Boone County Fair carnival company says rides ready to go

Amusement company ownership and Boone County Fair organizers say the carnival has received the all the safety inspections and should start at the scheduled time Tuesday.

Morris Giles, owner of Show Me Amusements, which is providing the midway at the fair for the first time this year, said all of his rides have been licensed through the state of Missouri and received recent inspections.

Boone County Fair Board President Jeff Cook and Giles said the state usually does spot inspection the afternoon before the event, but they did not know if such an inspection would take place this year.

Inspection reports, which are kept by the state Department of Public Safety, say Show Me’s rides were inspected in April and received good marks.

The Boone County Fair is using a new carnival company this year, after what fair officials called a miscommunication about the spot safety inspections last year.

“Some of their safety clips were rusted and not operating smoothly, some of their fencing, the latches were gone off of them so the gates would swing open and closed,” Cook said about last year’s carnival company, “Not as much as the safety of the ride itself, just the safety around the ride.”

Cook also said he encourages the inspections and will follow any recommendations inspectors have. “We want everyone to be safe and to have fun,” Cook said.

The state requires inspections for each ride before the carnival company can get its license.

Giles said his company does its own daily inspection on all the rides before anyone is allowed on,

“Anything you can do to make it more safe,” Giles said.