Fairgrounds hit hard by flood waters

The recent flood waters that wreaked havoc upon hundreds of Colfax homeowners have left a big mess at the Jasper County Fairgrounds as well. Fair board secretary Rhonda Guy said the damage was the worst she has ever seen.

“It’s much worse than the flood of 1993,” Guy said. “We lost everything; our records, a PA system we just purchased, ribbons, a computer system, all our appliances.”

Now, an army of volunteers is working to clean up the fairgrounds buildings. Guy said the 4-H building was the hardest hit, and workers were gutting the building Saturday morning, discarding soaked insulation and fiber board. Most of the folding tables stored in the building were lost, as well.

The vendor building fared better. With no insulation, Guy said the walls and floor will be power-washed and dried out, although all the kitchen appliances were lost.

The rush is on to get the grounds back in shape before the fall harvest begins, when many of the volunteers will be in their fields. Guy said the 4-H building is critical, because rental of that building during the fall and winter months provides much of the fair board’s income.

Forty volunteers were working Saturday morning, and Guy said she expected three volunteer fire departments, in town for the Mineral Springs Days celebration, to help out with cleaning.

“We’ll be working every night after 6 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays,” Guy said. Items needed for clean-up include power-washers, scrub brushes and just plain manpower. The fair board has applied for financial aid from FEMA, but Guy said she had not yet heard the results of that application. Still, she said, volunteers are trying to stay positive but it’s difficult.

“So much for fun at the fair,” she said.

John Jennings can be contacted at 792-3121 ext. 425 or via e-mail at jjennings@newtondailynews.com.