Fair board looks to get derby back on track

Members of the Sanders County Fair Commission held a special meeting last Wednesday to rectify a problem that could drastically cut into their fair profits.

Even though it's only January and the fair isn't until the end of August, Chairman Randy Woods said they need to get a demolition derby contractor in place right away. "That kind of stuff needs to get out there right now so the guys can start planning for what they're going to do for the summer," said Woods. "It's one of those things we need to get on sooner than later," he added. The demolition derby is scheduled for Sept. 1, the final day of the fair. "I'm very concerned about any possibility that there wouldn't be a demo derby," said Commissioner Dan Rowan, who attended the meeting with Commissioner Johnny Holland.

The board had two proposals at its meeting the week prior, Tim Denson and Rick Sanders, but Sanders withdrew when he was appointed to the board. Denson withdrew the following day after finding out that Sanders was a board member.

Woods said he notified Denson after the regular meeting that his proposal was accepted with a few changes. Denson was fine with the changes, but rescinded his proposal the next day, citing that he wouldn't do it with Sanders now on the board. "He sent me a text also and explained that Rick had caused a lot of trouble over the years with him doing the demo here. He had to hire a lawyer for some of the reasons," Woods told the board members, adding that Denson told him that he felt he would have been continually harassed from Sanders as a board member.

Board member Jolene Burke felt that Denson should have been notified through "proper channels" by the fair manager, Kristy Sheehan, instead of Woods. "I kinda feel that this whole thing with the demo could have possibly - and I'm not saying it could have - but possibly could have been avoided if the proper channels would have made contact," said Burke. She said it's the board's responsibility to approve and put out the ideas, "but at the end of the day Kristy is the manager and it's Kristy's responsibility to be the face of whatever event we're putting on," said Burke. She added, however, that because Woods and Sanders have more demo experience, they should be consulting with Sheehan.

"I kinda feel that our little train wreck could have maybe been prevented," she said. Board member Jim Newman also felt Sheehan should be the one taking care of finding a derby producer, but she could draw on the expertise of Woods and Sanders.

Woods said that the only reason he called Denson was that the man had called him earlier and asked for a call back. He also said he didn't think anything would have changed regardless of who called Denson. He noted that Denson and Sanders have had personal problems, but that had nothing to do with the rest of the board.

The reason for the special meeting was to find out what avenue the board would like to take with regards to the demolition derby. Woods said they will be opening it back up to the public for bids. "We're kind of on the gun now and we need to get going on this," he said.

At one point, they discussed the possibility of the board taking on the role themselves. Burke said that the board members could do it only as a last resort. She asked what their options would be and how they would fix the insurance problem, an issue that arose after a Plains Lions Club member was injured when the organization ran the derby several years ago.

Sanders feels the county would save money if it was done in-house and that he could put it on with about 10 people, plus the wreckers and ambulance. Rowan recommended against the fair doing it themselves. Woods believes a contractor is the best way to go. He noted that it would be a lot of work for the board to put on the show, especially since they're dealing with other aspects of the fair at the same time.

"We want the show to be done by a contractor and all done by the contractor, so we don't do anything but sell seat tickets," said Woods. Sanders said he knew of a man in Idaho that might be interested in doing the Sanders County demo derby. He said he feels the guy would be a good fit at Plains and has run shows in Idaho. A man in Arlee who had done the derby at the Sanders County Fair with the Plains Lions Club several years ago was brought up, but Woods and Sheehan said he wasn't interested.

"We should be reaching out to these other producers, giving them the opportunity to see if they want to step up. If they want to step up, great. If not, then we circle back and figure out a way that we as the fair can be the producers and still address the insurance issue and I can get the insurance through my production if I have to," said Burke.

The board decided that Sheehan should be the one to take the lead and call potential derby prospects and not board members. Plans are to put it on the county website and on the Montana derby Facebook website that there will be a derby here. "I think our biggest concern is just making sure we tell everybody that we're going to have one and we'll figure it out from there," said Sanders. Board member Brian Crain suggested that Sheehan contact the demo derby producers in Spokane, Wash., and Bonners Ferry, Idaho.

The meeting included the selection of board officers. "I've been chairman for a few years, but I guess I'd like to continue for a couple more years and help get over some of these humps and move forward," said Woods. Newman made a motion for Woods for chairman. It was seconded by Crain and unanimously passed by the remaining board members. Newman made a motion for Crain to be vice chairman, which was seconded by Sanders and unanimously passed.