the water from freezing.

The association members said that if Solomon had had the water turned off outside of the barn, the space heater, for which the association paid the power bill, would not be needed.

Solomon said Tuesday that when he started as fairground manager 12 years ago, he had asked the city of Havre Public Works Department how to shut off the water, and the employee at that time did not show him where the valve was outside of the barn.

He was not shown the valve until this year, when the water froze, he said.

Solomon said he has been following the same procedure to turn off the water where he could and keep the lines from freezing for the last 12 years.

Alma Seidel cut off Clint Solomon at one point when Solomon repeated that Tim Solomon needs to shut the water off and drain the lines.

"I am sure that it will be from now on," she said.

Boucher said that the board did a walk through of the beer garden at the fairgrounds with the Havre Youth Baseball Association, which operates the garden, and discussed issues and put who is liable for what in the contract. That helped resolve some contention over some issues there, she said.

Kelly Compton of the baseball association said it did help, having contractual responsibilities discussed and laid out.

Newly appointed board member Gus Sharp, attending his first board meeting, agreed that having a walk-through with the association and discussing who is responsible for what is a good idea.

The board then voted to split the bill for the repairs to the barn, which cost $391.01. Tim Solomon had told the association it would be responsible for the entire bill, and told its members to bring their complaint about that to the board at its February meeting.

At the February meeting, board member Mike Arnold, who was in Helena Tuesday and could not attend this month's meeting, suggested that the blame seemed to be shared and the cost should be split.

Clint Solomon said Tuesday that, since he did the work to repair the problems, he thought the board should pay the entire bill.

Sharp and board member Chad Murnin voted against splitting the costs, while Boucher, Seidel and board member Andy Owens voted in favor.

The board also agreed that, weather permitting, it would conduct a walkthrough of the barn with the Horsemen's Association after its April 19 meeting.

In other business, the board approved bringing pig wrestling to the fair this July.

Solomon suggested holding that event Wednesday night, since junior rodeo is moving to Thursday this year.

The rodeo is moving from Thursday and Friday to Friday and Saturday, taking the slot vacated by the cancellation of the annual local and professional truck pulls that had been held Saturday.

Casey Solomon of the rodeo association and Hi-Line Horsemen's said the rodeo will be moved to an earlier start time Saturday this year, to make time for a concert after the competition. She said the rodeo group has contracted with the band II Amendment to perform this year.

The board also approved allowing beer in the west section of the bleachers of the arena during the derby this year, as is done during the rodeo.