Fair board hears manager report, update on office roof

The Great Northern Fair Board held its monthly meeting Tuesday and heard the fair manager's report and discussed updates on upcoming events happening at the fairgrounds and news about the fair office building.

Fairgrounds Manager Frank English said he has been working on plowing and shoveling snow on the grounds, winterized the former building of the H. Earl Clack Museum which the board remodeled this year to house the fairgrounds office, working on fairground's budget with Hill County Treasurer Sandy Brown.

He said some of priorities to work on next week include cleaning the Bigger Better Barn and to find the owner of the gray roping chute which is located on the fairgrounds on the south side of the Horse Barn.

People who know who it belongs to can contact English at 390-3675.

Great Northern Fair Board member Bobbie Dolphay said events coming up at the fairgrounds include the pig sale in March, a Pinewood Derby in April and weddings in May, June and July.

"Regarding any events for fair week, we are hoping to get a list out and publish what that will look like for fair week at the next meeting, if not definitely by February," she said, "(and) what events we are having (for the fair), free acts, just different kinds of entertainment we're booking, and we are excited to bring some free entertainment back."

"Beautiful," Great Northern Fair Board Chair Tyler Smith said.

Smith said he is expected to receive an insurance check for the roof of the building housing the fairgrounds office, which collapsed about 18 inches during the first snowstorm of the year in September, within the next few weeks or a month.

"It'll be that entire building value which was $166,000 minus the deductible and that check was going to come from (Montana Association of Counties)," he said.

The next Great Northern Fair Board meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21, in the Timmons Room in the Hill County Courthouse.