The county fair will begin in three weeks, and the fair board Monday finalized plans, settled details and heard committee reports in preparation for the big event.

"We are three weeks from D-Day," said Paul Kuhn, fair board president. "It's crunch time, folks."

The major stumbling block, according to board treasurer Brent Hoffman, is that the fair's insurance carrier recently canceled all of the fairs it covered, and the fair right now has no liability insurance. Hoffman has contacted several agencies and expects to have quotes by Wednesday.

The quotes, however, may be a lot higher than what the board has paid in the past. Hoffman said he contacted Elkhart County's fair association, and the cost of their insurance has doubled.

"So this could be a pretty expensive transition," he said.

The current $1 million policy expires July 1, and the company won't extend it, he said.

Hoffman said he also will investigate the possibility of finding an insurance carrier that will write a policy for fair week only.

Fair board committees gave their reports - most of the electrical work is done, the Shriners will help with parking, corporate sponsorships are lining up, the grandstand bleachers will be painted this week and pre-fair advertising is scheduled.

Only about half the vendor spots are filled, Roy Bradbury reported, mostly because of the timing of the fair. Many vendors are scheduled elsewhere for the July 4 holiday. However, vendors are still being signed up.

The board did tell Bradbury to "graciously decline" a vendor that does tattooing and body piercing.

The Kosciusko County 4-H and Community Fair will be June 30 to July 6.

Board members are: Roy Bradbury, Elliott Enders, Dan Hampton, Dawn Harris, Brent Hoffman, Paul Kuhn, Mike Loher, Tim Plummer, Frank Rhoades, Tim Sammons, Jerry Secrist, Joe Secrist and Raymond Truex. [[In-content Ad]]