Two candidates found to fill fair manager position

The Great Northern Fair board is looking at two possible candidates to fill the open fairgrounds manager position.

Fair board member Scott Doney, who serves on the board’s hiring committee, said during Tuesday night’s meeting that he and fellow committee members Carla Vaughn and Paul McCann examined the credentials of three candidates.

“I did call the applicants to just touch base with them and let them know that we received their applications and just chatted with them a little bit just to see who they were, how they found out about it and what their interests kind of were,” Doney said.

The manager position has been open since October when Mike Sharp resigned following an uproarious board meeting.

Doney said one of the three applicants “probably does not have the credentials to be hired” and is being ruled out.

That leaves two remaining applicants, he said: one from Havre and another from Wyoming who has family in the Havre area.

Doney said the candidate from Wyoming offered to come to Havre for an interview, as the county and the board move forward with the hiring process.

He suggested the board get in contact with County Personnel Clerk Emily Meyer, who is part of the hiring process, to move onto the next stage.

Doney suggested that the board aim to hire someone by early April.

Vaughn said the position, which was posted in January and closed on Feb 2, could be reposted to see if there is any additional interest in the position.

Interviews, she said, could then be conducted of the two current contenders and any other worthy applicants.

Both contenders, Donny said, are willing to move ahead with the process.

The candidates who are chosen will be interviewed by McCann, one of the Hill County Commissioners, and a county department head, Vaughn said.

Vaughn said two other board members could sit in on the interview process, but could not actively participate.

Vaughn said Meyer told her that having more than three people actively conducting the interview could end up making it a public meeting under Montana open meetings laws.

Hill County Commissioner Jeff LaVoi said that during the interview, each candidate’s responses to the questions would be scored on a questionnaire.

LaVoi said those responses would then be sent back to the board who will make the final decision.

Vaughn said, the board would have to wait until McCann and fellow board member Missy Boucher, both of whom were not present at Tuesday's meeting returned in order to take further action.

In other business:

Boucher, who sits on the board’s carnival committee, said in an email to the board read out loud by Vaughn that a contract is “on the way” for Jeff Martin, known as “the Curly-Haired Magician” to perform at the 2016 Great Northern Fair.

In her email, Boucher said she is working to negotiate a price for the Western Texas Rattle Snake Show, which performed at the 2008 fair to provide entertainment, and is looking at the “Their Wild About Monkey Show”, a husband and wife animal act.

Western Trailer Sales has donated a 2015 Flex AT2R9L travel trailer to Hill County 4-H that will be raffled off to raise money to build a new Chuckwagon building at the Great Northern Fairground.

Vaughn, who is affiliated with Hill County 4-H, said the 2,000 tickets available will be sold for $50 each. If all 2,000 are sold, Vaughn said that would bring in $100,000 that would go toward the new structure. Hill County Extension Office reprepresentatives said that $225,000 has been raised so far to help pay for the estimated $450,000 project.

The drawing will be held July 24. The winner of the raffle is responsible for all taxes associated with the prize.

Tickets can be purchased at the Hill County Extension Office in the county courthouse, at Western Trailer Sales or from members of Hill County 4-H.