Activities are on for fair tonight

After getting washed out Tuesday, Jay County Fair Board hopes to have a full day of activities today.
As of 10 a.m., all Jay County Fair activities were on as scheduled for tonight, including the midway opening at 5 p.m. and the Hunter Smith Band concert at 8 p.m. at the grandstand. All activities at the fair Tuesday evening were canceled after the county got more than 2 inches of rain, leading to flood waters clearing 2-foot mark in some areas of the fairgrounds.
“We’re in much better shape this morning,” said Jay County Fair Board president Rob Weaver, while noting the grounds are still a bit mushy. “Hopefully with a dry day — I know that’s asking a lot — we’ll be pretty good tonight.
“Things are looking better. The water’s pretty much gone.”
The forecast is questionable for tonight, with a chance of rain beginning at 5 p.m. and showers and thunderstorms expected after 11 p.m. A flood watch will be in effect from 8 p.m. tonight through 11 a.m. Thursday.
Figure 8 racing, which was rescheduled for 6 p.m. tonight, and straw races were among the events called off Tuesday after rain hammered the fairgrounds in the late morning and early afternoon hours. Straw races will not be rescheduled.
The midway was also closed Tuesday.
“None of us can remember another time when the fair was closed,” said Weaver, noting that it brought in just $11 Tuesday. “It’s been probably decades since that’s happened.
“It was a disastrous day for the fair yesterday.”
Tuesday’s cancellation marked the second major schedule change for this year’s fair. Last week the board decided to postpone the Trace Adkins concert that was scheduled for tonight to Aug. 14 because of an already swampy infield at the grandstand after heavy rain throughout June.
The biggest flooding problems at the fairgrounds Tuesday were near the east end of the grandstand, where it was estimated that floodwater reached the 30-inch mark. Three vehicles were partially submerged and had to be pulled out by Barnett’s Heavy Wrecker Service.
Employees from the City of Portland and Aker-Taylor Plumbing worked together to pump water from the area into the infield at the grandstand to help with drainage.
Because of the state of the infield, pits for tonight’s figure 8 racing will be on the grandstand track.
In addition to the racing and the free Hunter Smith Band concert, activities this afternoon and evening include 4-H poultry and dairy steer and feeders shows at 1p.m., Cincinnatus League senior citizen recognition at 3 p.m and a Blind Date concert at 5:30 p.m.
It’s been an especially wet summer in the area, with June rainfall clearing 8 inches throughout Jay County and surpassing 14 inches in some areas. Downtown Portland was flooded twice last month, and flooding from the Wabash River caused the cancellation of Fort Recovery’s Harvest Jubilee.