Dozens to patrol district fair

The grounds at the SEMO District Fair will be patrolled daily by 30 to 50 fair personnel, security guards and police officers. Officers will come from Cape Girardeau, Jackson, the Cape Girardeau Sheriff's Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The fair "has been a good family event with a very low amount of criminal offenses," said Sgt. Barry Hovis of the Cape Girardeau Police Department. The most common offenses are peace disturbances. Officers also monitor for theft, assault and alcohol abuse.

The fair opens today at Arena Park in Cape Girardeau and continues through Sept. 17.

Last September, an Astro Amusement worker was charged with statutory rape of a 15-year-old girl. Charges were dropped last April, Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said, because the accuser stopped cooperating with the prosecution.

Isolated incidents can happen at any carnival and fair, said fair president Pete Poe. In addition to security, hiring a reputable carnival operator is a way to preserve the family atmosphere.

"The reputation of the carnival and carnival operator is important," Poe said.

The board considers the carnival's longevity with an event and its longevity with insurance providers.

Astro Amusement ended its 12-year run with the SEMO District Fair this year to provide the rides instead at the state fair in Kansas. Astro was replaced by Lowery Carnival Co. About 50 crew members and several independent booth operators will manage the carnival rides, concessions and games.

Based in Louisiana with an office in Missouri, Lowery Carnival Co. has operated for more than 30 years.

Owner Tony Lowery said neither state requires him to perform background checks on his employees, but he conducts them anyway. "We are a family operation and we like to know what kind of people we have working for us," he said.

Each crew operator is required to wear a photo ID badge, and files are kept on record in the main offices. With about a 10 percent turnover rate, the majority of the traveling crew are permanent and are from southern Louisiana and southern Missouri. The Lowery carnival has had no major criminal incidents, the owner said.

But parents should also use discretion when they take their children to the fair, Hovis said.

"Parents should make sure their children are supervised at the fair," he said.

Parents need to consider their children's' ages and maturity when determining if they should go with an adult, a friend or alone, he said.

Also, children and parents need to set up a place where they can meet up if they get separated, fair security coordinator Alvin Frank Jr. said. Parents often walk away from a child when the child has stopped to look at something, he said, and security ends up searching for the parents rather than the child.

jmetelski@semissourian.com